I 


18 


1  I 


MEMORIAL  CEREMONIES 


AT   THE 


GRAVES  OF  OUR  SOLDIERS. 


SATURDAY,  MAY   30,  1868. 


COLLECTED   UNDER  AUTHORITY  OF  CONGRESS. 


BY    FRANK    MOORE. 


WASHINGTON      CITY, 

1869. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1869,  by 

FRANK     MOORE, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the   District  Court  of  the  United  'States  for  the  Southern 
District  of  New  York. 


GRAVES    OF    OUR    SOLDIERS. 


CONGRESS  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

IK  THE  II OCS E  Or  REPRESENTATIVES, 

June  22,  1868. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  LOGAN, 

Rexoltfd,  That  the  proceedings  of  the  different  cities,  towns,  etc., 
recently  held  in  commemoration  of  the  gallant  heroes  who  have  sacrificed 
their  lives  in  defence  of  the  Republic,  and  the  record  of  the  ceremonial  of 
the  decoration  of  the  honored  tombs  of  the  departed,  shall  be  collected  and 
bound,  under  the  direction  of  such  person  as  the  Speaker  shall  designate, 
for  the  use  of  Congress. 

ATTEST:  EDWAED  MoPnEESON, 


HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES,  WASHINGTON, 

June  22,  1868. 

FRANK  MOORE,  Esq.,  Editor  of  the  "  Rebellion  Record,"  is  hereby  ap- 
pointed under  this  resolution. 

SCHTJYLER   COLFAX, 
Speaker  House  of  Representatives, 


HEADQUARTERS  GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC, 

• 

WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  June  25,  1 868. 

GENERAL  ORDEES  No.  14. 

The  Commander-in-Chief  calls  attention  to  the  Congressional  action  with 
regard  to  the  Memorial  Ceremonies  of  the  30th  ultimo. 

In  order  to  make  successful  this  effort  to  perpetuate  the  record  of  a  just 
tribute  to  our  patriotic  dead,  departments,  posts,  and  comrades  will  forward 
to  these  headquarters  every  tiling  pertaining  to  the  ceremonies  alluded  to 
which  can  awl  to  complete  the  work  proposed, — newspaper  paragraphs, 
editorials,  and  reporters'  accounts,  and  also  manuscript  copies  of  addn 
and  observances,  which  may  not  have  been  printed.  It  is  ho;  ed  th.-.t 
material  uny  be  collected  out  of  which  a  book  of  value  to  the  country  may 
le  edited. 

By  order  of  John  A.  Logan,  Commander-in-Chief. 

N".  P.  CHIPMAN,  Adjutant- General. 
W.  T.  COLLINS,  Ass't  Adjutant-  General. 


MEMORIAL   CEREMONIES 

AT    THE 

SOLDIERS'    QRA.VES. 

MAY   30,   1868. 


Ax  ARLINGTON,  VA. 

THE  Commemoration  at  the  National  Cemetery  at  Arlington, 
the  place  of  the  nation's  dead,  nearest  to  its  capital,  was  satisfac- 
tory in  every  particular.  The  day  was  fine  :  the  sky  beautiful, 
with  sun  and  clouds  at  play  :  the  atmosphere  quiet  and  soft,  as 
if  in  unison  with  the  solemn  spirit  of  the  occasion.  The  leaves 
and  grass  and  flowers  shone  with  a  radiance  imparted  to  them  in 
their  early  vigor  by  the  abundant  rains  of  these  latter  days. 
There  had  been  a  cordial  response  to  all  the  requests  of  the 
committee  who  had  in  charge  the  care  and  management  of  the 
preparations.  Money  was  given  liberally  ;  so  also  were  person- 
al services  ;  flowers  almost  rained  down  on  those  who  took  the 
oversight  of  the  decorations. 

So  it  happened,  the  weather  being  propitious,  the  preparations 
ample  and  the  day  made  almost  a  holiday  by  the  free  leave 
granted  in  all  the  public  offices,  that  at  Arlington,  at  high 
noon,  the  great  throng  of  quiet  and  orderly  people,  men,  women 
and  children,  were  entirely  in  spirit  with  the  occasion  and  ready 
to  join  in  heart  in  all  the  services  and  devotions  of  the  solemn 
hour.* 

Atone  o'clock  p.m.,  N.  P.  Chipman,  Chairman  of  Committee 
of  Arrangements,  called  the  audience  to  order,  and  said  : 
COMRADES  AND  FRIENDS  :  t 

We  are  assembled  to  commemorate,  in  some  fitting  manner, 
the  deeds  of  those  who  lie  in  this  National  Cemetery,  and  to  offer 
a  tribute  to  their  deathless  memory. 

*  Correspondent  of  the  Portland,  Me.,  Mirror. 


10  MT-MORIAL    CEREMONIES 

"We  are  here  at  the  call  of  the  Commander-in-chief  of  our  Or- 
der, and  to  join  in  ceremonies  which  are  transpiring  at  this  hour 
all  over  the  land,  wherever  the  grave  of  a  soldier  is  known  or  a 
loyal  heart  remembers  with  gratitude  the  noble  sacrifices  of  our 
gallant  dead. 

The  General  Order  to  which  I  have  alluded  will  be  read  by 
the  Assistant  Adjutant-General. 

"W.  T.  COLLINS  then  read  the  following  : 

HEADQUARTERS  GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC, 

ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S  OFFICE,  446  Fourteenth  St., 

Washington,  D.  C.,  May  5,  1868. 
GENERAL  ORDERS  ) 
No.  11.  J 

I.  The  30th  day  of  May,  1868,  is  designated  for  the  purpose 
of  strewing  with  flowers  or  otherwise  decorating  the  graves  of 
comrades  who  died  in  defence  of  their  country  during  the  late 
rebellion,  and  whose  bodies  now  lie  in  almost  every  city,  village, 
and  hamlet  church-yard  in  the  land.  In  this  observance  no 
form  of  ceremony  is  prescribed,  but  posts  and  comrades  will  in 
their  own  way  arrange  such  fitting  services  and  testimonials  of 
respect  as  circumstances  may  permit. 

"We  are  organized,  comrades,  as  our  regulations  tell  us,  for 
the  purpose,  among  other  things,  "  of  preserving  and  strength- 
ening those  kind  and  fraternal  feelings,  which  have  bound  to- 
gether the  soldiers,  sailors,  and  marines  who  united  to  suppress 
the  late  rebellion."  What  can  aid  more  to  assure  this  result 
than  by  cherishing  tenderly  the  memory  of  our  heroic  dead,  who 
made  their  breasts  a  barricade  between  our  country  and  its  foes. 
Their  soldier  lives  were  the  reveille  of  freedom  to  a  race  in 
chains,  and  their  deaths  the  tattoo  of  rebellious  tyranny  in  arms. 
We  should  guard  their  graves  with  sacred  vigilance.  All  that 
the  consecrated  wealth  and  taste  of  the  nation  can  add  to  their 
adornment  and  security,  is  but  a  fitting  tribute  to  the  memory 
of  her  slain  defenders.  Let  no  wanton  foot  tread  rudely  on 
such  hallowed  grounds.  Let  pleasant  paths  invite  the  coming 
and  going  of  reverent  vistors  and  fond  mourners.  Let  no  vanda- 
lism of  avarice  or  neglect,  no  ravages  of  time  testify  to  the  pres- 
ent or  to  the  coming  generations,  that  we  have  forgotten  as  a 
people  the  cost  of  a  free  and  undivided  Republic. 

If  other  eyes  grow  dull,  and  other  hands  slack,  and  other 
hearts  cold  in  the  solemn  trust,  ours  shall  keep  it  well  as  long  as 
the  light  and  warmth  of  life  remain  to  us. 

Let  us,  then,  at  the  time  appointed  gather  around  their  sa- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  11 

creel  remains,  and  garland  tl  e  passionless  mounds  above  them 
with  the  choicest  flower-  of  spring-time  ;  let  us  raise  above  them 
the  dear  old  flag  they  saved  from  dishonor  ;  let  us  in  this  solemn 
presence  renew  our  pledges  to  aid  and  assist  those  whom  they 
have  left  among  us,  a  sacred  charge  upon  a  nation's  gratitude — 
the  soldier's  and  sailor's  widow  and  orphan. 

II.  It  is  the  purpose  of  the  Commander-in-Chief  toinangu- 
rafe  this  observance  with  the  h6pe  that  it  will  be  kept  up  from 
year  to  year,  while  a  survivor  of  the  war  remains  to  honor  the 
memory  of  his  departed  comrades.     He  earnestly  desires  the 
public  press  to  call  attention  to  this  order,  and  lend  its  friendly 
aid  in  bringing  it  to  the  notice  of  comrades  in  all  parts  of  the 
country  in  time  for  simultaneous  compliance  therewith. 

III.  Department  Conn  minders  will  use  every  effort  to  make 
this  order  effective. 

By  order  of —  JOHN  A.  LOGAN, 

Commander-in-  Chief. 
Official  :  N.  P.  CHIPMAN. 

WM.  T.  COLLINS,  A.  A.  G.  Adjutant-  General. 

Prayer — By  REV.  BVIION  SCXDERLAND,  D.  D. 

Almighty  and  everlasting  God — the  God  and  Father  of  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ — the  God  of  our  fathers  and  our 
God— who  hast  the  care  of  all  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Oh,  thou 
Creator,  Preserver,  and  Benefactor  of  the  World,  whose  provi- 
dence is  over  every  living  tiling,  and  who  dost  cause  the  seasons 
to  keep  their  annual  rounds,  and  from  the  death  and  drowsiness 
of  winter  dost  evoke  the  life  and  beauty  of  the  spring,  how  great 
and  manifold  are  the  tokens  of  Thy  presence,  and  of  Thy  resur- 
rection power,  as  all  nature  wakes  again  glorious  in  the  garni- 
ture of  flowers,  and  filled  with  melodies  of  the  time  when  the 
singing  of  birds  is  come. 

We  pray  thee,  oh  Lord,  mercifully  to  remember  us  for  good, 
as  we  have  come  forth  this  day,  among  Thy  people,  to  acknow- 
ledge Thee  ;  and,  as  Thy  servants  of  old  time  did  for  themselves 
and  for  Thy  chosen  nation,  to  call  upon  Thy  name  and  to  spread 
out  our  supplications  before  Thee.  For  we  are  come  this  day 
to  the  cities  of  the  dead — we  are  come  to  the  sepulchres  of  our 
heroes,  slain  and  fallen  in  battle  with  all  the  host  of  them  that 
counted  not  their  lives  dear  unto  them  for  the  sacred  cause  of 
God,  and  of  country,  and  of  humanity,  and  by  which  price  they 
have  made  of  this  land  one  greater  than  Thermopylae,  and  have 
filled  it  in  all  its  borders  with  freedom's  shrines.  Because  we 
have  come  to  mourn  this  day  for  those  who  sleep,  and  to  pay  to 
their  memory  the  utmost  tenderness  of  our  regards.  Because  we 
have  come  to  weep  with  those  who  survive,  that  the  mission  of 


12  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

our  country  could  be  accomplished  only  at  so  great  a  sacrifice. 
Because  we  have  come,  oh  Lord,  likewise  to  mingle  with  our 
tears  and  sorrows  a  grateful  sense  of  our  deliverance  and  our  tri- 
umph over  appalling  dangers,  while  we  cover  with  garlands  and 
fresn  flowers  the  graves  of  our  noble  sons.  Because  we  have 
come  to  take  from  the  lap  of  earth  these  new  children  that  have 
sprung  in  such  abundance  of  loveliness  and  in  such  fragrance  of 
incense,  and  cast  them  back  upon  the  mother  that  brought  them 
forth,  in  testimony  that  there  is  nothing  too  delicate,  nothing 
too  beautiful  to  be  lavished  upon  the  remembrance  of  those  who 
have  sealed  with  blood  their  devotion  to  the  holy  work  of  God 
and  man. 

Yet,  oh  Lord,  we  well  do  know  that  these  blooms  of  earth  will 
fade ;  these  blossoms  will  wither  and  perish  where  they  fall. 
Well  do  we  know  that  they  will  return  to  mingle  with  the  sacred 
mould  of  those  who  once  stood  up  as  a  living  rampart  against 
the  violence  of  treason — against  the  fury  of  rebellion ;  still  do 
we  pray  that  other  hands,  year  after  year,  may  strew  them 
afresh,  as  we  do  this  day.  We  pray  that  every  spring-time  may 
rise  with  its  prophet  voice  to  tell  us  that  there  is  glory  and  im- 
mortality in  the  truth.  That  however  assailed,  however  borne 
down  for  a  time,  the  eternal  years  of  God  are  her's.  And  we 
pray,  too,  that  her's  may  be  the  hearts  of  men  that  never  quail, 
though  in  the  midst  of  living  perfidies  that  make  the  soul  turn 
sick.  We  pray,  too,  that  her's  may  be  the  hands  of  men 
that  have  borne  the  fire  of  every  martyr  for  the  priceless  cause 
of  liberty  and  justice.  We  pray,  too,  that  hers  maybe  the 
vows  of  men  who,  though  betrayed  and  outraged  in  the  house  01 
their  own  friends,  will  not  yet  forget  their  duty  —  will  not  yet 
forsake  the  charge  that  has  been  imposed  upon  them — whether 
through  the  sophistries  of  a  perverted  judgment,  or  through  the 
temptations  of  a  corrupt  ambition,  or  through  the  baser  briber- 
ies of  mammon,  which,  while  they  deceive,  both  defile  and  de- 
grade our  manhood  to  the  lowest  depths  of  infamy. 

And  now,  oh  Lord  our  God,  we  appeal  to  Thee  by  the  unit- 
ed voice  of  our  prayer  for  the  integrity  and  rectitude  of  our 
nation  in  all  coming  time,  and  for  the  benefits  and  blessings  ot 
amity,  equality,  and  fraternity,  for  us  and  for  all  men  through- 
out the  world,  we  cry  to  Thee  from  among  the  graves  of 
those  whom  Thou  didst  choose  to  win  the  victory  in  the  last 
great  struggle  for  the  welfare  of  mankind.  And  we  pray,  Thee, 
now  especially,  to  look  down  upon  us  in  Thv  mercy,  and  bless 
ns.  Bless  the  general  and  officers,  and  soldiers  and  sailors  01 
the  Army  and  Navy  of  the  United  States  —  those  that  may  be 
to-day  assembled  here  or  elsewhere,  in  all  the  land,  for  the  same 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  13 

affecting  purpose.  Bless  all  the  people  of  our  country,  and 
confirm  to  us  the  fruits  of  the  late  warm  the  emancipation  of  mil- 
lions that  had  been  growing  in  bondage,  and  in  the  exalted  aims 
that  have  sustained  this  people  in  such  great  advancement. 
Give  us  a  spiritual  religion.  May  Christianity  prevail  among  us 
in  its  original  purity.  May  it  not  be  to  us  an  empt}*  ritual,  but  a 
daily  covenant  between  God  and  men,  and  between  man  and 
his  fellow-men.  And  we  pray  that  the  machinations  and  efforts 
of  demagogues — that  the  pestilence  and  poison  of  mere  partisan 
politics — may  be  thoroughly  purged  from  among  us  as  the  bane, 
forever,  of  all  republics,  and  the  certain  precursors  of  their  dis- 
aster and  downfall. 

And,  oh  Lord,  so  long  as  the  sovereignty  of  this  great  people 
shall  be  committed  to  the  work  of  constitutional  freedom  — 
to  the  work  of  liberty  regulated  by  law  —  to  the  work  of  an 
equality  for  all  men,  without  distinction  —  so  long  do  we  pray 
that  Thou  wilt  uphold  the  honor  of  this  Government,  and  give 
its  name  and  its  prowess  respect  among  the  peoples  of  the  earth. 
For  well  we  know  that  whensoever  this  nation  shall  depart  from 
these  great  lights,  and  wander  darkening  in  the  gloom  and  sor- 
cery of  despotism  and  oppression,  then  wilt  Thou  make  bare 
Thine  arm  and  strike  down  the  whole  political  fabric  under 
which  we  live. 

And  now,  oh  Lord,  we  implore  these  blessings  upon  us — we 
deprecate  these  judgments  from  us — not  in  our  own  name,  nor 
upon  our  own  merits,  but  alone  in  the  name  and  upon  the  merits 
of  Him  whose  name  is  above  every  name,  and  will  endure  for- 
ever. And  unto  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  will  we  as- 
cribe unceasing  and  undivided  praises.  Amen. 

Hymn — Entitled  "  Honor  to  the  Soldier."     Eight  voices.* 

The  Hon.  JAMES  A.  GAEFIELD  was  then  introduced,  and 
spoke  as  follows : 

I  am  oppressed  with  a  sense  of  the  impropriety  of  uttering 
words  on  this  occasion.  If  silence  is  ever  golden,  it  must  be 
here  beside  the  graves  of  fifteen  thousand  men,  whose  lives  were 
more  significant  than  speech,  and  whose  death  was  a  poem  the 
music  of  which  can  never  t>e  sung.  With  words,  we  make  prom- 
ises, plight  faith,  praise  virtue.  Promises  may  not  be  kept ; 
plighted  faith  may  be  broken  ;  and  vaunted  virtue  be  only  the 
cunning  mask  of  vice.  We  do  not  know  one  promise  these  men 
made,  one  pledge  they  gave,  one  word  they  spoke ;  but  we  do 

*  These  were  amateur  singers  of  the  City  of  Washington,  who  kindly  volunteered 
their  services.    Some  of  them  were  comrades. 


14  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

know  they  Bummed  up  and  perfected,  by  one  supreme  act,  the 
lii-rlu-t  virtues  of  men  and  citizens.  For  love  of  country  they 

•  •pted  death;  and  in  that  act  they  resolved  all  doubts,  and 
made  immortal  their  patriotism  and  their  virtue. 

1  <T  the  noblest  man  that  lives  there  still  remains  a  conflict. 
He  must  still  withstand  the  assaults  of  time  and  fortune  ;  must 
Btill  be  assailed  by  temptations  before  which  lofty  natures  have 
fallen.  But  with  these  the  conflict  was  ended,  the  victory  was 
won,  when  death  stamped  on  them  the  great  seal  of  heroic 
character,  and  closed  a  record  which  years  can  never  blot. 

I  know  of  nothing  more  appropriate  on  this  occasion,  than 
to  inquire  what  brought  these  men  here.  What  high  motive 
led  them  to  condense  life  into  an  hour,  and  to  crown  that  hour 
by  joyfully  welcoming  death  ?  Let  us  consider. 

Eight  years  ago  this  was  the  most  unwarlike  nation  of  the 
earth.  For  nearly  tifty  years,  no  spot,  in  any  of  these  States, 
had  been  the  scene  of  battle.  Thirty  millions  of  people  had  an 
army  of  less  than  ten  thousand  men.  The  faith  of  our  people 
in  the  stability  and  permanence  of  their  institutions,  was  like 
their  faith  in  the  eternal  course  of  nature.  Peace,  liberty,  and 
personal  security,  were  blessings  as  common  and  universal  as 
sunshine,  and  showers,  and  fruitful  seasons  ;  and  all  sprang  from 
a  single  source — the  principle  declared  in  the  Pilgrim  covenant 
of  1G20 — that  all  owed  due  submission  and  obedience  to  the  law- 
fully expressed  will  of  the  majority.  This  is  not  one  of  the  doc- 
triues  of  our  political  system — it  is  the  system  itself.  It  is  our 
political  firmament,  in  which  all  other  truths  are  set,  as  stars  in 
heaven.  It  is  the  encasing  air  ;  the  breath  of  the  nation's  life. 
Against  this  principle  the  whole  weight  of  the  rebellion  was 
thrown.  Its  overthrow  would  have  brought  such  ruin  as  might 
follow  in  the  physical  universe,  if  the  power  of  gravitation  were 
destroyed,  and — 

"  Nature's  concord  broke, 
Among  the  constellations  war  were  sprung, 
And  planets,  rushing  from  aspect  malign 
Of  fiercest  opposition,  in  mid-sky     • 
Should  combat,  and  their  jarring  spheres  confound." 

The  nation  was  summoned  to  arms,  by  every  high  motive 
which  can  inspire  men.  Two  centuries  of  freedom  had  made  its 
people  unfit  for  despotism.  They  must  save  their  Government, 
or  miserably  perish. 

As  a  flash  of  lightning,  in  a  midnight  tempest,  reveals  the 
abysmal  horrors  of  the  sea,  so  did  the  flash  of  the  first  gun  dis- 
close the  awful  abyss  into  which  rebellion  was  ready  to  plunge 
us.  In  a  moment,  the  fire  was  lighted  in  twenty  million  hearts. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  15 

In  a  moment,  we  were  the  most  warlike  nation  on  the  earth. 
In  a  moment,  we  were  not  merely  a  people  with  an  army-  -we 
were  a  people  in  arms.  The  nation  was  in  column — not  all  at 
the  front,  but  all  in  the  array. 

I  love  to  believe  that  no  heroic  sacrifice  is  ever  lost.  That 
the  characters  of  men  are  moulded  and  inspired  by  what  their 
fathers  have  done — that  treasured  up  in  American  souls,  are  all 
the  unconscious  influences  of  the  great  deeds  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race,  from  Agincourt  to  Bunker  Hill.  It  was  such  an  influence 
which  led  a  young  Greek,  two  thousand  years  ago,  when  he 
li  r  1  the  news  of  Marat  ion,  to  exclaim.  "The  trophies  of  Mil- 
tiades  will  not  let  me  sleep."  Could  these  men  be  silent  in 
1801  — those,  whose  ancestors  had  felt  the  inspiration  of  battle 
on  every  tield  where  civilization  had  fought  in  the  last  thousand 

•a  (  Read  their  answer  in  this  green  turf.  Each  for  himself 
gathered  up  all  the  cherished  purposes  of  life — its  aims  and  am- 
bitions, its  dearest  affections — and  flung  all,  with  life  itself,  into 
thf  scale  of  battle. 

We  began  the  war  for  the  Union  alone,  but  we  had  not  gone 
far  into  its  darkness  before  a  new  element  was  added  to  the  con- 
flict, which  tilled  the  army  and  the  nation  with  cheerful  but  in- 
tense religious  enthusiasm.  In  lessons  that  could  not  be  mis- 
understood, the  nation  was  taught  that  God  had  linked  to  our 
own,  the  destiny  of  an  enslaved  race — that  their  liberty  and  our 
Union  were  indeed  "one  and  inseparable."  It  was  this  that 
made  tliE  soul  of  John  Brown  the  marching  companion  of  our 
soldiers,  and  made  them  sing  as  they  went  down  to  battle — 

"  In  the  beauty  of  the  lilies  Christ  was  born  acros^  the  sea, 
"With  a  irlory  in  his  bosom  that  transfigures  you  and  me; 
As  he  died  to  make  them  h»ly,  let  us  die  to  make  them  free — 
While  God  is  marching  on." 

With  such  inspirations,  failure  was  impossible.  The  strug- 
gle consecrated,  in  some  degree,  every  man  who  bore  a  worthy 
part,  I  can  never  forget  an  incident,  illustrative  of  this  thought, 
which  it  was  my  fortune  to  witness  near  sun-set  of  the  second 
day  at  Chickamauga,  when  the  beleaguered  but  unbroken  left 
wing  of  our  army  had  again  and  again  repelled  the  assaults  of 
more  than  double  their  numbers,  and  when  each  soldier  felt  that 
to  his  individual  hands  were  committed  the  life  of  the  army  and 
the  honor  of  his  country.  It  was  just  after  a  division  had  fired 
its  last  cartridge,  and  had  repelled  a  charge  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet,  that  the  great-hearted  commander  took  the  hand  of  an 
humble  soldier  and  thanked  him  for  his  steadfast  courage.  The 
soldier  stood  silent  for  a  moment,  and  then  said,  with  deep  emo- 


16  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

tion,  "  George  H.  Thomas  lias  taken  this  hand  in  his.  I'll  knock 
down  any  mean  man  that  offers  to  take  it  hereafter."  This 
rough  sentence  was  full  of  meaning.  He  felt  that  something 
had  happened  to  his  hand  which  consecrated  it.  Could  a  hand 
bear  our  banner  in  battle  and  not  be  forever  consecrated  to 
honor  and  virtue  ?  But  doubly  consecrated  were  these  who  re- 
ceived into  their  own  hearts  the  fatal  shafts,  aimed  at  the  lite 
of  their  country.  Fortunate  men !  your  country  lives  because 
you  died  1  Your  fame  is  placed  where  the  breath  of  calumny 
can  never  reach  it;  where  the  mistakes  of  a  weary  life  can 
never  dim  its  brightness !  Coming  generations  will  rise  up  to 
call  vou  blessed  1 

And  now  consider  this  silent  assembly  of  the  dead.  What 
does  it  represent  ?  Nay,  rather,  what  does  it  not  represent  ?  It 
is  an  epitome  of  the  war.  Here  are  sheaves  reaped,  in  the  har- 
vest of  death,  from  every  battlefield  of  Virginia.  If  each  grave 
had  a  voice  to  tell  us  what  its  silent  tenant  last  saw  and  heard 
on  earth,  we  might  stand,  with  uncovered  heads,  and  hear  the 
whole  story  of  the  war.  We  should  hear  that  one  perished 
when  the  first  great  drops  of  the  crimson  shower  began  to  fall, 
when  the  darkness  of  that  first  disaster  at  Manassas  fell  like  an 
eclipse  on  the  nation ;  that  another  died  of  disease  while  -wearily 
waiting  for  winter  to  end;  that  this  one  fell  on  the  field,  in 
sight  of  the  spires  of  Richmond,  little  dreaming  that  the  flag 
must  be  carried  through  three  more  years  of  blood  before  it 
should  be  planted  in  that  citadel  of  treason  ;  and  that  one  fell 
when  the  tide  of  war  had  swept  us  back  till  the  roar  of  rebel 
guns  shook  the  dome  of  yonder  Capitol,  and  re-echoed  in  the 
chambers  of  the  Executive  Mansion.  We  should  hear  mingled 
voices  from  the  Rappahannock,  the  Rapidan,  the  Chickahominy, 
and  the  James;  solemn  voices  from  the  Wilderness,  and  tri- 
umphant shouts  from  the  Shenandoah,  from  Petersburg,  and  the 
Five  Forks,  mingled  with  the  wild  acclaim  of  victory  and  the 
sweet  chorus  of  returning  peace.  The  voices  of  these  dead  will 
forever  fill  the  laud  like  holy  benedictions. 

What  other  spot  so  fitting  for  their  last  resting-place  as  this, 
nnder  the  shadow  of  the  Capitol  saved  by  their  valor  ?  Here, 
where  the  grim  edge  of  battle  joined  ;  here,  where  all  the  hope 
and  fear  and  agony  of  their  country  centred ;  here  let  them 
rest,  asleep  on  the  nation's  heart,  entombed  in  the  nation's  love ! 

The  view  from  this  spot  bears  some  resemblance  to  that 
which  greets  the  eye  at  Rome.  In  sight  of  the  Capitoline  Hill, 
up  and  across  the  Tiber,  and  overlooking  the  city,  is  a  hill,  not 
rugged  nor  lofty,  but  known  as  the  Vatican  Mount.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  Christian  Era,  an  Imperial  circus  stood  on  its 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  17 

summit.  There,  gladiator  slaves  died  for  the  sport  of  Rome; 
and  wild  beasts  fought  with  wilder  men.  In  that  arena,  a  Ga- 
lilean fisherman  gave  up  his  life  a  sacrifice  for  his  faith.  Ko 
human  lite  was  ever  so  nobly  avenged.  On  that  spot,  was 
reared  the  proudest  Christian  temple  ever  built  by  human 
hands.  For  its  adornment,  the  rich  offerings  of  every  clime 
and  kingdom  have  been  contributed.  And  now,  after  eighteen 
centuries,  the  hearts  of  two  hundred  million  people  turn  toward 
it  with  reverence  when  they  worship  God.  As  the  traveller 
descends  the  Apennines,  he  sees  the  dome  of  St.  Peter  rising 
above  the  desolate  Campagna  and  the  dead  city,  long  before  the 
seven  hills  and  ruined  palaces  appear  to  his  view.  The  fame  of 
the  dead  fisherman  has  outlived  the  glory  of  the  Eternal  City. 
A  noble  life,  crowned  with  heroic  death,  rises  above  and  out- 
lives the  pride  and  pomp  and  glory  of  the  mightiest  empire  of 
the  earth. 

Seen  from  the  western  slope  of  our  Capitol,  in  direction, 
distance,  and  appearance,  this  spot  is  not  unlike  the  Vatican 
Mount,  though  the  river  that  flows  at  our  feet  is  larger  than  a 
hundred  Tibers.  Seven  years  ago,  this  was  the  home  of  one 
who  lifted  his  sword  against  the  life  of  his  country,  and  who 
became  the  great  Imperator  of  the  rebellion.  The  soil  beneath 
our  feet  was  watered  by  the  tears  of  slaves,  in  whose  hearts  the 
sight  of  yonder  proud  Capitol  awakened  no  pride,  arid  inspired 
no  hope.  The  face  of  the  goddess  that  crowns  it,  was  turned 
toward  the  sea  and  not  toward  them.  But,  thanks  be  to  God, 
this  arena  of  rebellion  and  slavery  is  a  scene  of  violence  and 
crime  no  longer !  This  will  be  forever  the  sacred  mountain  of 
our  Capitol.  Here  is  our  temple ;  its  pavement  is  the  sepulchre 
of  heroic  hearts ;  its  dome,  the  bending  heaven ;  its  altar  can- 
dles, the  watching  stars. 

Hither  our  children's  children  shall  come  to  pay  their  trib- 
ute of  grateful  homage.  For.  this  we  are  met  to-day.  By  the 
happy  suggestion  of  a  great  society,  assemblies  like  this  are 
gathering,  at  this  hour,  in  every  State  in  the  Union.  Thou- 
sands of  soldiers  are  to-day  turning  aside  in  the  march  of  life  to* 
visit  the  silent  encampments  of  dead  comrades  who  once  touglit 
by  their  side. 

From  many  thousand  homes,  whose  light  was  put  out 
when  a  soldier  fell,  there  go  forth  to-day,  to  join  these  solemn, 
processions,  loving  kindred  and  friends,  from  whose  hearts  the 
shadow  of  grief  will  never  be  lifted  till  the  light  of  the  Eternal 
world  dawns  upon  them. 

And  here  are  children,  little  children,  to  whom  the  war  left 
no  father  but  the  Father  above.  By  the  most  sacred  right, 
2 


18  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

theirs  is  the  chief  place  to-day.     They  come  with  garlands  to 
crown  their  victor  fathers.    I  will  delay  the  coronation  no  longer. 

Patriotic  Song—"  Our  Native  Land."     Eight  voices. 
The  following  Original  Poem  was  then  read  by  JULIUS  C. 
SMITH,  Esq. : 

PEACE,  peace  on  earth !     No  battle-flags  are  flown, 
No  war-clouds  rise  and  frown  along  the  sky ; 

No  trumpet  tor  the  deadly  charge  is  blown, 
No  lightning-glare  of  red  artillery. 

Light,  from  the  high  empyrean  glancing  down, 

No  longer  falls  on  heaps  of  m;»ngled  dead: 
Reveals  no  more  the  close-beleaguered  town, 

Or  path  of  fire,  whereon  the  foe  hath  fled. 

We  hear  no  more  from  battle-plain  arise 

The  ringing  shout  of  frantic,  grappling  hosts, 

Or  those  wild,  piercing,  anguish-laden  cries, 
That  haunt  the  memory  like  immortal  ghosts. 

How  changed  the  scene,  since  those  we  mourn  to-day 
Heard  Slavery's  challenge,  at  their  peaceful  toil ; 

Met  the  defiant  foe  in  battle-fray ; 
Moistened,  from  pulsing  veins,  the  parching  soil. 

Then  rose  the  nation's  pibroch  loud  and  shrill, 

Then  flashed  the  burning  cross  o'er  northern  plains ; 

On  mountain-steeps,  by  hamlet,  vale,  and  rill, 
True  manhood  roused  to  break  the  bondman's  chains 

These  forms,  then  animate  with  earnest  life, 
In  shop  and  field  the  slogan  message  caught, 

Pressed  to  their  bosoms,  mother,  sister,  wife, 
And  the  dark  field  of  strife  and  carnage  sought. 

And  shall  we  sing  how  first  the  hands,  unused 

To  martial  weapons,  at  Manassa*  failed ; 
How  Tyranny  our  name  and  fame  abused, 

Our  manly  courage  and  our  cause  assailed; 

Recite  the  tale  of  Ball's  ensanguined  height, 

Of  Bethel's  slaughter  and  Vienna's  gore; 
How  dying,  gifted  Baker,  Winthrop,  fight; 

How  gallant  Lander's  wounds  shall  heal  no  more ; 

Repeat  the  tale  of  Chickahominy, 

Of  Fredericksburg,  and  Chancellor's  barren  sand. 

Where  rebel  legions  pressed  to  victory, 
And  drew- a  curtained  gloom  o'er  all  the  land; 

Tell  how  at  Wilson's  noble  Lyon  died, 
And  how  at  Lexington  the  wrong  bore  sway ; 

How  once  again  ifanassas'  field  was  tried 
And  doubly  lost  upon  that  fatal  day  ? 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.         19 


From  infancy  to  youth,  from  youth  to  age, 
By  failures  oft  life's  lessons  are  attained ; 

Preludes,  are  stammering  words,  to  \vi-dom  sage ; 
By  stumbling  steps  pedestrian  skill  is  gained. 

Thus  our  brave  comrades  learned  the  art  of  war 
At  Chickamauga,  Belmont,  Perrysville ; 

'Twas  wisdom  bought  with  many  a  costly  scar, 
Lessons  no  early  victory  could  instil. 

At  last  by  patient  toil  came  strength  of  limb,     • 
Came  skill  of  eye  and  hand  in  martial  art.; 

They  felt  the  muscles  of  the  Anakim, 
The  throbbing  pulses  of  a  Titan's  heart. 

These  fleshless  hands,  now  motionless  and  cold, 
By  due  experience  taught,  were  raised  in  might ; 

These  eyes,  now  changed  to  pale  terrestrial  mould, 
Along  the  carbine  gained  unerring  sight. 

Enough  ;  'tis  done  !     Hark  to  the  cannons'  roar 
Upon  Antietam's  blood-encircled  field  ; 

See  1  Gettysburg  is  drenched  in  rebel  gore ; 
At  Donelson  the  boastful  traitors  yield. 

The  Shenandoah's  vale  is  darkly  red — 
Tis  rebel  blood,  transformed  to  ebon  hue ; 

Vicksburg  is  ours;  and  see  how  proudly  tread 
Our  marching  legions,  broad  savannas  through. 

Yet  from  the  hurricane  our  arms  recoiled 
At  Shiloh's  church  and  Murfreesboro's  plain, 

But  battling  still  our  steadfast  heroes  toiled, 
Till  on  yon  banner  Victory  smiled  again. 

Nay,  weep  not,  mother,  for  thy  gallant  son 
Who,  fighting,  fell  in  that  umbrageous  wood ; 

He  gave  his  life  for  man — 'twas  nobly  done — 
And  here  he  sleeps  among  the  brave  and  good. 

See  Richmond,  traitorous,  fire-begirdled  town ; 

See  Mountain  Lookout,  Missionary  Heights; 
Above  the  clouds  the  brazen  cannon  frown ; 

Above  the  clouds  each  stalwart  hero  fights. 

From  Chattanooga  to  Atlantic's  coast, 

From  the  sea  northward  to  Virginia's  line, 
I  see  the  track  of  Freedom's  conquering  host, 
.  To  justice,  friends — to  wrong,  a  scourge  divine. 

At  Appomattox,  Lee  surrenders  all, 

At  Durham,  Johnston  bends  the  suppliant  knee. 
Send  the  glad  shout  o'er  earth's  revolving  ball ; 

Slavery  is  crushed  !     Our  noble  land  is  free  ! 


20  MEMORIAL   CEREMONIES 

Tet  pause ;  the  triumph  has  been  Ixwght  with  blood ; 

a  was  the  purchase,  great  the  price  we  paid ; 
A  million  forms  are  crumbling  'neath  the  sod, 
A  score  of  thousands  are  around  us  laid. 

Pause,  and  remove  the  sandals  from  thy  feet, 

M  not,  with  rash  intrusion,  holy  ground  ; 
This  forest  is  the  hero's  calm  retreat, 
The  camp,  angelic  guards  encircle  round. 

Yet  te.ll  me  not  the  gallant  youth  are  dead  ; 

These  are  but  forms  that  moulder  and  decay  ; 
The  man  shall  live,  who  e'er  for  manhood  bled, 

Through  time's  vast  aions,  heaven's  eternal  day. 

He  lives  in  memory  of  the  good  and  wise, 

He  lives  in  grateful  histrionic  lore, 
He  lives  in  gorgeous  realms  beyond  the  skies, 

He  lives  in  tervid  song  forevermore. 

All  art  at  portraiture  divine  has  failed, 

In  sculpture,  pyramid,  and  fashioned  clay  ; 

Osiris,  sun-crowned,  Isis,  darkly  veiled,' 
Or  Memnon  musical  at  rising  day. 

Tet  rest  these  comrades  with  the  God  that  loves, 

In  all  the  race  one  intervital  life, 
By  which  creation  ever  onward  moves 

To  brighter  scenes  through  elemental  strife. 

There  is  no  life  ideal  that  can  cast 

Its  phantom  shade  beyond  the  mystic  tomb, 

But  one  eternal  landscape  of  the  past, 
One  present  Eden  of  immortal  bloom. 

And  tell  me  not  these  unnamed  are  unknown,* 
These  thousands  in  the  consecrated  tomb — 

No  missing  roll  or  monumental  stone 
Can  shroud  a  hero  in  historic  gloom. 

In  all  these  interblended  heaps  of  bones 
There's  not  a  nerve  to  feel,  a  heart  to  love ; 

No  passion's  flame,  no  music's  silvery  tones ; 
Sense,  life,  and  feeling,  all  have  passed  above. 

They  have  passed  onward  through  the  rift  of  light 
That  parts  the  clouds  above  primordial  strife ; 

They  march  with  God  in  uniforms  of  white, 
And  drink  the  true  nepenthe-draught  of  life. 

Martyrs  for  Truth,  for  Liberty,  and  Right ! 

To  you  shall  rise  the  nation's  high  acclaim ; 
You  are  not  lost  in  dim  historic  night — 

Thc.-e  graves  are  subterranean  paths  to  fame. 

*  One  tomb  at  Arlington  contains  the  remains  of  2,111  unknown  soldiers. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.         21 

This  emerald  verdure  on  earth's  mother-breast, 
These  oaks  umbrageous,  and  this  moist'ning  dew, 

This  orchestra  of  birds,  this  holy  rest, 
Are  nature's  smiles  upon  the  brave  and  true. 

Green  be  the  hillocks  o'er  this  hallowed  clay  ; 

Sweet  be  the  garlands  loving  hands  shall  bring ; 
Just  be  the  tribute  eloquence  shall  pay  ; 

Tender  the  song  the  minstrel  harp  shall  sing. 

Long  may  these  lyric  trees,  with  waving  boughs, 

Shadow  the  fragrant  flower-encrusted  sod  ; 
Long  may  the  rosy  dawn  these  songsters  rouse 

In  hymns  harmonic  to  the  heroes'  God. 

From  death's  broad  stream  I  hear  these  comrades  hail ; 

I  see  them  beckon  to  the  farther  shore ; 
I  hear  the  rustle  of  the  snowy  sail, 

The  soft  baptismal  of  the  phantom  oar. 

Let  vernal  year  her  azure  violets  bring, 

To  deck  the  sod  that  folds  this  sacred  clay ; 

Let  forest  choirs  their  sweetest  carols  sing 
At  morning  reveille  and  closing  day. 

Let  Summer  send  her  golden  sunbeams  down, 

In  graceful  salutations  for  the  dead, 
And  Autumn's  moving  host  of  leaflets  brown 

Break  ranks  above  the  fallen  soldier's  head. 

In  Winter's  storms,  let  all  the  sentry  stars 

That  on  yon  battlements  their  vigils  keep, 
Smile  on  these  wasting  forms,  these  holy  scars^ 

And  guard  the  field  where  worth  and  valor  sleep. 

And  we,  survivors  of  the  fearful  strife, 

While  gathered  here  around  this  hallowed  clay, 

Let  us  anew  pledge  fortune,  honor,  life, 
That  from  our  flag  no  star  shall  pass  away. 

We  reverently  swear  by  all  we  love, 

By  all  we  are,  and  all  we  hope  to  be, 
Ton  starry  flag  man's  steadfast  friend  shall  prove, 

And  wave  .forever  o'er  the  brave  and  free. 

Dirge — By  the  Forty-Fourth  Infantry  Band. 

The  foregoing  exercises  took  place  in  front  of  Arlington 
Mansion,  its  large  verandah  and  colonnade  being  draped  in 
mourning  and  decorated  with  flags. 

At  the  south  side  of  the  mansion  is  a  large  garden  enclos- 
ure, around  two  sides  of  which  and  upon  a  grassy  terrace  are 


22  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

buried  53  commissioned  officers  of  the  army,  from  almost  every 
Northern  State. 

While  the  band  played,  a  procession  was  formed  as  follows  : 
Children  of  Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Orphan  Asylum,  in 
i-lmrge  of  the  Officers  and  Managers  of  the  Association,  and 
Committee  on  Decorations,  followed  by  friends  generally.  The 
procession  moved  around  the  gardens  south  of  the  Mansion,  the 
children  strewing  flowers  upon  the  graves  spoken  of  alon^  the 
line  of  march  as  they  passed,  and  halted  at  the  tomb  of  the 
Unknown  Soldiers,*  who  fell  in  Virginia  during  the  early  years 
of  tbe  war.  This  tomb  is  west  of  and  near  the  gardens. 

The  orphan  children  formed  a  hollow  square  around  this 
tomb,  the  committees  and  friends  in  attendance  forming  a 
second  square  around  them.  The  orphans  sang  an  appropri- 
ate song,  which  was  followed  by  prayer,  Kev.  CHAKLES  V. 
KELLY,  D.  D. 
FBIENDS,  AND  FELLOW-CITIZENS  : 

Standing  here  in  the  place  of  the  clergyman  (Eev.  B. 
I\-yton  Brown)  who  was  expected  on  this  occasion  to  offer  up 
prayer  in  behalf  of  those  who  have  been  bereft  of  their  friends, 
whose  ashes  now  lie  buried  here,  unknown  to  those  who  loved 
them,  it  matters  little  who  is  the  speaker,  if  the  prayer  comes 
from  the  heart.  I  therefore  ask  yon  in  all  humility  to  join 
with  me  while  I  offer  up  a  short  prayer  for  those  who  know 
not  where  the  bodies  of  their  loved  ones  lie,  and  who  never 
will  know  it  until  the  morning  of  the  resurrection.  Let  us 
pray: 

Almighty  and  everlasting  God,  and  Father  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  who  art  the  resurrection  and  the  life,  in  whom 
whosoever  believeth  shall  live  though  he  die',  we,  Thine  hum- 
ble servants,  depending  upon  Thy  grace,  looking  for  Thy  con- 
tinning  mercy,  stand  before  Thee  in  the  attitude  of  prayer,  to 
make  known  the  wants,  as  far  as  we  are  able,  and  the  deep 
necessities  of  those  whose  dead  He  buried  here.  Oh,  Heavenly 
Father,  pour  the  oil  and  the  wine,  of  joy  and  gladness  and  con- 
solation into  the  hearts  of  the  widow  and  orphan  ;  let  them 

*  This  Tomb  bears  the  following  inscription  :  "  Beneath  this  Stone  repose  the 
bones  of  two  thousand  one  hundred  and  eleven  unknown  soldiers,  gathered  after  the 
war  from  the  fields  of  Bull  Run  and  the  Route  to  the  Rappahannock.  Their  remains 
could  not  be  identified,  but  their  names  and  death  are  recorded  in  the  archives  of 
their  country,  and  its  grateful  citizens  honor  them  as  of  their  noble  army  of  martjrs. 
May  they  rest  in  peace." 
"September,  A.  D.  1866. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  23 

have  a  consciousness  through  Thy  good  Spirit,  that,  though 
they  shall  no  more  see  those  to  whom  they  were  attached  when 
living,  yet,  that  they  rest  from  their  lal.ior,  and  are  in  the  en- 
joyment of  Thy  blessed  presence,  in  the  eternal  kingdom  of 
Thy  glory. 

And  oh,  Heavenly  Father,  we  beseech  Thee,  spread  before 
the  widow  and  orphan,  in  Thy  blessed  Word,  the  bread  of  ever- 
lasting life,  which  can  feed  them  to  life  eternal.  Console  them 
with  the  hopes  of  that  Gospel  which  has  brought  life  and  im- 
mortality to  light.  Give  them  a  hope  through  the  resurrection 
of  Jesus  Christ  their  Lord,  that  in  looking  to  Thee  in  all  things, 
they  may  have  a  full  assurance  of  a  reunion  in  Thy  kingdom, 
and  that  with  that  full  assurance,  they  may  rest  in  'that  hope 
of  glory  which  Thou  hast  promised  to  them  in  Thy  gracious 
word. 

We  know  that  at  the  voice  of  the  archangel  and  trump  of 
God,  the  sea  and  earth  shall  give  up  their  dead,  and  these  shall 
stand  before  Thee  at  the  great  white  Throne,  in  judgment  for 
the  deeds  done  in  the  body.  Oh,  may  those  who  have  departed 
this  life,  have  then  an  Advocate  with  the  Father,  Jesus  Christ, 
the  righteous.  When  in  judgment  in  body  and  in  soul  they 
appear  before  Thee,  may  Thy  sentence  be  to  those  who  have 
died  in  the  performance  of  their  dangerous  and  solemn  duty, 
"  Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant,  enter  thou  into 
the  joy  of  thy  Lord."  Hear  us,  our  Father,  hear  us  while  we 
offer  up  this,  our  prayer  and  supplication,  through  the  merits 
and  mediation  of  Jesus  Christ,  our  only  Saviour  and  Redeemer. 

Our  Father,  who  art  in  Heaven,  hallowed  be  Thy  name  : 
Thy  kingdom  come :  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in 
Heaven  :  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread  ;  and  forgive  us 
our  trespasses  as  we  forgive  those  who  trespass  against  us. 
And  lead  us  not  into  temptaton,  but  deliver  us  from  evil ;  for 
Thine  is  the  kingdom,  and  the  power,  and  the  glory,  forever 
and  ever.  Amen. 

Clwrus — "  Gebet,"  (German  prayer,)  Arion  Club.* 

Dead  March.     Fifth  Cavalry  Band. 

While  the  march  was  being  played  the  Orphan  Children 
and  the  Committee  on  Decorations  appropriately  decorated  the 
Tomb  with  flags  and  flowers. 

The  procession  then  formed  as  before  and  marched  to  the 
flag-stand  at  the  principal  cemetery. 

*  This  club  is  composed  of  Germans,  most  of  them  formerly  soldiers.     Their 
voluntary  assistance  is  gratefully  acknowledged. 


24  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 


Mr.  TKIMBLE  offered  the  following  prayer  : 

Almighty  and  Ever-living  God,  who  by  Thy  holy  Apostle 
eht  *us  to  make  prayers,  and  supplications,  and  to  give 
thank-  for  all  men  ;  \ve  humbly  beseech  Thee  most  mercifully 


to  receive  these  our  prayers,  which  we  offer  unto  Thy  Divine 
Majesty  ;  beseeching  Thee  to  inspire  continually  the  Universal 
Chinv'n  with  the  spirit  of  truth,  unity,  and  concord.  And 
grant  that  all  those  who  do  confess  Thy  holy  name  may  agree 
m  ti,.j  truth  of  Thy  holy  Word,  and  live  in  unity,  and  godly 
Ve  beseech  Thee  also,  so  to  direct  and  dispose  the 
hearts  of  all  Christian  rulers,  that  they  may  truly  and  impar- 
tially administer  justice,  to  the  punishment  of  wickedness  and 
and  to  the  maintenance  of  Thy  true  religion,  and  virtue. 
Giv_  grace,  oh,  Heavenly  Father,  to  all  ministers,  that  they 
may,  both  by  their  life,  and  doctrine,  set  forth  Thy  true  and 
lively  Word,  and  rightly  and  duly  administer  Thy  holy  Sacra- 
ments. And  to  all  "Thy  people  give  Thy  heavenly  grace  ;  and 
•ially  to  all  those,  Thy  servants,  who  are  sorrowing  under 
the  bereavements  of  war.  In  Thy  wisdom  Thou  hast  seen  fit 
to  visit  them  with  trouble,  and  to  bring  distress  upon  them. 
Remember  them,  O  Lord,  in  mercy ;  sanctity  Thy  fatherly  cor- 
rection to  them  ;  endue  their  souls  with  patience  under  their 
afflic-tions,  and  with  resignation  to  Thy  blessed  will ;  comfort 
them  with  a  sense  of  Thy  goodness ;  lift  up  Thy  countenance 
ii] >on  them,  and  give  them  peace.  And  we  most  humbly  be- 
seech Thee,  of  Thy  goodness,  O  Lord,  to  comfort  and  succor 
all  those  who,  in  this  transitory  life,  are  in  trouble,  sorrow,  need, 
sickness,  or  any  other  adversity. 

And  also,  we  bless  Thy  holy  name,  for  the  great  deliverance 
that  Thou  didst  work  out  for  us  by  the  courage  and  self-devo- 
tion of  our  armies  and  navy,  and  by  the  deaths  of  those  that 
spared  not  themselves  from  the  grave,  that  we,  the  living, 
might  still  be  numbered  among  the  nations.  Remember  them, 
O  Lord,  in  Thine  infinite  mercy — grant  them  rest  and  peace  in 
Thy  eternal  kingdom,  and  enable  us,  the  surviving,  so  to  use 
the  blessings  which  have^  been  secured  to  us  by  their  blood, 
that  we  may  be  a  people  whose  God  is  the  Lord  Jehovah,  and 
evermore  serve  Thee  in  holiness  and  righteousness  through 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  Amen. 

Hymn — "In  Memoriam."    Eight  voices. 

Hon.  H ALBERT  E.  PAINE  was  then  introduced,  who  read  the 
following  dedicatory  address  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  at  Gettysburg : 
Fourscore  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers  brought  forth 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.         25 

upon  this  continent  a  new  nation,  conceived  in  liberty,  and 
dedicated  to  the  proposition  that  all  men  are  created  equal. 
Now  we  are  engaged  in  a  great  civil  war,  testing  whether  that 
nation,  or  any  nation  so  conceived  and  so  dedicated,  can  long 
endure.  We  are  met  on  a  great  battle-field  of  that  war.  We 
are  met  to  dedicate  a  portion  of  it  as  the  final  resting-place  of 
those  who  here  gave  their  lives  that  that  nation  might  live.  It 
is  altogether  fitting  aiid  proper  that  we  should  do  this. 

l>ut,  in  a  larger  sense,  we  cannot  dedicate,  we  cannot  con- 
secrate, we  cannot  hallow  this  ground.  The  brave  men,  living 
and  dead,  who  struggled  here,  have  consecrated  it  far  above  em- 
power to  add  or  detract.  The  world  will  little  note,  nor  long 
remember,  what  we  say  here,  but  it  can  never  forget  what  they 
did  here.  It  is  for  us,  the  living,  rather,  to  be  dedicated  here 
to  the  unfinished  work  that  they  have  thijs  far  so  nobly  carried 
on.  It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here  dedicated  to  the  great  task 
remaining  before  us — that  from  these  honored  dead  we  take 
increased  devotion  to  the  cause  for  which  'they  here  gave  the 
hist  full  measure  of  devotion — that  we  here  highly  resolve  that 
the  dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain — that  the  nation  shall, 
under  God,  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom,  and  that  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people,  shall  not 
perish  from  the  earth. 

The  Committee  on  T3ecorations,  with  the  children  of  the 
Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Orphan  Asylum  then  deployed  and  took 
position  at  the  different  stands  of  flowers  and  flags,  and  pro- 
d  at  once  to  the  decoration  of  the  graves  throughout  the 
cemetery,  strewing  flowers  and  raising  miniature  flags  over  the 
graves. 

The  friends  in  attendance  were  at  liberty  to  stroll  through 
the  grounds  during  these  last  services. 

The  bands  relieved  each  other  in  playing  appropriate  music. 

A  National  Salute  was  fired  from  the  front  of  Arlington 
Mansion  during  these  ceremonies. 

CLOSING  EXERCISES. 

The  band  played  the  Star-Spangled  Banner  as  a  signal  that 
the  decoration  ceremony  wras  ended  aiid  as  an  invitation  to  the 
friends  in  attendance  to  return  to  the  stand. 

Prayer  and  Benediction  was  offered  by  Rev.  C.  B.  BOYN- 
TOX,  D.  D. : 


26  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Almighty  and  Eternal  One,  God  of  our  fathers,  and  ours 
also,  as  we  humbly  trust ;  through  Jesus  Christ,  our  High 
Priest,  we  approach  Thy  throne  and  thank  Thee  for  this  solemn 
yet  joyful  hour.  We  rejoice  that  Thou  hast  permitted  us,  in 

-mile  of  this  spring  morning,  to  gather  here  over  the  ashes 
of  our  dead  heroes,  and  by  these  beautiful  and  impressive  cere- 
monies hallow  afresh  their  already  consecrated  graves. 

AVe  know  that  no  tribute  of  ours  can  reach  these  sleepers 
now.  AVe  can  add  no  lustre  to  the  crowns  they  wear,  but  we 
pray  and  trust  that  through  these  offerings  our  own  souls  may 
be  retined  and  ennobled.  We  come  to  mourn  over  a  great 
national  calamity,  which  partially  and  temporarily  rent  our 
Kepublic  asunder,  drenched  the  land  with  blood,  dug  it  over 
for  graves,  and  brought  the  death  and  shadow  upon  thousands 
of  homes,  and  millions  of  hearts. 

We  confess  that  all  we  have  suffered  was  but  a  just  judg- 
ment for  our  national  sins  and  individual  transgressions,  and 
yet  in  Thy  great  mercy  Thou  didst  change  our  punishment  into 
blessing,  by  ridding  us  of  the  terrible  curse  of  slavery,  so  that 
in  the  agony  of  war  a  nobler  nation  was  bom,  consecrated  to 
universal  Christian  freedom. 

We  thank  Thee  that,  as  all  races  were  permitted  to  unite 
on  the  battle-field  for  the  defense  of  their  common  country,  so 
their  bodies  moulder  without  separation  here,  the  mingled  blood 
and  mingling  ashes  vindicating  the  common  humanity,  and  the 
flowers  we  throw  over  them,  and  the  tears  we  shed,  and  our 
pniises  and  prayers,  are  intended  alike  for  them  all. 

AVe  thank  Thee  that  while  we  stand  amid  these  thousands 
dead,  we  can  worship  Thee  as  the  God  not  of  the  dead,  but  of 
the  living,  and  above  our  funeral  dirge  we  hear  the  magnificent 
announcement,  "  I  am  the  resurrection  and  the  life." 

While  we  place  on  these  graves  our  flowers,  wet  with  the 
heart's  dew  of  tears,  we  remember  those  who  were  made 
mourners  by  our  battles.  We  offer,  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  our 
prayers  for  the  fathers  and  mothers  whose  sons  are  in  the  red 
grave  of  the  soldier,  for  those  widowed  ones  whose  aching 
hearts  have  heard  so  often  the  question,  "  Why  does  not  father 
come  ? "  and,  O  God  of  the  fatherless,  we  pray  for  those  orphans 
whose  fathers  went  and  returned  no  more.  To  all  these  grant 
the  abounding  consolations  of  Thy  spirit  and  the  cherishings 
of  Thy  love,  that  they  may  enjoy  all  needed  comforts  for  this 
present  life,  and  after  that  the  life  eternal. 

AVe  beseech  Thee,  O  God,  to  remember  in  great  mercy  that 
multitude  of  maimed  and  crippled  soldiers  who,  having'sacri- 
ficed  to  their  country  a  portion  of  the  body,  are  yet  sound  in 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  27 

heart  and  whole  in  spirit,  the  mangled  but  honored  and  honor- 
able relics  of  the  fight. 

Remember,  we  pray  Thee,  and  bless  with  needed  grace  all 
those  who  came  back  unscathed  from  the  battle,  and  who  are 
peacefully  performing  among  us  the  duties  of  the  loyal  citizen, 
feless  the  General  of  our  armies,  in  a  double  sense  a  chieftain 
now,  and  with  him  all  the  officers  of  the  Army  and  Navy. 
We  rejoice  in  all  the  honor  they  have  received,  add  Thou,  O 
Christ,  thine  own  nobler  record. 

And  now,  O  Holy  Spirit,  breathe  from  our  soldiers'  graves, 
that  over  the  land  have  received  to-day  the  baptism  of  tears 
and  flowers,  an  inspiration  that  shall  kindle  a  fresh  enthusiasm 
of  loyalty  to  our  nation,  to  truth,  to  freedom,  and  to  Christ, 
so  that  our  land  shall  present  unto  all  men  a  true  example  of 
Christian  civilization. 

Hasten  the  time  when  the  triumphs  of  peace  shall  be  more 
honorable  than  those  of  war,  and  the  sound  of  battle  shall  die 
away  forever  over  all  the  earth.  "  Thy  Kingdom  come :  Thy 
will  be  done  in  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven  :  for  Thine  is  the  king- 
dom, and  the  power,  and  the  glory  forever."  Amen. 


. — In  addition  to  the  ceremonies  at  Arlington,  the 
Committees  decorated  the  graves  at  Alexandria  and  Soldiers' 
Home  and  Fort  Stevens,  and  also  the  graves  of  Generals  Reno, 
Griffin,  and  Plummer,  and  Lieutenant  Meigs  and  other  soldiers' 
graves  at  the  Georgetown  Cemetery. 


OFFICIAL   CORRESPONDENCE. 

Q.  M.  GENERAL'S  OFFICE,      ) 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  May  22,  1868.  J 

DEAE  SIR  :  Your  favor  of  21st  inst.,  covering  copies  of 
General  Orders,  No.  11,  G.  A.  R.,  having  reference  to  the 
decoration  of  the  graves  of  Union  Soldiers  on  the  30th  inst., 
is  at  hand,  and  I  beg  you  to  accept  my  thanks  for  the  same.  • 

This  department  is  quite  anxious  that  all  the  graves  of  de- 
ceased Union  Soldiers  throughout  the  country  shall  receive  the 
same  care  and  attention  which  has  been  bestowed  upon  those 
in  the  neighborhood  of  this  city  ;  and  if,  on  your  approach- 
ing celebration,  any  places  should  be  noticed,  containing  such 
graves  in  a  neglected  condition,  it  would  be  considered  a  favor 
at  this  office,  if  information  of  the  same  should  be  at  once  for- 
warded to  the  Quartermaster  General,  in  order  that  all  the 


28  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

graves  in  the  United  States  may  receive  such  improvements  as 
Congress  has  authorized. 

TL-.v  aro  no  appropriations  for  the  purchase  ol  statues, 
momim.-nts,  or  exotic  shrubs;  but  good  grass,  well-gravelled 
walks  native  trees,  neat  head-boards,  and  a  substantial  enclos- 
ure, have  been  provided  for,  and  will  be  established  wherever 
Government  is  made  aware  of  the  existence  of  the  graves. 

You  will  confer  a  favor  by  communicating  this  information 
to  the  Headquarters  of  the  G.  A.  R,  if  convenient  to  you. 
Your  obedient  servant, 

C.  W.  FOLSOM, 

Bvt.  Col.  A.  Q.  M.  U.  S.  V., 

In  charge  of  the  Division  of  Cemeteries,  Q.  M.  G.  0. 
JAMES  T.  SMITH, 

Comd'g  Dept.  G.  A.  R., 

No.  446  14th  Street,  Washington,  D.  C. 

Q.  M.  GENERAL'S  OFFICE,      ) 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  May  25,  1868.  j" 

SIR:  You  are  respectfully  informed  that  your  application 
to  the  Secretary  of  War,  with  reference  to  the  proposed  cere- 
monies of  the  G.  A.  B.,  at  the  National  Cemeteries  on  the 
30th  inst.,  has  been  referred  to  this  office  by  the  Hon.  Secre- 
tary of  War,  and  Bvt.'  Brig.-General  J.  C.  McFerrau,  Chief 
Q.  M.  Department  of  Washington,  has  this  day  been  directed 
to  have  the  cemeteries  under  his  charge  open  on  that  day,  and 
to  give  all  facilities  at  his  disposal  to  the  G.  A.  R.,  for  their 
patriotic  purpose. 

Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

D.  W.  EUOKKR, 

Acfg  Q.  M.  General,  Bvt.  Haj. -General  U.  S.  A. 
JAMES  T.  SMITH, 

Comd'g  Dept.  of  the  Potomac,  G.  A.  R., 

No.  446  14th -Street,  Washington,  D.  C. 


OFFICE  OF  PUBLIC  BUILDINGS,  GROUNDS,  AND  WORKS,  ) 
WASHINGTON,  May  29,  1868.      ) 

General  N.  P.  CHIPMAN, 

CKn  Com.  of  Arrangements,  Memorial  Celebration  : 
GENERAL  :  In  compliance  with  a  resolution  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  of  the  27th  instant,  instructing  me  to  prepare 
and  transmit,  so  far  as  practicable,  to  each  of  the  National 
Union  Soldiers'  Cemeteries,  selections  of  flowers  from  all  the 
public  gardens  for  the  purpose  of  decorating  the  graves  of  the 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  29 

brave  and  honored  dead,  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that 
all  that  can  be  gathered  from  those  sources  will  be  placed  at 
the  disposal  of  the  Committee  of  Arrangements  for  the  very 
laudable  object  for  which  they  are  intended.  In  addition  to 
those  supplied  for  the  National  Cemeteries  in  the  neighborhood 
of  this  city,  a  small  box  has  been  sent  to  each  of  those  at 
Gettysburg,  Fredericksburg,  Petersburg,  Winchester,  and  Bal- 
timore. The  several  gentlemen  in  charge  of  the  different  Pub- 
lic Grounds,  other  than  those  under  my  own  immediate  charge, 
have  kindly  aided  me  by  their  contributions  in  assisting  so  far 
as  in  their  power  towards  the  very  interesting  memorial  cere- 
monies which  you  celebrate  to-morrow.  Regretting  exceedingly 
that  we  have  not  more  flowers  to  offer  on  this  interesting  occa- 
sion, with  which  to  strew  the  graves  of  the  brave  soldiers  in 
the  beautiful  cemeteries  near  us,  and  trusting  that  the  day  may 
prove  beautiful  and  bright, 

I  am,  General,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

N.    MlCHLER, 

Brevet  Brigadier-General ,  U.  S.  A. 


EXECUTIVE  MANSION,      ) 
WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  May  28,  1868.  ) 

The  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Arrangements  having 
requested  that  an  opportunity  may  be  given  to  those  employed 
in  the  several  Executive  Departments  of  the  Government  to 
unite  with  their  fellow-citizens  in  paying  a  fitting  tribute  to 
the  memory  of  the  brave  men  whose  remains  repose  in  the 
National  Cemeteries,  the  President  directs  that,  as  far  as  may 
be  consistent  with  law  and  the  public  interests,  persons  who 
desire  to  participate  in  the  ceremonies  be  permitted  to  absent 
themselves  from  their  duties  on  Saturday,  the  30th  instant. 
By  order  of  the  President : 

WM.  G.  MOORE,  Secretary. 


COMMITTEES. 


COMMITTEE  OF   ARRANGEMENTS. 

N.  P.  CHIPMAN,          A.  A.  HOSMER,          RICHARD  MIDDLETON,          TIMOTHY  LPBEY. 

T.  R.  HAWKINS,        JAMES  T.  SMITH,        GEORGK  SMOOT, 

HENRY  MOORE,        A.  GRANT,        A.  FLEETWOOD. 

COMMITTEE  ON  RECEPTION". 

W.  H.  BROWN,       H.  G.  OTIS,      CLINTON  LEWIS,       WILSON  MILLAR,      A.  X.  SKIP, 

L.  B.  CUTLER,        C.  C.  ROYCE,        D.  S.  CURTIS,        JAY  E.  LEE, 

A.  D.  BROCK,          C.  H.  MANNING. 


30 


MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 


COMMITTEE  ON  DECORATIONS.* 
The  Officers  and  Managers  of  the  Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Orphan  Asylum. 

AS     FOLLOWS    : 

MRS.  LYMAN  TRCMBULL,  President.  MRS.  COL.  E.  WEIGHT,  1st.  Vice  Prest, 

MRS.  CAPT.  C.  V.  MORRIS,  Secretary.  MRS.  DR.  LINDSLY,  2<l.Vice  Presl. 

MRS.  McNAiR,  Treasurer. 

MANAGERS. 

MRS.  GFN.  0.  0.  HOWARD,     MRS.  N.  B.  JUDD, 
MRS.  COMMODORE  POWELL,     MRS.  DR.  A.  HALL, 
MRS.  S.  BKCK,  Miss  MARY  FOOT, 

MBS.  E.  GILBERT,  Matron. 


MRS.  GEO.  W.  MCLELLAN, 
MRS.  SENATOR  RAMSEY. 

Miss  E.  CAMP,  Governess. 


Mrs.  Gen'l  Grant, 
Mrs.  Gen'l  J.  A.  Logan, 
Mrs.  Gen'l  J.  A.  Garfield, 
Mrs.  Gen'l  J.  C.  Coburn, 
Miss  Blanche  Butler, 
Mrs.  Senator  Pomeroy, 
Mrs.  Senator  Morgan, 
Mrs.  Geo.  W.  Julian, 
Mrs.  Judge  Spaulding, 
'Mrs.  A.  T.  Kimball, 
Mrs.  Dr.  T.  T.  Hood, 
Mrs.  G.  Wiley  Wells, 
Mrs.  Capt.  Moore, 
Mrs.  Judith  Plummer, 
Mrs.  B.  A.  Swann, 
Mrs.  D.  C.  Forney, 
Miss  Charlotte  Taylor, 
Mrs.  Senator  Wade, 
Mrs.  Senator  Harlan, 
Miss  Lizzie  Pratt, 
Miss  M.  A.  S.  Council, 
Miss  Mary  McLellan, 


Comrades 
H.  A.  Myers, 

Lemon, 

J.  H.  Stine, 
G.  Wiley  Wells, 
J.  W.  Lithgow, 
R.  F.  Ray, 
Charles  Wyman, 

Sullivan, 

Zabina  Ellis, 


TO     THESE    ARE     ADDED 

The  Misses  Doolittle, 
Mrs.  Gen'l  N.  P.  Chipman, 
Miss  Minnie  Chandler, 
Mrs.  Gen'l  Hancock, 
Mrs.  Gen'l  A.  F.  Stevens, 
Mrs.  J.  Benton, 
Miss  Merrill, 
Mrs.  Admiral  Radford, 
Mrs.  Gen'l  Dent, 
Mrs.  Dr.  Sunderland, 
Mrs.  Z.  C.  Robbins, 
Mrs.  A.  A.  Hosmer, 
Mrs.  T.  E.  Stewart, 
Mrs.  U.  H.  Painter, 
Mrs.  Frank  Moore, 
Miss  Boutwell, 
Mrs.  Charles  Sherrill, 
Mrs.  Gen'l  Michler, 
Mrs.  Gen'l  T.  Ewing, 
Miss  Mary  Harlan, 
The  Misses  Marvin, 
Mrs.  Senator  Grimes, 
Mrs.  Senator  Corbett, 

COMMITTEE   ON   GROUNDS.* 


Miss  Frelinghuysen, 
Mrs.  Col.  E.  Totten, 
Mrs.  Col.  Robinson, 
Mrs.  Gen'l  Zeilin, 
Mrs.  Bridge', 
Mrs,  J.  V.  L.  Pruyn, 
Mrs.  F.  A.  Dick, 
Mrs.  Mayor  Wallach, 
Mrs.  Admiral  Lee, 
Miss  Chase, 
Miss  Matthews, 
Mrs.  Mary  E.  Hill, 
Mrs.  Crounse, 
Miss  Kinzie, 
Mrs.  Bigelow, 
Timothy  Lubey, 
C.  W.Taylor, 
S.  R.  Harrington, 
Newton  Ferree, 
T.  F.  Gatchel, 
T.  A.  Stone, 
J.  0.  P.  Burnside. 


Comrades 
C.  S.  Hatch, 

Kartell, 

Charles  R.  Douglass, 
M.  D.  Overacker, 
Jas.  Green, 
Geo.  Dixon, 

Bassore, 

A.  H.  F.  Hain, 
J.  Smith, 


Comrades 

Brown, 

Cooper, 

B.  A.  Swann, 

Junifer, 

John  Reeves, 

Hudson, 

L.  Vanderpool, 
J.  Tines. 


COMMITTEK  TO  RAISE  FUNDS.* 
J.  P.  Lothrop,  C.  V.  Petteys,  W.  T.  Collins, 

*  There  were  many  ladies  whose  names  are  not  here  given  who  rendered  valuable 
assistance,  for  which  the  Committee  feel  grateful. 

There  may  be  some  names  omitted  by  mistake  from  the  several  Committees 
iiimttees  are  not  given,  as  the  names  are  mislaid,  but  it  is  proper  to  say 
that  comrades  and  friends  rendered  all  needed  assistance,  whether  on  Committees  or 
not,  and  the  success  of  the  occasion  is  largely  due  to  them. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  31 

J.  W.  Lithgow,  G.  Willey  Wells,  Z.  Ellis, 

J.  H.  Stria,  Allen  Wright,  Frank  Wyman, 

A.  P.  Caton,  C.  C.  Parker,  N.  B.  Fithian, 

Newtcm  Ferrer,  Henry  Moore,  Wm,  DeHolt, 

G.  W.  rfmoot,  G.  W.  Randall,  Charles  T.  Wyman. 
Richard  F.  Ray, 


AT    CuLPErPER,    YlKGINIA. 

Tlie  day  was  observed  here  by  two  ex-soldiers  of  the  repub- 
lic and  the  loyal  colored  people  of  the  place.  At  12  M.  the 
colored  school  of  Mrs.  A.  P.  MacNulty  (formerly  of  Scarboro, 
Maine)  were  formed  in  twos  to  the  number  of  one  hundred,  and 
with  bouquets  and  wreaths  of  beautiful  flowers  proceeded  in 
good  order,  and  with  solemn  pace,  to  the  beautiful  United 
States  Cemetery,  where  repose  the  remains  of  about  two  thou- 
sand of  the  gallant  defenders  of  the  nation's  honor,  and  there 
those  sable  loyalists  with  two  white  United  States  soldiers,  one 
of  whom  was  accompanied  by  his  wife,  son,  and  mother,  gath- 
ered around  the  staff  from  which  floated  gracefully  and  proudly 
the  emblem  of  our  nationality. 

It  was  a  day  well  befitting  the  occasion,  and  all  seemed,  to 
realize  the  tender  yet  sacred  and  cheerful  duties  they  were 
about  to  perform.  The  ceremonies  here  commenced  by  a 
prayer  from  the  Rev.  H.  Blair,  the  colored  Baptist  clergyman 
of  this  place,  and  was  followed  by  Mrs.  A.  P.  MaclSTulty,  who 
read  a  beautiful  poem  selected  from  Mrs.  Browning's  book,  en- 
titled "  Poems  of  the  Intellect  and  Affection,"  the  selection  be- 
ing "  He  giveth  his  beloved  sleep,"  which  was  read  with  much 
feeling  and  effect.  Captain  "W.  A.  MacNulty,  late  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  Volunteers,  orator  of  the  day,  then  delivered  the 
following  appropriate  address : 

COMRADES  AND  FRIENDS  :  We  have  assembled  here  to-day  to 
perform  a  sad,  yet  sacred,  and,  I  trust,  a  cheerful  duty.  Sad 
because  we  mourn  with  those  who  mourn  to-day  the  loss  of  those 
who  sleep  so  well  within  this  beautiful  enclosure.  We  are  here 
to  take  the  places  of  absent  friends  and  the  loved  ones  of  the 
dear  departed,  therefore  it  should  be,  and  is,  a  sacred  duty,  and 
I  trust  it  will  be  well  and  cheerfully  performed.  Let  us  deco- 
rate the  humble  mounds  of  these,  the  nation's  benefactors,  with 
beautiful  spring  flowers,  which  show  at  once  our  respect  and 
tender  affection. 


32  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

These  brave  men  left  home  and  all  that  was  dear  to  tliem, 
wife,  children,  father,  mother,  sisters,  and  brothers,  breaking  all 
the  ti-ii'i-  affection  that  bound  them  to  home,  and  went 

forth  and  did  battle  and  died  that  this  nation  and  its  free  insti- 
tutions might  live.  Perform  your  duties  here  to-day,  and  by 
your  act*  endeavor  to  keep  green  the  memories  of  the  heroic 
dead,  and  the  dear  friends  of  these  loved  and  cherished  ones 
will  weep  tears  of  gratitude  when  they  shall  hear  of  your  ten- 
der care  and  devotion  for  those  whose  heroic  deeds  have  resulted 
in  your  liberation  irom  bondage  and  cruel  oppression. 

On  the  left-hand  side  are  to  be  found  the  names  of  those 
who  sleep  beneath ;  those  who  are  known  according  to  the  in- 
scription above  their  heads.  Their  names  are  not  only  recorded 
upon  yonder  humble  board,  but  are  also  recorded  in  the  hearts 
of  those  who  love  the  cause  for  which  they  fought  and  died. 
The  names  and  gallant  deeds  of  those  brave  men  will  be 
brought  down  with  enduring  lustre,  to  future  generations,  when 
you  and  1  shall  sleep  beneath  the  silent  tomb.  And  while  ten- 
derly performing  your  sacred  duties,  remember  also  the  un- 
known who  lie  here  on  your  right.  Ah !  how  sad  the  thoughts 
that  well  up  from  our  hearts  and  almost  choke  our  utterance  as 
we  think  of  thousands  of  patriots  who  fill  unknown  graves. 
More  than  one-half  that  are  interred  here  are  unknown !  No 
friends  are  here  to-day  to  call  by  name  those  noble  patriots,  and 
we  fancy  we  hear  the  poor  widow  and  fatherless  children,  when 
asked  where  are  the  remains  of  the  loved  one,  say,  "unknown, 
unknown."  We  think  also  of  the  sadness  that  to-day  fills  the 
hearts  of  many  a  household  throughout  the  North  as  they  think 
of  the  loved  ones  who  fill  unknown  graves.  But  the  names  of 
those  who  wifh  patriotic  zeal  went  forth  to  battle  for  the  right, 
are  recorded  not  only  in  the  archives  of  their  several  States,  but 
in  the  hearts  of  all  true  patriots  throughout  this  Republic ;  and 
their  names  are  known,  though  the  locality  of  their  graves  may 
not  be  pointed  out ;  and  the  memories  of  those  who  never  re- 
turned will  ever  be  preserved  by  a  grateful  people.  Decorate 
their  graves  with  tender  care  and"  aifection,  and  send  up  a 
prayer  that  their  friends  may  all  meet  them  in  that  bright 
world  where  all  is  peace. 

Then  followed  the  decoration  of  the  graves.  After  singing 
"Brothers,  will  you  meet  us,"  and  the  "Star-Spangled  Ban- 
ner," the  party  re-formed  and  returned  to  their  place  of  meet- 
ing, and  were  there  dismissed.* 

*  This  account  was  communicated  to  the  Maine  Press,  by  a  ONE-ARMED  YANKEE. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  33 

AT  WINCHESTER,  VIRGINIA. 

The  following  account  of  the  ceremonies  at  Winchester  waa 
prepared  by  Charles  H.  Tiepel,  Hospital  Steward  of  the  United 
States  army : 

Being  the  only  member  of  our  organization  here,  I  had  to 
seek  aid  in  fulfilling  G.  O.  No.  11  in  a  proper  manner.  Mr. 
Cra^ne,  a  former  (N.  H.)  soldier,  and  now  editor  of  the  ^Win- 
chester Journal,  and  his  patriotic  lady,  fully  entered  in  the 
spirit  of  the  object,  and  the  latter,  especially,  worked  hard  to 
make  the  undertaking  successful.  Several  meetings  were  held, 
and — flowers  being  very  scarce — it  was  resolved  to  make  wreaths 
of  pine,  cedar,  and  boxwood.  Colonel  Franklin,  commanding 
this  place,  kindly  gave  us  a  team,  and  the  soldiers  helped,  to 
their  full  ability,  in  hauling  the  material  and  making  the 
wreaths.  A  room  was  taken  at  the  courthouse,  and  for  a  week 
a  number  of  ladies,  helped  by  the  soldiers,  would  daily  sit  and 
make  wreaths.  Another  party  was  at  my  house,  and  by  Satur- 
day morning  we  had  about  1,200  wreaths  made,  besides  large 
streamers  for  the  flag-pole  of  the  cemetery  and  for  the  gate. 
The  latter  was  especially  decorated  with  large  flags  and  a  num- 
ber of  small  ones  (for  which  we  had  to  send  to  Baltimore,  there 
being  none  for  sale  here). 

The  weather,  which  for  a  week  had  been  very  bad,  changed 
on  Saturday  night,  and  the  day  was  beautiful,  to  the  great  dis- 
appointment of  the  rebels,  who  had  predicted  us  a  bad  day. 

On  Saturday  morning,  Lieut.  Cluley,  2d  Inf.,  engaged,  at 
his  own  expense,  the  Winchester  Band  (partly  composed  of 
rebel  soldiers),  and,  at  2  p.  M.,  the  troops  (Co.  H,  21st  Inf.),  in 
full  uniform  and  side  arms,  preceded  by  the  band,  and  followed 
by  all  the  Union  people  of  the  town,  carrying  wreaths,  flowers, 
and  some  choice  bouquets,  marched  to  the  cemetery. 

Arrived  here,  the  exercises  were  opened  with  a  prayer  by 
the  Kev.  Mr.  Ward,  of  the  M.  E.  Church  North,  followed  by  a 
hymn  (with  melodeon  accompaniment)  sung  by  the  choir  of  said 
church.  Mr.  Crane  then  made  a  short  address.  After  a  few 
explanatory  remarks  about  the  G.  A.  E-.,  he  read  G.  O.  No.  11, 
and  at  my  request,  thanked  the  loyal  people  of  Winchester,  in 
the  name  of  the  G.  A.,  for  their  etforts  to  make  this  ceremony 
a  success,  and  urged  them  not  to  forget  our  fallen  heroes  in 
future,  but  to  renew  this  offering  every  year.  He  then  request- 
ed the  soldiers  to  hand  the  wreaths  (which  had  previously  been 
taken  to  the  cemetery)  to  the  ladies,  who  would  hang  them  on 
the  head-boards  of  the  graves,  while  the  band  played  several 
patriotic  airs.  When  all  the  wreaths  were  distributed,  the  dox- 
3 


34  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

ology  was  sung,  and  we  went  home,  much  pleased  with  our  un- 
dertaking. 

The  ceremony  was  a  complete  success,  and  iar  exceeded  our 
most  sanguine  hopes.  The  rebels  had  predicted  that  perhaps  a 
dozen  people  would  go  to  the  cemetery,  but  there  seemed  to  be 
a  general  determination  of  the  loyal  people  to  show  the  rebels 
their  strength  and  number.  The  crowd  was  so  great  that  every- 
body was  astonished,  and  expressed  their  surprise  that  t^re 
really  are  so  many  hundred  of  good  and  loyal  people  in  this 
town. 

Thus,  not  only  was  the  letter  and  spirit  of  General  Logan's 
order  fulfilled,  but  it  was  most  pleasing  to  all  the  Union  people, 
because  it  was  the  first  "social"  (if  I  may  so  style  it)  gathering 
of  the  loyal  people  of  this  town  ;  and  besides  showing  us  "  who 
is  who,"  it  will  greatly  tend  to  remove  many  little  previous 
jealousies,  etc.,  and  bring  them  closer  together  for  the  further- 
ance of  the  Union  cause. 

AT  YORKTOWN,  VIRGINIA. 

GENERAL  :  I  have  the  honor  to  report  that  proper  respect 
was  paid  at  the  "  U.  S.  National  Cemetery  "  at  this  place,  on 
Saturday,  May  30th,  1868,  in  accordance  with  your  orders. 

Owing  to  the  small  number  of  inhabitants  in  this  neighbor- 
hood, our  gathering  was  not  as  large  as  I  would  have  wished, 
but  those  that  are  here,  vied  with  each  other  in  paying  honor 
to  the  departed  heroes  ;  most  particularly  the  ladies,  of  whom 
I  may  specially  mention  Mrs.  S.  A.  Bent,  Mrs.  Dr.  E.  R.  Carey, 
Mrs.  Capt.  Rogers,  Mrs.  I.  L.  "Waterman,  and  Mrs.  Cohen,  who, 
with  Mrs.  T.  L.  Alston,  added  their  very  bountiful  offerings  to 
the  nearly  sixteen  hundred  fallen,  whose  bones  lie  mouldering 
here. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  General,  very  respectfully,  your 
obedient  servant, 

THOS.  L.  ALSTON. 

1st  Lt.  Co.  "  A  "  21ri  U.  S.  /.,  and  Bvt.  Capt.  U.  8.  A. 
Commanding  Detachment. 

Comrade  G.  A.  B.     B.  3  M. 
Maj.-Gen'l  JOHN  A.  LOGAN, 
Com'd'r-in-Chief  G.  A.  R., 
Washington,  D.  C. 

AT  WHEELING,  WEST  VIRGINIA. 

In  compliance  with  General  Orders  issued  from  Headquar- 
ters at  Washington  City,  Post  No.  4,  Department  of  West 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.         35 

Virginia,  G.  A.  R.,  decorated  the  graves  of  soldiers  who  fell 
in  defence  of  liberty  and  were  buried  in  the  several  cemeteries 
in  and  near  the  city  of  Wheeling.  The  demonstration  was  a 
successful  one  in  every  respect.  Almost  the  entire  population 
of  the  city,  friends  as  well  as  foes,  turned  out,  and  the  old  fires 
of  patriotism  that  burned  so  brightly  during  the  war,  were  re- 
lit and  shone  forth  with  added  brilliancy. 

At  3  o'clock  P.  M.,  a  detachment  of  the  Grand  Army,  for- 
merly members  of  Capt.  Carlin's  Battery  of  Light  Artillery, 
commenced  firing  minute  guns  from  the  hill  near  Mount  Wood 
Cemetery,  known  as  "  King's  Flat,"  which  a  few  years  since 
was  given  to  the  State  by  Capt.  John  McClure,  Jr.,  in  order 
that  a  monument  to  West  Virginia  soldiers  might  be  erected 
thereon.  At  this  place  the  stand  for  the  speakers  was  erected. 
The  firing  continued  until'  the  arrival  of  the  procession,  when 
the  gun  was  withdrawn  to  make  room. 

The  procession  was  nearly  half  a  mile  in  length,  and  was 
composed  of  Vass'  Brass  Band ;  battle  and  regimental  flags 
of  West  Virginia  regiments,  tattered  and  torn  with  the  shot 
and  shell  of  many  a  hard  conflict  through  which  they  had  been 
bravely  -borne  ;  Comrades  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic 
— West  Virginia  soldiers  wearing  the  elegant  medals  presented 
to  them  by  the  State,  and  all  displaying  white  satin  badges 
bearing  the  conspicuous  letters,  "  G.  A.  ~R. ; "  soldiers  not  mem- 
bers of  the  G.  A.  R. ;  officers  of  the  State  Government  and  the 
Legislature ;  the  Mayor,  and  City  Council  [not  many  out]  ; 
Clayton's  Drum  Corps ;  Good  Templars,  and  citizens  generally, 
on  foot,  on  horseback,  and  in  carriages.  After  forming  on 
Fourth  street,  the  right  resting  on  Monroe,  the  column  moved 
by  way  of  Monroe,  Market,  Union,  Maine,  and  Washington 
streets,  and  the  National  'Road,  to  the  level  spot  of  ground 
previously  mentioned,  where  the  stand  had  been  erected.  It 
was  here  halted  by  the  Marshal,  Gen.  B.  F.  Kelley,  and  formed, 
the  band  playing  a  lively  air  in  the  meantime. 

The  stand,  which  was  appropriately  draped  with  regimental 
and  other  flags,  was  occupied  by  the  orators  of  the  occasion, 
Rev.  W.  M.  Mullenix,  of  the  M.  E.  Church ;  Hon.  Benjamin 
Stanton,  of  the  city ;  His  Excellency,  Gov.  Boreman ;  and 


36  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Attorney-General  Melvin  (member  of  the  G.  A.  K.) ;  also, 
his  Honor,  the  Mayor  of  the  City;  Hon's.  Stevenson  and 
McWhorter,  President  of  the  Senate  and  Speaker  of  the 
House,  respectively ;  Kev.  J.  T.  M'Clure,  of  the  United  Pres- 
byterian Chnrch ;  Rev.  Mr,  Clark,  of  the  M.  E.  Church ;  Capt. 
Carlin,  Commander  of  Post  No.  4,  Department  of  W.  Va.,  G. 
A.  R.,  and  others  of  less  note. 

Everything  being  ready,  a  fervent  prayer  was  offered  up 
by  Rev.  Mr.  M'Clure.  Captain  Carlin  then,  in  a  few  sentences, 
unpretending  but  directly  to  the  point,  explained  the  object  of 
the  celebration,  and  concluded  by  introducing  the  Rev.  W.  M. 
Mullenix,  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  who  came  forward  and  said : 

Pericles,  whose  name  is  inseparably  associated  with  all  that 
is  illustrious  in  eloquence  and  legislation,  in  his  celebrated 
oration  over  the  Athenian  soldiers  who  had  fallen  in  the  Pelo- 
ponessian  war,  affirmed  it  to  be  "a  debt  of  justice  to  pay 
superior  honors  to  those  who  had  devoted  their  lives  in  fight- 
ing for  their  country."  Inspired  by  this  sentiment,  we  are 
assembled  to-day  to  honor  the  memory  of  the  gallant  men 
who  fell  in  the  defense  of  the  Republic,  and  who  now  sleep  in 
yonder  sacred  depository  of  the  dead. 

Their  magnificent  public  services,  and  the  splendid  example 
of  patriotism  which  they  displayed,  entitle  them  not  merely  to 
these  ephemeral  decorations,  and  to  our  poor  tribute  of  praise, 
but  to  the  gratitude  of  every  friend  of  human  freedom  in  all 
the  world.  Through  the  long  and  fearful  tempest  which  threat- 
ened the  subversion  of  our  beautiful  federation  and  the  over- 
throw of  our  homes  and  our  altars,  these  men  who  now  repose 
in  serene  graves  abandoned  the  endearments  of  domestic  life, 
the  rewards  of  devotion  to  business,  and  the  cherished  privileges 
of  the  sanctuary  of  religion  to  stand,  like  a  wall  of  adamant, 
between  us  and  the  foe.  They  paused  at  no  sacrifice,  and  hesi- 
tated at  no  peril,  that  the  inestimable  boon  of  republican  lib- 
erty might  be  preserved  and  perpetuated  in  the  earth.  They 
were  types  of  a  noble  and  chivalrous  manhood,  almost  without 
a  parallel  in  human  history.  Through  severe  and  unexpected 
reverses,  sad  and  unlooked-for  defections,  unfortunate  and  un- 
generous rivalries  even  in  the  face  of  the  enemy,  and  long  and 
almost  hopeless  campaigns,  they  manifested  a  courage,  a  self- 
forgetfulness,  and  a  devotion  to  their  country  which  was  never 
equalled  in  Grecian  or  Roman  annals. 

The  peerless  leader  of  the  American  people  in  our  colonial 
struggle  for  independence,  he  who  towered  above  all  the  men 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  37 

of  his  time  in  personal  character,  in  elevation  of  mind,  an 
the  splendor  of  his  public  services,  said,  when  he  receive( 
sword  of  Lord  Cornwallis,  to  his  heroic  and  jubilant  a.^y, 
"  Don't  shout  over  a  fallen  foe.  Let  future  generations  do  our 
shouting  for  us."  Washington,  and  all  whom  he  led  to  the 
fray,  are  in  the  dust,  but  a  grateful  Republic  holds  him  and 
them  in  grateful  remembrance.  These  heroic  men,  who  have 
laid  down  their  arms  forever,  and  now  sleep  the  sleep  which 
shall  only  be  broken  by  the  reveille  of  the  resurrection,  will  be 
honored  while  the  nation  endures  or  liberty  has  an  advocate  in 
all  the  world. 

Yonder  our  braves  are  at  rest.  In  that  ground,  hallowed  as 
the  abode  of  the  cherished  dead,  their  bodies  repose,  but  their 
fame  is  not  buried.  The  deeds  which  made  them  immortal ; 
the  fields  over  which  they  rang  out  the  Anglo  Saxon  battle- 
cry,  and  which  were  consecrated  by  their  blood  ;  and  the  coun- 
try's records,  where  their  names  and  services  are  enshrined, 
cannot  be  destroyed  forever. 

"  On  fame's  eternal  camping  ground 

Their  silent  tents  are  spread, 
Wliile  glory  guards  with  solemn  round 
The  bivouac  of  the  dead." 

In  London,  the  commercial  metropolis  of  the  world,  is  a  mag- 
nificent structure  dedicated  to  Christians.  In  a  remote  corner 
of  that  colossal  edifice,  is  a  plain  tablet,  bearing  this  inscrip- 
tion :  "  Beneath  lies  Christopher  "Wren,  the  architect  of  this 
church  and  city,  who  lived  more  than  ninety  years,  not  for  him- 
self alone,  but  for  the  public  ;  would  you  see  his  monument, 
look  around."  No  sculptured  marble  or  polished  brass  rises  to 
perpetuate  their  fame  and  transmit  the  story  of  their  valor  to 
those  who  are  to  come  after  us.  Would  you  see  their  monu- 
ment, a  monument  magnificent  and  imperishable — look  around. 
It  is  the  great  Republic  which  they  preserved  and  baptised  with 
heroic  blood. 

The  Hon.  Mr.  Stanton  was  next  introduced,  and  delivered  a 
very  appropriate  and  beautiful  speech,  saying  the  occasion  for 
this  assemblage  was  an  eminently  proper  and  sufficient  one,  and 
his  whole  heart  was  in  it.  He  had  had  no  leisure  to  prepare  for 
it,  but  under  such  circumstances  as  the  present  it  was  perhaps 
better  that  no  preparation  should  be  made,  as  then  the  untu- 
tored feelings  of  the  heart  would  be  more  likely  to  find  their 
way  to  expression.  He  spoke  feelingly  and  proudly  of  the, 
soldiers  who  had  fought  in  the  war.  They  were  not  men  of^ 
such  stuff  as  armies  are  usually  composed  of,  but  patriots  who 
took  their  lives  in  their  hands  and  went  forth  to  do  utmost  bat- 


462156 


88  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 


tie  for  the  right — that  they  and  those  who.  succeeded 
uiiirht  enjoy  the  inestimable  blessing  of  liberty.     Every 


them 

enjoy  the  inestimable  blessing  of  liberty,  .fcvery^man 
who  knew  anything,  knew  that  the  rank  and  file  of  the  Union 
army  did  not  enter  it  for  the  sake  of  position  or  profit,  but  be- 
cjiiiK-  their  country  was  threatened  with  overthrow.  A  gigantic 
rebellion  seeking  the  destruction  of  the  Government  and  the 
it  principles  upon  which  it  is  based,  every  man  felt  that  he 
did  but  perform  a  most  sacred  duty  in  giving  no  rest  to  his  feet 
until  that  rebellion  was  crushed  out.  The  very  large  attendance 
which  he  s;iw  before  him,  furnished  indisputable  evidence  that 
patriotism  still  lived  and  the  course  of  these  men  was  under- 
stood and  approved.  But  the  full  force  of  their  deeds  could 
not  be  appreciated  now.  The  generations  to  come,  enjoying 
the  full  results  of  what  they  have  done,  will  look  upon  them 
with  eyes  different  from  ours.  They  have  worked  a  mighty 
revolution,  a  complete  change  in  the  whole  social  condition  of -a 
great  people,  and  the  undying  regard  that  posterity  shall  have 
for  them  will  constitute  their  most  fitting  monument.  Looking 
around,  the  speaker  said  it  seemed  as  though  this  spot  had  been 
created  for  the  express  purpose  of  commemorating  those  who 
had  fallen  in  the  field.  Here  was  West  Virginia,  the  child  of 
revolution,  born  at  the  beginning  of  war,  rocked  in  the  tempest 
of  battle,  and  grown  strong  from  the  human  blood  which  had 
drenched  her  soil.  Here  was  the  spot  on  which  a  State  was  to 
erect  a  monument  to  the  fame  of  her  dead  heroes.  These  hon- 
ors, then,  were  not  only  fitting,  but  a  necessary,  patriotic  duty. 
They  would  make  stronger  the  memory  of  after  days  which  is 
one  of  the  tributes  humanity  pays  to  those  who  have  died  in 
their  country's  defence ;  and  thus,  like  Ireland's  shamrock,  which 
though  underground,  will  flourish  still,  their  names  and  fame 
would  remain  ever  green. 

Gov.  Boreman  spoke  next,  and  said  lie  would  not  detain  the 
assembly  with  any  extended  remarks,  but  would  endeavor  to 
confine  himself  within  the  range  of  local  affairs.  He  had  been 
pleased  to  learn,  a  few  days  since,  that  it  was  proposed  to  deco- 
rate the  graves  of  soldiers  buried  in  the  cemeteries  of  the  city. 
This  was  no  idle  ceremony.  This  ceremony  was  not  simply  for 
the  purpose  of  strewing  flowers  upon  the  graves  of  the  few 
soldiers  buried  here,  but  to  do  honor  to  their  memories  and 
those  of  the  three  hundred  thousand  men  whose  bodies  lie 
bleaching  on  a  hundred  battle-fields ;  who  died  in  hospital  of 
di.-rase  and  under  the  slow  torture  of  mortal  wounds  received 
from  shot  and  shell ;  and  who  died  that  most  cruel  death,  of 
starvation  in  the  rebel  prison-pens  of  the  South.  But  these 
men  died  not  in  vain.  When  the  first  gun  was  fired  from  Fort 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  39 

Sumter  at  rlie  unarmed  Star  of  the  "West,  the  people  of  Amer 
ica  were  aghast,  but,  thank  God !  only  for  a  moment.  Soon 
the  nation  rallied  its  hidden  strength.  These  men,  and  others, 
their  surviving  companions,  shouldered  their  muskets  and  with 
varying  success  swept,  back  the  strong  tide  of  secession,  until 
the  monster  was  overthrown  and  the  eternal  principle  of  free- 
dom firmly  established.  We  are  here  to  perform  a  duty  to 
these  men,  and  in  strewing  flowers  over  their  graves  we  but 
show  our  appreciation  of  those  who  died  in  defence  of  their 
country ;  who  died  in  the  overthrow  of  that  pestilent  doctrine 
which  originated  in  South  Carolina,  that  a  minority  of  slave- 
holders had  a  right  to  control  the  Government  for  their  own 
selfish  ends  so  long  as  it  pleased  them  so  to  do.  That  heresy, 
that  pestilent  doctrine  of  State's  rights,  was  sought  to  be  im- 
posed upon  this  people  in  the  interests  of  the  institution  of 
human  slavery  which  has  cursed  this  country ;  in  the  interests 
of  the  doctrine,  that  though  a  minority,  the  slaveholders  of  the 
South  had  the  right  to  rule  the  country.  We  are  here  to-day 
to  rejoice  in  the  fact  that  the  institution  in  whose  interests  the 
rebellion  was  waged,  has  now  gone  down.  The  ceremonies 
of  the  present  occasion  were  to  keep  green  in  mind  the  fame 
of  the  gallant  men  who  helped  to  bring  about  this  state  of 
things,  and  it  would  be  as  little  as  could  be  done  for  a  grateful 
people  to  corne  back  to  their  graves  year  after  year  and  pay 
annual  honor  to  their  memories. 

The  speaker  then  gave  a  history  of  the  contemplated  monu- 
ment to  West  Virginia  soldiers,  and  said  that  a  few  years  since 
we  had  pledged  ourselves  to  erect  this  monument,  and  the 
corner-stone  had  been  laid,  but  nothing  further  had  been  done 
since.  It  should  have  been  completed  by  this  time,  and  he  was 
here  to  ask  every  man  who  held  a  stake  in  the  welfare  of  his 
country  to  use  his  individual  efforts  to  have  the  tardy  honor 
done.  [Cries  of  "  We'll  do  it."  "  We'll  do  it."] 

The  concluding  address  was  made  by  Attorney-General 
Melvin,  who,  being  a  member  of  the  Grand  Army,  entered 
into  some  details  concerning  the  decoration  of  soldiers'  graves 
during  the  present  year,  and  the  purpose  of  the  organization 
with  regard  to  them  in  the  future.  Addressing  his  "  com- 
rades "  of  the  Grand  Army  and  the  rest  who  participated  in 
the  ceremonies  of  the  occasion,  he  said  : 

By  orders  from  the  headquarters  of  our  organization,  the 
30th  of  May  of  the  present  year  was  designated  as  a  day  for 
decorating  the  graves  of  those  who,  during  the  rebellion^  fell 


40  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

in  defense  of  the  nation's  life.  The  appropriateness  of  the 
c, •niih.ny  was  recognized  by  patriots  everywhere.  Thousands 
of  our  comrades,  and  many  thousands  of  our  friends,  took  an 
active  part  in  the  proceedings  that  marked  that  day.  Some 
of  the  posts,  however,  ours  among  the  number,  found  it  incon- 
venient to  observe  the  recommendation  at  the  designated  time, 
and  other  days  were  in  consequence  named  instead  ;  and  now, 
to-day,  Post  No.  4,  Department  of  West  Virginia,  has  been 
called  together  to  emulate  the  example  set  us  by  those  who 
have  already  acted  in  this  behalf. 

You  join  with  me,  comrades  and  friends^  in  believing  that 
the  ceremony  in  which  we  are  engaged  is  eminently  fitting  and 
appropriate.  In  all  the  ages  which  possess  a  history  we  read 
of  loving  hearts,  with  tender  hands,  planting  flowers  upon  the 
graves  of  dear  ones  gone  from  earth.  Flowers  have  ever 
formed  the  wreath  that  encircled  the  brow  of  the  living  hero 
whose  deeds  shed  lustre  on  his  country's  name ;  and  flowers 
have  ever  gurlanded  the  monument  erected  by  a  grateful  peo- 
ple to  mark  his  resting-place.  And  here  we  meet  to  honor  and 
freshen  the  memories  of  those  who  in  private  life  were  our 
loved  and  respected  associates ;  and  who,  in  the  storm  of  war, 
were  the  defenders  of  a  nation  in  peril.  We  meet  to  deck  the 
graves  of  Thoburn  and  of  Bier,  comrades  of  some  of  us  in  the 
office  and  in  the  tent,  and  whose  lives  went  out  through  wounds 
received  on  tljat  gray  October  morning  when  two  powerful 
armies  contended  with  varying  success  for  the  possession  of  the 
Valley  of  the  Shenandoah  ;  these  noble  souls,  with  others  who 
served  in  the  front  ranks  of  the  armies  of  the  nation  and  found 
their  list  camping  ground  in  this  city  of  the  dead,  merit  and 
shall  receive  the  incense  of  flowers  offered  by  surviving  friends. 

This  year  witnesses  the  inauguration  of  these  honors  to  the 
dead,  and  it  has  been  a  successful  inauguration.  The  interest 
has  not  been  confined  to  posts,  or  even  to  the  soldiers  who  have 
returned  to  peaceful  pursuits  and  are  again  simple  citizens  of 
the  Republic,  but  everywhere  patriotic  men  and  fair  women 
have  not  only  bestowed  kindly  thoughts  and  words,  but  have 
assisted  with  their  own  hands  in  the  work  of  love.  This  hearty 
compliance  on  the  part  of  the  members  of  our  order,  and  the 
earnest  cooperation  of  those  not  members,  have  received  a 
graceful  recognition  from  Congress,  and  have  determined  the 
Command er-in-Chief  of  our  order  to  recommend  to  the  next 
Grand  Encampment,  that  a  certain  day  be  set  apart  in  each 
year,  and  for  all  time,  as  a  grand  national  memorial  day. 

And  this  is  proper.  Let  the  30th  day  of  May,  in  each  re- 
curring year,  be  devoted  throughout  the  land  to  the  perpetua- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.         41 

tion  of  the  memories  of  the  three  hundred  thousand  men  who 
died  for  their  country,  and  let  their  surviving  companions, 
cheered  by  the  kindly  looks,  and  aided  by  the  willing  hands 
of  those  fair  friends  who  smile  upon  our  labors,  join  in  the 
ceremonies  befitting  the  occasion  ;  and  in  this  way  we  will  be 
reminded  of  the  sacrifices  made  by  the  heroic  dead,  and  of 
the  dangers  to  the  nation's  life  which  their  services  assisted  BO 
greatly  to  avert. 

The  addresses  having  been  concluded,  a  benediction  was 
pronounced  by  Rev.  Mr.  Clarke,  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  and  the 
procession  then  marched  to  the  cemetery.  Upon  entering  the 
gate  the  band  commenced  playing  a  dirge.  The  march  was 
conducted  by  the  winding  roads  leading  through  the  enclosure 
until  the  top  of  the  hill  was  reached,  where  a  halt  was  ordered 
and  parties  of  the  G.  A.  R.  distributed  themselves  through  the 
grounds  to  decorate  the  graves  marked  with  small  flags.  The 
utmost  care  had  been  used  by  the  committee  appointed  for  the 
purpose,  to  mark  all  the  graves  of  soldiers,  and,  we  believe, 
there  was  but  one  missed,  and  that  one  because  no  person 
could  be  found  to  indicate  it.  In  most  cases  friends  and  rela- 
tives had,  in  advance  of  the  members  of  the  Grand  Army, 
placed  wreaths  and  bouquets  upon  the  graves ;  and  we  may 
mention  here  that  the  grave  of  Colonel  Thoburn  was,  with  a 
happy  appropriateness,  decorate'd  with  a  wreath  of  flowers  and 
a  cross  of  moss,  gathered  from  the  farm  in  Belmont  county, 
Ohio,  where  he  was  born  and  bred.  And  while  the  graves  in 
Mount  Wood  were  being  thus  attended  to,  detachments  of 
the  Grand  Army,  who  had  been  sent  to  other  cemeteries,  were 
decorating  the  graves  of  the  soldiers  buried  in  them. 

The  ceremonies  having  been  completed,  the  bugle  sounded 
the  recall,  and  the  procession  reforming,  marched  back  to  the 
city. 

Thus  ended  a  demonstration  of  regard  for  those  who  fell 
during  the  war,  which  will  live  long  in  the  memories  of  those 
who  witnessed  it,  and  in  the  memories  of  those  who  are  to 
come  after  them. —  Wheeling  Intelligencer,  July  13,  1868. 

IN  CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 
In  this  county  nearly  every  town  had  its  gathering  for  the 


42  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

purpose  of  strewing  with  flowers  the  graves  of  those  patriotic 
men  who  gave  their  lives  for  their  country.  In  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  Keene  this  duty  was  performed  by  delegations  from 
Post  4,  G.  A.  R.,  aided  by  the  citizens.  At  Marlboro'  a  pro- 
cession'was  formed  and  marched  to  the  cemetery,  where  a 
prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  Mr.  Dexter,  who  also  made  an 
appropriate  address.  Flowers  were  very  liberally  contributed 
by  the  citizens,  and  the  graves  appropriately  decorated.  The 
arrangements  were  under  the  control  of  Col.  Nelson  Converse. 
At  Roxbury  the  arrangements  were  in  charge  of  Geo.  W.  Nye. 
The  services  commenced  with  a  prayer  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Col- 
burn,  who  also  delivered  a  short  address.  Remarks  were  also 
made  by  Seth  Kingsbury,  Col.  Converse,  and  others,  after 
which  the  graves  were  tastefully  decorated. 

At  Surry,  where  the  arrangements  were  in  charge  of  Capt. 
John  W.  Sturtevant,  a  prayer  was  made  by  Rev.  Win.  L.  Karr, 
of  Keene,  and  the  graves  decorated  by  the  committee  from  the 
Post.  A  large  number  of  the  citizens  were  present  at  the 
cemetery,  and  aided  in  the  decoration.  The  cemetery  near 
Mr.  Woodward's,  in  Surry,  was  also  visited  by  the  committee. 
Appropriate  services  were  held,  and  the  grave  of  John  G. 
Darling  decorated. 

A  committee  from  the  Post,  consisting  of  Horace  Starkey, 
Mr.  Foster,  and  L.  "W.  Starkey,  visited  Swansea  Centre.  On 
their  arrival  they  found  many  of  the  citizens  assembled  in  the 
cemetery.  Prayer  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Roberts,  who 
also  made  a  short  address,  after  which  the  graves  were  deco- 
rated. In  this  place  the  contribution  of  flowers  was  large. 
The  same  committee  also  visited  the  village  of  "West  Swansea, 
and  decorated  the  graves  of  soldiers  buried  in  the  cemetery  at 
that  place. 

At  Keene,  the  ceremonies  were  under  the  control  of  the 
Post.  A  procession  was  formed  at  3  p.  M.  near  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Post,  and,  preceded  by  the  Keene  Brass  Band, 
marched  directly  to  the  new  cemetery.  The  order  of  the  pro- 
cession was  as  follows :  1st,  Band ;  2d,  Post  formed  as  a  com- 
pany of  infantry ;  3d,  soldiers  and  sailors  not  members ;  4th, 
a  car  decorated  with  festoons  of  flowers,  wreaths,  crosses,  and 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  43 

bouquets,  drawn  by  a  span  of  white  horses ;  5th,  a  carriage 
containing  the  chaplain  and  orator  of  the  day ;  6th,  the  Board 
of  Engineers  ;  7th,  the  Deluge  Engine  Company ;  8th,  Nep- 
tune Engine  Company ;  9th,  Niagara  Company ;  10th,  Hook 
and  Ladder  Company ;  llth,  schools  ;  12th,  citizens  on  foot ; 
13th,  citizens  in  carriages.  The  procession  reached  the  new 
cemetery  at  3.30  p.  M.,  when  the  following  were  the  exercises : 
Prayer  from  Rev.  Dr.  Barstow  ;  remarks  from  the  acting  com- 
mandant of  the  Post,  Capt.  S.  A.  Carter,  who  spoke  as  follows : 

COMRADES  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC,  AND  FEL- 
LOW-CITIZENS OF  KEENE  :  The  organization  known  as  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic  has  assembled  here  to-day,  in  pursu- 
ance to  orders  from  our  Commander-in-Chief,  to  give  renewed 
expressions  of  our  respect  to  the  memory  of  our  deceased  as- 
sociates and  comrades,  our  former  companions  in  arms,  and 
to  tender  anew  to  their  living  representatives  our  sympathy 
for  them  in  their  bereavement.  It  is  at  once  a  sad  and  a 
pleasant  duty  which  we  are  called  upon  to  perform  ;  sad,  when 
we  recall  to  our  minds  those  scenes  of  suffering  through  which 
those  of  our  companions,  whose  memory  we  have  this  day  as- 
sembled to  honor,  have  passed  ;  and  pleasant,  as  we  reflect  upon 
the  many  acts  of  kindness  we  have  experienced  at  their  hands 
while  in  camp,  upon  the  march,  and  upon  the  field  of  battle ; 
and  now  we  gladly  avail  ourselves  of  this  opportunity  to  pay 
this  tribute  of  respect  to  their  memories. 

As  we  stand  here  in  this  silent  city  of  the  dead,  it  is  not 
difficult  to  recall  with  vividness  the  dark  days  and  hours  of 
rebellion  ;  the  lonely  picket  post  in  the  immediate  presence  of 
the  enemy,  when  every  sense  seemed  taxed  to  the  utmost  in 
the  discharge  of  duty ;  the  reconnoissance,  when  picking  your 
way  carefully  over  unknown  ground,  endeavoring  to  develop 
the  position  and  strength  of  the  enemy ;  the  skirmish,  when, 
taking  advantage  of  every  cover,  you  advanced  bravely,  not 
knowing  but  that  every  bush,  ditch,  and  fence  concealed  an 
enemy — little  caring  whether  it  did  or  not,  so  fully  determined 
were  you  to  drive  him  before  you ;  the  general  engagement, 
the  shriek  of  shells,  the  whistling  bullets,  the  stern  voice  of 
command,  the  groans  of  wounded  and  dying  comrades,  the 
missiles  of  death  falling  thick  and  fast  around  you ;  all  these 
scenes  you  have  participated  in,  in  common  with  those  whose 
mortal  remains  lie  buried  here ;  your  thoughts  meanwhile  in- 
stinctively turning  to  your  homes  and  the  loved  ones  there. 
How  vividly  this  occasion  brings  those  scenes  again  before  us, 


44  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

and  we  seem  to  be  living  again  in  the  midst  of  those  familiar 
sights  and  sounds. 

I  Jut  onr  memories  of  those  by-gone  days  and  years  are  not 
all  of  this  nature.  There  were  times  when  we  could  be  mirth- 
ful, and  the  excitement  of  the  moment  almost  caused  us  to  for- 
get tin-  u-rrible  uncertainties  that  were  hanging  over  us.  I 
need  not  mention  the  eagerness  with  which  we  waited  and 
watched  for,  nor  the  pleasure  with  which  we  received,  letters 
from  our  friends  at  home,  and  those  substantial  tokens  of  re- 
membrance— the  delicacies  and  luxuries  prepared  and  sent  to 
us  by  the  same  kind  hands  that  are  to-day  assisting  us  in  the 
decoration  of  these  graves.  These  recollections  are  the  bright 
spots  in  our  experience,  to  which  we  refer  with  the  greatest 
satisfaction  ;  and  I  assure  you,  kind  friends  of  the  soldier,  that 
your  kindness  and  liberality  were  duly  appreciated,  and  will 
never  be  forgotten. 

For  the  soldier  there  was  no  duty  more  sacred  than  that  of 
giving  a  decent  burial  to  a  slain  comrade.  It  was  a  solemn 
duty,  which  every  soldier  felt  as  a  sacred  obligation  resting 
upon  him  to  perform  ;  and  after  an  engagement,  the  first  duty 
after  caring  for  the  wounded  was  the  burial  of  the  dead.  Ten- 
derly they  were  laid  in  their  narrow  chamber,  or,  if  circum- 
stances required  it,  placed  side  by  side  in  the  deep  trenches, 
and,  when  possible,  the  hand  of  friendship  raised  a  narrow 
board  over  the  body,  giving  the  name  and  regiment  of  the 
sleeper. 

Thousands  of  graves  there  are  on  the  battle-fields  of  the 
South  to-day,  with  probably  not  even  a  mound  of  earth  to 
mark  the  spot,  but  the  memory  of  each  one  of  the  occupants 
still  lives  in  some  household.  A  green  spot  is  kept  for  them 
in  the  heart  of  some  wife,  mother,  sister,  or  daughter,  and  we 
would  add  our  humble  testimonial  of  our  appreciation  of  the 
services  of  all  such  as  are  sleeping  in  their  unknown  graves. 

And  now,  permit  me,  in  behalf  of  my  comrades,  to  thank 
one  and  all,  both  individuals  and  organizations,  who  have  ren- 
dered us  such  valuable  assistance  in  the  observance  of  this  day. 

In  concluding  this  introduction  to  the  exercises  of  the  hour, 
I  cannot  better  inform  you  of  our  purposes  than  to  quote  from 
the  order  of  our  Commander-in-Chief,  recommending  this  com- 
memorative service : 

"  We  should  guard  the  graves  of  our  comrades  with  sacred 
vigilance.  All  that  the  consecrated  wealth  and  taste  of  the 
nation  can  contribute  to  their  adornment  and  security,  is  but 
a  fitting  tribute  to  the  memory  of  her  slain  defenders.  Let  no 
wanton  foot  tread  rudely  on  such  hallowed  ground.  Let  pleas- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  45 

ant  paths  invite  the  coming  and  going  of  reverent  visitors  and 
fond  mourners.  Let  no  vandalism  of  avarice  or  neglect,  no 
ravages  of  time,  testify  to  this  or  the  coming  generations,  that 
we  have  forgotten,  as  a  people,  the  cost  of  a  free  and  undivided 
Republic.  If  other  eyes  grow  dull,  other  hands  slack,  and 
other  hearts  cold  in  the  solemn  trust,  ours  shall  keep  it  well  as 
long  as  the  light  and  warmth  of  life  remain  to  UB. 

"  Let  us,  then,  gather  around  their  sacred  remains  and  gar- 
land the  passionless  mounds  above  them  with  the  choicest 
flowers  of  spring-time.  Let  us  raise  above  them  the  dear  old 
flag  they  saved  from  dishonor.  Let  us,  in  this  solemn  presence, 
renew  our  pledges  to  aid  and  assist  those  whom  they  have  left 
among  us  as  a  sacred  charge  upon  a  nation's  gratitude — the 
soldier's  and  sailor's  widow  and  orphan." 

As  Capt.  Carter  concluded,  the  band  played  a  dirge,  aftei 
which  Rev.  "W.  O.  White  *  delivered  the  following  address : 

SOLDIERS  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC,  AND  FEL- 
LOW-TOWNSMEN :  We  will  not  lament  the  threatening  rain-drops 
which  already  begin  to  fall.  It  is  fit  that  these  darkening  skies 
should  but  summon  us  forth  the  more  zealously  to  honor  the 
memory  of  those  who,  while  perilling  their  lives  for  us,  were 
held  back  from  their  great  task,  neither  by  piercing  cold  nor 
angry  tempests. 

Such  an  hour  as  this  brings  once  more  to  our  view  the  form 
and  countenance  of  him  who  spoke  seven  years  ago  at  Wash- 
ington, of  "The  mystic  chords  of  memory  stretching  from 
every  battle-field  and  patriot  grave  to  every  living  heart  and 
hearth-stone  over  this  broad  land."  How  deeply  would  his 
loving  soul  have  been  moved  to-day  by  the  knowledge  that  the 
mystic  chords  of  gratitude  were  vibrating  in  harmony  with 
those  of  memory,  and  that  hands  which  yesterday,  over  a  vast 
lengthening  belt  of  territory,  were  dropping  the  seed-corn  into 
the  opening  furrows,  were  -to-day  laden  with  flowers  testifying 
of  the  first  promise  of  a  harvest  brighter  and  better  that  what 
we  gather  into  barns,  that  harvest  of  freedom  already  ripening 
from  a  blood-stained  earth. 

What  brings  us  to  this  spot  ?  •  No  one  can  truly  say  that 
these  fathers  and  mothers,  these  troops  of  children,  and  among 
them  all  persons  who  have  sworn  allegiance  to  the  Prince  of 
Peace,  are  all  here,  simply  to  magnify  the  glories  of  war,  still  less 
to  countenance  those  atrocities  which  the  scroll  of  history  re- 
cords as  being  so  often  inseparable  from  wars  of  conquest  or 

*  Pastor  of  the  "  Keene  "  Congregational  Unitarian  Church. 


46  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

battles  fomented  by  mere  personal  ambition.  We  come  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  spirit  which  actuated  those  brave  men  whose 
dust  lies  here,  or  abides  near  the  scene  of  their  dauntless  con- 
flict. You  cannot  belie  their  memory  more  effectually  than  by 
whispering  the  thought  that  they  left  their  peaceful  homes  be- 
cause they  were  idolaters,  of  military  glory,  carried  away  by 
the  insane  thirst  for  war.  How  gentle,  how  courteous,  how  pa- 
tient, how  self-possessed  some  among  them  were,  we  all  know, 
full  well.  The  last  men  you  would  have  picked  out  as  likely  to 
plnnge  into  battle,  yet  the  first  to  go,  because  conscience  impelled 
them  and  not  passion,  love  of  country,  not  the  eagerness  tor  ad- 
venture. 

Once  more  the  sound  of  prayer  greets  our  ears,  as  memory 
brings  back  one  regiment  waiting  devoutly  upon  the  God  of  bat- 

.  while  the  cars  stand  ready  to  hurry  them  from  our  quiet 
streets  to  their  scene  of  preparation  for  the  arena  of  strife.  We 
enter  those  cars  with  those  young  men  fresh  from  the  farm  or 
the  workshop.  What  open  countenances  !  What  cheerful  cour- 
age and  trustful  hope  seemed  to  animate  them  !  How  one  won- 
dered that  our  own  little  county  could  have  held  within  its 
scattered  homes  such  a  band  of  heroes.  Again,  as  the  whitening 
groves  on  the  outskirts  of  our  village  reveal  the  gathering,  in 
the  late  autumn,  of  a  different  regiment,  we  enter  the  tents,  we 
talk  with  the  men  ;  we  find  them  utterly  unlike  all  that  imagin- 
ation depicts  to  us  as  associated  with  the  reckless  brutality  of 
the  soldiery  of  other  days  and  other  lands. 

The  men  who  thus  went  from  us  at  one  time  or  another, 
whether  to  serve  on  land  or  on  sea,  counted  the  cost.  They  knew 
that  they  could  not  all  come  back.  The  living  one?  who  are 
with  us  to-day,  God  be  thanked,  were  equally  willing,  we  can- 
not doubt,  to  make  that  last  stern  sacrifice  of  life.  God  did  not 
require  it  at  their  hands.  He  saw  fit  to  spare  them  to  us.  In 
their  presence,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  dead,  you  can  have  no 
patience  with  any  attempt  at  high  sounding  speech.  Deeds, 
not  words,  these  survivors  testify  of.  Deeds,  not  words,  these 
quiet  graves  tell  of.  We  come,  then,  not  to  bid  this  vernal  air 
rcho  with  the  empty  breath  of  mortal  words ;  we  come  to  listen  ; 
hark  !  the  air  seems  full  ot  the  story  of  the  self-forgetful  achieve- 
ments and  the  unrepining  sufferings  of  our  patriot  dead  ;  once 
more,  the  bugle  stirs  the  air,  lengthening  hosts  advance,  the 
dread  roar  of  cannon  booms  sullenly  from  hill  to  hill  ;  now  the 
strife  ceases,  and  with  what  tender  care  the  men  just  now  fore- 
most in  tight  lift  up  some  fallen  comrade  or  the  wounded  ene-  ' 
my.  And  now  the  hospital  rises  before  your  view,  and  you  see 
the  Christian  patience  with  which  He  is'  met  whom  men  name 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.         47 

"  the  last  great  enemy,"  and  yon  behold  the  love  of  the  eld  home 
which  warms  the  heart  of  the  dying  to  the  last.  Or,  it  may 
be,  the  grim  walls  of  the  prison  rise  before  you,  as  you  realize 
all  the  possibilities  which  were  involved  in  the  embarking  in 
the  enterprise  of  a  country's  redemption. 

But  the  cloud  is  lifted  from  battle-field,  hospital  and  prison, 
time  gently  does  its  work  ;  the  grass  grows  in  the  hoof  prints 
left  by  the  horses  on  those  Southern  plains ;  better  still,  sects  of 
Christains  once  sundered  by  geographical  lines,  are  confessing 
this  very  week,  that  it  was  slavery  which  rent  them  in  twain, 
and  that  hencefortft  there  need  be  no  further  animosity.  Yes, 
time  does  its  work ;  the  sharp  agony  of  bereavement  is  mellow- 
ed into  a  thankful  but  humble  pride,  a  chastened  longing  for 
the  time  when  this  corruptible  shall  put  on  incorruption,  and  we 
shall  once  more  see  face  to  face.  In  sympathy,  then,  with  what 
the  hand  of  time,  in  God's  Providence,  is  doing,  we  come  hither 
to-day,  not  so  much  lamenting,  as  we  come,  exulting,  exulting 
in  what  God  gave  our  cherished  ones  to  do,  exulting  in  that 
deathless  fame  which  the  humblest  one  among  them  shares 
with  him  who  in  official  rank  may  have  been  the  highest,  as 
having  fallen  a  victim,  whether  in  a  sudden  moment,  or  by  lin- 
gering disease,  in  a  conflict  which  will  be  forever  associated 
•with  the  progress,  among  the  nations,  of  universal  liberty. 

NOT  will  we  think  of  the  "  cold  grave,"  or  the  "  lonely  sepul- 
chre "  in  connection  with  the  resting-place  of  the  bodies  of  our 
beloved  soldiers.  Your  acts  to  day,  if  they  mean  anything, 
mean  this,  at  least,  that  you  will  strip  such  associations  of  drear- 
iness away  from  their  resting-place,  bestowing  "  beauty  for  ash- 
es," and  "  the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning,"  as,  with  heartfelt  bene- 
dictions, you  throw  around  these  hallowed  spots,  your  shelter- 
ing flowers.  Nor  are  yours  the  only  hands  that  do  this  pious 
work  from  year  to  year.  As  you  think  of  the  mighty  Unslum- 
bering  Power  above  us,  can  you  not  say  of  these  sequestered 
graves  : 

"  There,  scattered  oft,  the  earliest  of  the  year, 

By  hands  unseen,  are  showers  of  violets  found, 
The  red-breast  loves  to  build  and  warble  there, 

And  little  foot-steps  lightly  print  the  ground." 

In  ancient  Greece,  it  appears  that  their  warlike  dead  were, 
from  year  to  year,  commemorated  on  the  spot  of  their  last  mor- 
tal resting-place.  It  was  customary  to  appoint  the  fathers  of 
those  who  had  signally  distinguished  themselves  on  the  n'eld,  to 
recite  their  praises.  Our  gentler  and  more  deep-reaching  faith, 
in  harmony  with  our  suffering  Lord,  dictates  to  such  fathers,  a 
silent  wrestling  with  the  sorrow  which  God  permits,  and  the 


48  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

pondering  the  dear  sayings  of  some  idolized  boy,  .and  hiding 
them  in  the  heart.  Yet,  could  the  veil  of  Christian  and  paren- 
tal reserve  be  torn  aside,  I  know  there  is  more  than  one  among 
you  here  to  say,  as  a  proud  father,  similarly  bereaved,  said  to 
me  the  other  day  in  an  adjoining  State,  as  he  pointed  to  the 
portrait  of  the  gallant  lad  :  "  There  is  not  a  day  when  that  boy 
doesn't  seem  to  be  present  with  me."  Such  sons,  their  images 
rising  in  benediction  before  their  parents,  day  after  day,  year 
after  year,  are  not  to  be  accounted  dead.  Their  life  was  so  full 
of  heroic,  unselfish  purpose  that  it  defies  the  grave,  and  invests 
them  with  an  ever  freshening  memory,  as  they  live  on  in  the 
hearts  of  their  kindred. 

And  yet  there  are  some  to  say  :  "  But  the  dear  face  has  van- 
ished, the  manly  form  is  gone."  To  such  (as'  they  and  we  re-t 
fleet  upon  the  tribute  of  gratitude  which  is  this  hour  bursting 
forth  from  so  many  hearts  throughout  our  land),  to  such  griev- 
ed ones,  let  us  say,  "  How  near  the  two  worlds,  the  seen  and 
the  unseen,  seem  in  such  an  hour  as  this  !  We  stretch  forth 
our  hands,  we  al-most  feel  that  they  are  grasped  by  the  shadowy 
hands  that  the  fleshly  eye  cannot  see.  In  the  holier  rest  or  the 
needful  discipline  of  that  invisible  existence,  a  merciful  God  will 
surely  vouchsafe,  our  hearts  say,  some  brief  interlude  on  such  a 
day  as  this,  that  he  may  make  those  brave  defenders  of  the  land 
amply  cognizant  of  the  love  of  their  cherished  kindred,  the  kind 
remembrance  of  their  old  neighbors,  the  devoted  attachment  of 
their  fellow  soldiers,  the  unfading  gratitude  of  their  country  and 
the  Hallelujahs  of  an  emancipated  race  ! 

At  the  close  of  Mr.  White's  address,  the  graves  were  deco- 
rated. After  the  conclusion  of  the  ceremonies  in  the  new  ceme- 
tery, the  procession  marched  to  the  old  cemetery  and  decorated 
the  graves  of  those  soldiers  who  lie  buried  there. — New  Hamp- 
shire Sentinel,  June  4,  1868. 

H'D  QRS,  POST  No.  4,  G.  A.  R.,  DKP'T  N.  H.  ) 
KEENE,  N.  H.,  May  30,  1868.          \ 

GENERAL  ORDER  No.  1. 

I.  This  Post  desires  to  express  its  deep  sense  of  gratitude  to 
each  and  every  individual  of  this  community  who  has  assisted 
and  encouraged  us  to-day  in  honoring  the  memory  of  our  fallen 
comrades.  Our  acknowledgments  are  especially  due  to  those 
whose  liberality  provided  us  the  pecuniary  assistance,  contribu- 
tions of  flowers,  and  the  materials  necessa/y  for  the  decorations ; 
to  the  ladies  and  misses  to  whose  untiring  labors  and  exquisite 
taste  we  are  indebted  for  their  beautiful  and  effective  arrange- 
ment ;  to  the  clergy  for  their  words  of  counsel  and  instruction  ; 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  49 

to  the  band  for  their  gratuitous  services,  and  for  their  appro- 
priate and  finely  rendered  selections,  whioh  added  so  much  to 
the  solemnity  and  impressiveness  of  the  occasion ;  to  the  fire 
department,  whose  fine  appearance  made  such  an  imposing  pa- 
geant, and  whose  full  ranks  evinced  the  interest  felt  by  the  de- 
partment in  the  exercises  of  the  day ;  and  finally,  to  all  our 
citizens,  whose  sympathies  prompted  them  to  join  in  our  com- 
memorative services. 

II.  We  would  take  this  occasion  to  express  our  mortification 
and  regret  that  the  graves  of  Com.  George  A.  Prentiss  and 
Warren  R.  Ellis  were  not  visited  and  decorated,  and  that  the 
names  of  Clinton  C.  Cheney,  Samuel  Ruffle,  and  Henry  Flint, 
were  not  placed  upon  the  tablet.    We  would  assure  the  relatives 
and  friends  that  these  omissions  were  on  account  of  the  incom- 
pleteness of  the  records  upon  which  we  were  obliged  to  depend, 
rather  than  any  intentional  neglect  on  the  part  of  the  Post,  and 
that  they  shall  be  rectified  as  far  as  it  is  in  our  power  to  do  so. 

III.  An  official  copy  of  this  order  will  be  furnished  each  of 
the  officiating  clergymen,  the  band,  the  Board  of  Engineers, 
each  of  the  several  fire  companies,  and  the  New  Hampshire 
Sentinel  and  Cheshire  Republican,  with  the  request  that  it  be 
published. 

By  command  of 

SOLON  A.  CARTER, 
Sen.  Vice  ConCdr,  comcFg  Post. 
HOSEA  TOWNE, 

Acffg  Post  Adft. 

AT  CLAREMONT,  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 

September  19,  1868. 

At  the  appointed  hour  people  began  to  assemble  and  to 
throng  the  streets,  ready  to  join  the  procession  and  bear  their 
part  in  the  coming  exercises,  with  remarkable  punctuality.  The 
Marshal,  Dr.  S.  G.  Jarvis,  with  his  aids,  formed  the  line  on 
Broad  street,  and  marched  to  the  Town  Hall.  First  were  the 
Comrades  of  the  Grand  Army,  then  our  fire  companies,  and  last 
the  children  of  our  various  Sunday  Schools.  Nearly  all  the 
young  folks  carried  beautiful  bouquets,  and,  with  their  pleasant 
faces,  constituted  a  scene  of  real  beauty.  The  Town  Hall  was 
densely  packed  with  the  members  of  the  procession  and  citizens. 
Maj.  Waite  called  the  assembly  to  order,  and  announced  the 
officers — President,  Dr.  N.  Tolles ;  Vice-Presidents,  Sherman 
4 


50  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Cooper  and  H.  W.  Parker ;  Secretaries,  J.  W.  Peirce  and  Ar- 
thur Chase. 

The  President  being  introduced,  made  a  few  pertinent  re- 
marks, followed  by  music  by  the  band ;  services  by  the  chaplain, 
Rev.  E.  W.  Clark,  and  music  by  the  choir,  under  the  leadership 
of  C.  S.  Park-hurst." 

Captain  Edwin  Vaughan,  of  the  New  Hampshire  Cavalry, 
then  delivered  the  following  address: 

MR.  CHAIRMAN,  FELLOW  CITIZENS: 

It  has  been  from  time  immemorial,  a  custom  to  commemo- 
rate great  events  in  national  history,  the  birth  and  death  of  im- 
portant personages,  the  inception  of  important  discoveries  of 
science  and  art,  or  deeds  of  arms,  by  massive  piles,  solid  col- 
umns, statues  and  memorials ;  by  days  of  feast  or  thanksgiving : 
equally  venerated  by  heathen  and  Christian,  only  differing  in 
the  character  and  intelligence  of  the  offering  they  bring — the 
one  guided  by  idle  superstition,  the  other  by  enlightened  re- 
ligious reason.  The  one  does  homage  to  brute  force  and  blind 
ambition ;  the  other  to  enlightened  civilization  and  the  greatest 
good  to  all  mankind.  The  one  is  grasping  and  seeks  to  enslave  ; 
the  other  breaks  the  galling  chain  and  lets  the  oppressed  go  free. 

This  custom,  ancient  and  honorable,  is  well !  The  history 
of  nations  and  civilization  may  be  read  in  their  monuments  and 
holidays  ;  as  their  teachings  and  ceremonials  give  tone  and  ex- 
pression to  the  finer  feelings  of  the  human  heart,  or  bear  evi- 
dence of  progress,  so  in  proportion  are  they  worthy  of  our 
attention.  And  so  .of  the  landmarks  of  to-day,  when  they  shall 
be  studied  by  future  generations. 

Let  then  our  actions  bear  evidence  of  an  enlightened  human- 
ity, true  patriotism,  and  a  willingness  to  do  to  others  as  we  would 
they  should  do  unto  us. 

Our  nation  having  passed  through  a  convulsion  unequalled 
in  modern  times,  and  made  sacrifices  seldom  equalled  and  never 
excelled,  for  the  preservation  of  our  institutions,  and  liberty 
itself,  we  are  called  upon  to  make  such,  record  of  our  present, 
that  the  future,  though  they  ever  may  run,  may  read  and  go 
clear  of  the  Scylla  and  Chary bdis  of  our  misfortune;  that  they 
may  take  courage  for  freedom  and  progress. 

We  have  met  to-day  to  bear  record  that  the  blood  spilt  on  a 
thousand  fields  was  not  in  vain.  The  ceremonials  which  we 
propose  are  in  accord  with  custom,  and  in  the  spirit  of  the  order 
of  May  5,  1868,  of  General  John  A.  Logan,  commander  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  51 

At  the  time  of  the  issue  of  that  order  there  was  no  organi- 
zation of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  in  this  vicinity,  or 
other  organized  head,  to  go  forward  in  the  matter ;  it  was,  there- 
fore, for  that  time  passed  almost  unnoticed.  You  all  know  how 
generally  the  day  set  apart  was  noticed  throughout  the  country, 
and  how  gladly  you  would  have  kept  it  had  it  been  practicable. 

Knowing  that  the  people  of  Claremont  only  waited  an  op- 
portunity to  comply  with  the  spirit  of  that  order  in  its  fullest 
sense,  the  Post  now  organized  have  chosen  the  anniversary  of 
the  battle  of  Opequan  Creek,  for  the  solemn  ceremony — a  day 
rendered  sacred  to  the  memory  of  every  citizen  of  Claremont. 
The  day  on  which  fell  my  dearest  friend  and  your  fellow  citi- 
zens, Gardiner,  Chath'n,  and  Paul.  Do  you  not  remember  when 
the  lightning  bore  you  record  of  that  terrible  day,  the  sudden 
chill,  the  weight  of  that  sacrifice  ? 

.  Go  back  with  me  to  that  time  of  war,  those  tented  fields, 
that  mechanical  inaction  and  spasmodic  carriage;  view  the  op- 
pressive monotony  of  days  and  weeks  in  camp,  when  men  went 
to  the  daily  routine  like  machines  wound  up  for  life,  carelessly 
indifferent  of  the  dangers  of  the  morrow — finding  pleasure  only 
in  change,  and  news  from  home.  Believe  me,  those  were  weary, 
swift  days — having  only  for  their  goal  home  and  its  enjoyment- : 
the  hand  and  heart  greeting  of  father,  mother,  brothers  and 
sisters,  wife  and  children. 

You  at  home  suffered  most.  You  had  grief  and  anxiety, 
fear  for  the  worst ;  we,  only  hope  for  home.  Yet  all  was  not 
inaction ;  for  when  the  bugle  sounded,  or  the  drum  beat  "  to 
arms,"  all  was  motion,  and  with  almost  no  questioning  every 
thing  was  put  in  order  to  move.  Tents  were  struck,  extra  bag- 
gage, books,  or  mementoes,  were  consigned  to  the  flames,  and 
with  steady  steps  and  beating  heart,  the  soldier  gathered  up  his 
household,  his  all,  and  uncomplainingly  went  forth,  always  to 
toil,  often  to  disaster  or  the  grave,  or  worse  than  all,  to  the 
prison  pen— '-worse  than  the  grave.  Could  you  look  upon  the 
blanched  cheek,  yet  firm  step  of  the  veteran  soldier,  as  he  went 
forth  to  battle,  with  his  life  in  his  hand,  to  bravely  battle  for  his 
country,  your  hearts  would  swell  with  pride,  and  though  tears 
should  course  your  cheeks,  you  could  but  smile  and  give  thanks 
for  the  spirit  of  your  sons. 

Theirs  were  brave  hearts. 

"  The  brave  man  is  not  he  that  knows  no  fear, 
For  that  were  stupid  and  irrational ; 
But  he  whose  noble  soul  irs  fear  subdues, 
And  bravely  dares  the  danger  nature  shrinks  from." 

The  battle  over,  the  soldier,  singly  or  in  squads,  seeks  his 


52  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

fallen  comrade — his  spirit  but  now  so  rigid,  has  become  that  of 
a  child.  The  wounded  he  bears  away  tenderly,  while  with 
tearful  eye  he  consigns  his  fallen  comrade,  wrapped  in  his  only 
blanket,  an  unshapen  mass,  to  welcome  mother  earth.  In  his 
quarters  he  gathers  the  little  mementoes,  perhapft  a  ring,  a  pic- 
ture, and  carefully  preserves  them  for  the  loved  ones  at  home, 
who,  tho'  hope  is  past,  are  as  yet  blessed  in  the  ignorance  of 
the  sacrifice  they  have  made. 

What  life  is  in  camp,  seems  to  me  but  an  intensified  life, 
typical  of  national  and  individual  experience. 

Our  fathers  builded  the  foundation  worthy  of  a  free  gov- 
ernment; they  hewed  its  corner  stone  from  the  rock  of  eternal 
justice  to  all  men ;  they  were  made,  and  needed  help,  and  rev- 
erently looked  to  the  great  •'  I  Am  "  for  it ;  they  sowed  wisely, 
and  their  descendants  reaped  bountifully,  but  as  they  became 
strong  and  prospered  they  forgot  the  simple  faith  of  their  fath- 
ers, and  admitted  uncongenial  material  into  the  structure. 

The  danger  tho'  radical  was  not  immediate,  and  as  the 
mighty  city  rests  to-day,  in  fancied  security,  which  to-morrow 
shall  be  razed  by  slumbering  volcanic  tires,  so  lived  we  unmind- 
ful of  the  signs  of  the  times,  and  the  irrepressible  conflict  of 
radically  opposing  elements  in  our  social  fabric. 

•  We  had  lived  as  though  we  expected  to  prove  the  grand 
truths  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  gigantic  lies,  and  had 
almost  demonstrated  them  as  such ;  but  they  were  too  divine, 
too  grand  to  be  ignored  by  puny  man.  Born  of  the  very  neces- 
sity and  reason  for  the  foundation  of  this  government  and  bap- 
tized in  the  blood  of  its  founders,  it  was  not  possible  that  it 
should  be  trampled  upon  by  the  avarice,  cupidity,  or  domination 
of  this  age. 

The  blood  spilt  by  the  oppressor's  hand  became  the  germ  of 
a  mighty  conviction  in  the  minds  of  the  nation,  a nd  borne  across 
this  northern  land  on  the  wings  of  reason,  became  the  disinfect- 
ant to  purity  what  we  could  not  defend. 

The  bugle  blew  and  drums  beat  for  help  to  succor  a  strug- 

tling  national  life.     How  quickly  the  camp-fires  burned  in  every 
tate  and  on  a  thousand  hill-sides.      With  what  alacrity  men 
without  distinction  of  party  left  the  common  walks  of  life  for 
the  tented  field.     How  freely  those  whom  we  to-day  honor  stood 
forth  a  shield  between  the  nation  and  its  dishonor. 
"  How  they  went  forth  to  die  ! 
Pale,  earnest  thousands  from  the  dizzy  mills, 
And  sunburnt  thousands  from  the  harvest  hills, 
Quick,  eager  thousands  from  the  city's  streets.  , 

And  storm-tried  thousands  from  the  fisher's  fleets. 
How  thev  went  forth  to  die!" 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  53 

Bold  armoured  treason  prepared  by  long  preparation  had 
gained  a  march  in  the  Held,  and  as  disaster  sat  upon  our  banners 
traitors  in  arms  hurrahed  and  sang  songs  of  gladness  —  while 
sympathetic  treason  smiled  a  damned  smile  of  approval  upon 
your  street  corneiv. 

The  story  of  those  long  years — of  trial  and  disaster — of  hope 
and  success  from  Bull  Run  to  Appomattox  Court  House,  is  too 
fresh  in  our  minds  to  call  for  repetition  by  me  to-day.  The  dark 
night  has  passed  away.  Armed  rebellion  has  been  quelled,  and 
the  bright  morning  light  of  peace  gives  promise  of  renewed 
prosperity  for  the  future. 

A  great  and  heroic  sacrifice  has  been  made  ;  its  influence  can 
never  be  lost,  but  i  ,ust  grow  brighter  in  future  times  in  propor- 
tion us  its  lessons  aro  heeded  by  the  present,  and  conduce  to  an 
enlarged  liberty  and  an  enlightened  manhood. 

The  present  is  the  great  educator  of  the  future,  the  spirit  and 
characters  of  men  to  a  great  extent  are  molded  by  the  records  of 
the  past.  They  whom  we  are  assembled  to-day  to  honor  are  the 
descendants  of  a  long  line  of  ancestors  who  have  "  felt  the  inspi- 
ration of  battle  in  every  contest  for  liberty  for  a  thousand 
years."  "  Their  country  lives  because  they  died." 

They  came  home  on  their  shields ;  fallen  for  their  country 
and  universal  liberty  !  No  man  ever  gave  his  life  for  a  nobler 
cause.  We  are  met  to  give  expression  to  our  allegiance  to  the 
principles  for  which  they  fell..  By  outward  tokens  to  renew  our 
pledges  to  the  sacred  remembrance  of  their  patriotism.  The 
debt  of  gratitude  we  owe  them,  and  of  honor  we  owe  their 
widows  and  orphans,  to  give  encouragement  in  prosperity,  and 
succor  in  adversity. 

We  are  met  at  the  graves  of  our  dead,  and  pass  in  review 
the  long  lines  of  companions  and  fellow  citizens  that  went  forth 
from  among  us,  and  as  is  the  custom  in  camp,  after  the  "  Battle 
is  over  "  to  get  the  command  together,  to  call  the  roll  and 
number  the  absent,  so  we  to-day  individually  cast  our  mind's 
eye  along  the  broken  ranks  and  note  the  vacant  files ;  whether 
from  battle  or  disease  it  matters  not— the  spirit  and  the  sacrifice 
is  the  same,  though  for  certain  death  the  soldier  would  choose 
battle. 

While  we  strew  the  graves  of  those  that  are  near  let  us  not 
forget  the  absent  and  unknown  graves  of  the  much  larger  num- 
ber, but  let  the  outward  act  to  the  one  be  emblematical  of  the 
remembrance  we  bear  them  all.  Earth  holds  but  their  clay,  and 
the  ground  where  they  lie  is  hallowed  ground  ;  they  are  past  the 
turmoil  and  mistakes  of  life  whether  they  sleep  by  friend  or  foe. 
Many  among  us  whose  hearts  have  been  made  sad  by  the  ab- 


54  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

sence  of  those  who  came  not  back  from  the  war,  send  their  ten- 

4  emotions  to  distant  fields,  and  place  their  offering  upon 
their  graves  as  truly  in  spirit  as  you  who  have  them  near. 

While  we  stand'  by  the  grave  of  Col.  Gardiner  we  should  re- 
IIUM nber  Capt.  Chaffin  and  Lieut.  Paul,  who  fell  by  his  side  and 
sleep  on  the  distant  battle-field  of  Opequan  Creek. 

While  we  decorate  the  graves  of  Davis,  spared  through  a 
dozen  battles  to  die  of  disease  contracted  in  line  of  his  duty  ;  the 
brothers  Patrick,  Clement,  Straw,  Lt.  James  A.  Cook, 
Ju.lkins,  Chapman,  Moore,  Lieutenants  Little,  Auston,  and 
Nettleton,  Button  and  Milton,  of  Kead,  Jackson  and  Bascom,  of 
Gu.ldard,  Leet  and  Gran n is,  of  Carlton,  Adams  and  Tyrrell,  of 
Currier,  Blanchard,  Eagan  and  Angell,  let  us  not  the  less 
stand  by  the  distant  grave  of  Andrew  J.  Straw,  who  fell  at 
the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run  and  sleeps  in  an  unknown  grave, 
believed  to  be  the  first  man  from  Claremont  to  fall  in  bat- 
tle for  his  country — of  Charles  E.  Putnam,  than  whom  no 
town  sent  forth  a  braver  soldier,  who,  after  his  regiment  was 
scattered,  fell  fighting  manfully  on  his  own  account,  and  was 
buried  on  the  field  at  Williamsburg.  But  I  may  not  speak 
particularly  of  all — of  Hunter,  Wetherbee,"  Charles  Scott,  and 
Delmage,  who  rest  in  a  common  grave  at  Fair  Oaks.  Of  Ken- 
dall at  Petersburg — of  Lt.  Ballou,  Chase,  Hart,  Grinnell,  Brown, 
and  Robbins  at  Fredericksburg--of  feno  and  Neal  at  James 
Island  — of  Bolio,  Bunnell,  Burn's,  Craig,  Bascom, 'Edward  F. 
Moore,  and  Vaughan  my  brother,  at  Gettysburg — of  Nichols  at 
Bermuda  Hundred,  Alexander  at  Drury's  Bluff.  Of  Chase  and 
Benton,  at  Ream's  Station,  Nevers  at  White  Oak  Swamp,  Geo. 
H.  Putnam,  brother  of  Chas.  E.,  and  French,  at  Cold  Harbor. 
Lt.  Rice,  at  Poplar  Grove  Church,  Ide,  at  Yorktown — Hurd,  at 
Lee's  Mills,  Marvin  and  Russell,  at  Antietam,  Whitmore  and 
Nelson,  wounded  at  Fort  Wagner,  going  to  their  rest  through 
t!i-  -o  infamous  dens  of  Jackson  ville'and  Charleston,  Woodbury, 
wounded  at  Olustee,  Fa.,  dying  of  starvation  and  neglect  at 
Andersonville,  Wheeler  and  Kelly  dying  on  their  way  home— 
L.  F.  and  W.  G.  Parish,  two  of  four  brothers  in  the  army  who 
fell — Win.  E.,  w;unded  three  or  four  times  in  the  Wilderness, 
last  heard  from  in  Libby  and  Andersouville.  Dane  and  Ard. 

/awrence, 
their 

hospitals  of  the 
land.  And  last  in  the. sad  list,  from  which  I  trust  none  have 
been  omitted,  is  Dr.  Algernon  Squier,  who  died  on  the  plains  of 
the  Far  West. 

The  simple  story  of  many  whose  names  I  have  read  before 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  55 

yon,  were  enough  for  this  hour,  but  I  need  single  none  for  eulo- 
gy- 

Fathers,  mothers,  bring  forth  flowers  and  evergreens  to  dec- 
orate  the  graves  of  those  you  loved  ;  of  those  you  bid  God 
speed  in  sorrow  and  tears,  yet  in  gladness  that  you  had  a  sou 
to  give ;  bring  bright  and  pale  flowers  emblematic  of  your  early 
hope  and  its  decay ;  bring  evergreens  in  emblem  of  your  pa- 
ternal affections  and  the  brighter  hope  beyond. 

Brothers  and  sisters,  bring  flowers  to  lay  upon  that  broth- 
er's tomb !  his  manly  hand  you  may  not  grasp  ;  his  voice  you 
may  not  hear,  but  you  may  give  the  offering  of  fraternal  af- 
fection, listen  to.  the  teachings  of  his  life  and  death,  and  from 
the  hour  draw  salutary  lessons  for  your  future  guidance. 

Wile  and  children,  I  may  not  counsel  you  in  your  great 
bereavement.  The  silent  resignation  of  widowhood  beais  me- 
mentoes of  the  loved  and  lost  too  solemn  and  sacred  for  speech 
of  mine. 

Fellow-citizens,  bring  flowers  and  tokens  of  a  green  remem- 
brance to  the  graves  of  your  neighbors  and  friends.  Bring 
them  in  token  of  your  faith  pledged  to  their  widows  and  or- 
phans ;  bring  them  in  token  of  your  appreciation  of  service 
they  did,  and  the  sacrifice  they  made ;  bring  them  in  remem- 
brance of  your  own  ease  and  success,  while  they  took  their  life 
in  their  hands  and  went  to  the  field;  bring  them  for  the  love 
you  bear  the  country  they  saved. 

Soldiers,  'tis  for  you  to  bring  memorials  to  their  graves 
more  than  they  all.  To  them  these  dead  soldiers  were  but  indi- 
vidual members  of  families,  citizens,  and  neighbors,  but  to  you 
they  were  brothers,  and  more — they  were  comrades  of  one 
great  family  ;  you  went  forth  with  them,  to  the  field  ;  you  have 
shared  their  blanket ;  you  have  sat  with  them  around  the  camp- 
fires,  and  listened  to  their  stories  of  their  childhood,  their  hopes, 
fears,  and  prospects.  Engaged  in  their  sports,  you  have  hun- 
gered with  them,  thirsted  with  them — toiled  and  suffered  as 
only  a  soldier  knows-^-suffering  with  them. 

You  have  gone  forth  to  the  battle  with  them  ;  seen  them 
fall  faint  and  weary  by  the  way-side  to  yield  up  life,  as  dear  as 
yours  or  mine,  and  be  buried. 

You  have  seen  them  bravely  face  death,  and  meet  it  man- 
fully. You  have  shed  tears  over  their  inanimate  bodies  in  the 
absence  of  their  friends,  and  tenderly  consigned  them,  un- 
coffined,  save  by  their  blanket,  to  the  bosom  of  mother  earth. 
You  have  fired  the  farewell  shot  over  the  grave  when  they  were 
buried. 

BrinK  them  flowers  and  mementoes  as  tokens  of  the  mem- 


56  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

ones  of  those  days ;  bring  them  as  an  acknowledgment  of  that 
mercy  which  spared  you  while  others  fell  ;  bring  them  as  a 
plediiv,  that  to  you  treason  is  and  ever  shall  be  odious  •  that  he 
who  'to-day  '•  mourns  the  lost  cause  "  is  a  traitor  still. 

Bring  them  as  fraternal  tokens  of  pity  and  balm  for  severed 
ions  and  broken  hearts  of  loved  ones  left  to  mourn. 

The  ceremonies  at  the  Hall  closed  with  more  music,  and 
the  singing  of  "  America  "  by  the  congregation. 

The  procession  was  re-formed,  and  proceeded  to  the  ceme- 
tery. The  floral  offerings,  which  were  superb  and  most  taste- 
fully arranged,  were  borne  upon  a  large  wagon  drawn  by  eight 
white  horses,  under  the  skilful  management  of  Maj.  O.  J. 
Brown,  and  presented  a  magnificent  appearance.  Two  young 
ladies  rode  on  either  end  of  the  floral  car,  personating  Justice, 
and  the  Goddess  of  Liberty. 

The  solemn  procession  marched  slowly  to  the  resting-place 
of  the  dead,  accompanied  by  a  fine  cavalcade  from  Weathers- 
field.  All  passed  into  the  cemetery  in  line,  when,  after  appro- 
priate remarks  by  the  Chaplain,  the  garlands  were  reverently 
placed  upon  the  graves  of  the  patriotic  dead.  A  handsome 
cross,  erected  near  the  entrance,  inscribed,  "  To  the  memory  of 
the  soldiers  who  were  buried  upon  the  field,"  was  fairly  loaded 
with  fragrant  offerings.  The  ceremonies  being  completed  at 
this  point,  the  procession  returned  and  halted  to  honor  the 
graves  of  the  dead  in  the  old  cemetery. 

A  brief  recess  was  then  taken  for  refreshment,  after  which 
the  Comrades  of  the  Grand  Army,  the  band,  and  citizens,  pro- 
ceeded to  the  graveyards  at  West  Claremont,  where,  due  re- 
gard was  paid  to  the  heroic  dead  there  interred. 

About  4:  o'clock  the  procession  crossed  over  the  Connecticut 
to  Weathersfield,  to  decorate  the  grave  of  Maj.  Charles  Jarvis. 

Escorted  by  a  small  troop  of  horsemen,  they  marched  up 
to  the  cemetery  overlooking  the  winding  river  and  valley,  pre- 
ceded by  the  Chief  Marshal  on  the  horse  on  which  Major  Jar- 
vis  was  killed,  the  Claremont  Band  and  officers  bearing  flowers. 

After  entering  the  cemetery  between  the  lines  of  citizens 
of  the  town,  the  procession  halted,  and  the  Marshal,  S.  G.  Jar- 
vis,  advancing  near  the  evergreen  arch  at  the  family  enclosure 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  57 

and  addressing  Major  Hunt,  deputed  with  the  escort  to  receive 
them,  said : 

MAJOR  HUNT  :  This  delegation  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic  and  citizens  of  Claremont,  have  come  here  to-day 
bringing  flowers  to  decorate  the  grave*  of  a  much-loved  friend 
and  companion,  Maj.  Charles  Jarvis. 

We  knew  him  well.  An  ardent  patriot,  a  steadfast  friend, 
a  true  Christian,  and  a  loving  son.  Alive,  he  enjoyed  univer- 
sal aifection  and  esteem,  and  bore  to  the  grave  the  deepest 
mourning  of  us  all. 

REPLY  BY  MAJOR  LEAVITT  HUNT. 

FRIENDS,  AND  DELEGATES  OF  NEW  HAMPSHIRE  :  We,  of  Ver- 
mont, welcome  you,  Comrades  and  Friends  of  another  State,  on 
a  mission  the  most  tender  and  solemn. 

Your  coming  to  strew  flowers  with  us  on  the  grave  of  a 
brave  and  good  man  is  not  alone  an  offering  of  duty  and  aifec- 
tion to  him,  but  a  tribute  of  sympathy  to  every  patriot  in  the 
land,  and  to  the  cause  in  which  he  fell. 

In  this  no  limit  divides  us,  but,  like  your  own  beautiful 
river,  beneficent  to  us  all,  it  bears  our  united  gratitude  to  the 
great  ocean  of  our  accord. 

Already  every  sister  State,  crowned  with  laurel  and  clothed 
in  the  brightness  of  loyalty,  has  strewn  immortal  flowers  on 
the  graves  of  her  martyred  sons.  These  flowers  that  we  bring 
will  soon  fade  away,  still  shall  his  memory  forever  breathe 
fragrance  to  our  hearts. 

We,  who.  celebrate  the  deeds  of  the  heroic  dead,  will  soon 
cease  to  be.  Still,  generations  shall  commemorate  the  strongest 
of  unions — this  union  unto  death ;  still,  these  hills  shall  look 
down  upon  the  patriot's  grave,  and  .these  streams  shall  forever 
chant  his  praise.  His  life  was  a  bright  tablet  of  duty  unto  all, 
and  Ids  death  the  graven  image  of  our  lament. 

Come,  let  us  strew  these  flowers  on  his  grave  as  sweet  tokens 
to  a  cherished  friend  ;  let  us  hang  up  these  wreaths,  victorious 
symbols  of  a  martyr  to  a  cause  we  shall  ever  defend  ;  let  us 
plant  this  floral  cross  in  eternal  memory  of  a  Christian,  who 
fell  that  all  might  be  free. 

The  procession  then  formed  a  hollow  square  and  proceeded 
to  decorate  the  grave.  The  Chaplain  of  the  Post,  Rev.  E.  W. 
Clark,  on  mingling  his  floral  tribute  with  the  marble-cut  laurels 
of  the  tomb,  delivered  a  brief  eulogy  of  his  commemorated 
comrade  and  friend,  and  a  most  touching  prayer  for  the  com- 


58  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

fort  and  support  of  the  aged  mother  present,  the  family,  and 
friends. 

After  a  solemn  and  appropriate  dirge  by  the  band,  the  pro- 
cession inarched  to  the  ojd  Jarvis  homestead,  where  a  collation 
for  two  hundred  was  spread  on  the  lawn. 

The  orator  of  the  day,  Captain  Vaughan,  in  his  eloquent 
acknowledgment  for  the  reception,  revealed  the  devoted  regrets 
of  all  for  the  absent  one,  of  whom  a  comrade  said  :  "  We  have 
seen  many  an  officer  fall  in  battle,  but  we  have  only  wept  for 
one— Maj.  Charles  Jarvis."— Claremont  Eagle,  Sept.  26,  1868. 

AT  SAN  FRANCISCO,  CALIFOKNIA. 

June  7, 1868. 

Under  the  control  and  management  of  that  portion  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  sojourning  in  California,  the 
memories  of  their  fellows,  who  died  that  their  country  might 
live,  were  duly  honored  yesterday.  The  weather  could  scarcely 
have  proven  more  unpropitious.  The  sea  gale  set  in  unusually 
early,  and  the  wind  blew  and  the  dust  flew  with  increasing 
intensity  until  after  meridian.  Shortly  thereafter  the  National 
Guard  carne  down  Montgomery  street,  and  formed  with  their 
right  resting  on  California  street.  Citizens  in  carriages,  on 
horseback,  and  pedestrians,  formed  on  Bush  street,  above  Du- 
pont  street,  with  the  right  resting  on  Taylor  street. 

At  1.30  o'clock  the  procession  was  organized,  tlie  National 
Guard  taking  the  van  as  escort  to  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public. The  "Guard"  was  indeed  a  fitting  escort  for  the  vet- 
erans of  the  war,  who  numbered  six  hundred  strong.  Among 
them  were  many  men  who  bore  painful  evidence  of  having 
been  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight.  Col.  John  C.  Cremony, 
Grand  Marshal,  together  with  his  Aids,  wore  elegant  white, 
red,  and  blue  rosettes.  The  former,  also,  as  Officer  of  the  Day, 
wore  the  army  sash.  Each  member,  also,  had  fastened  to  his 
coat  a  white  ribbon  and  sprig  of  evergreen,  and  bore  in  his 
hand  a  bouquet. 

The  procession  received  its  next  accession  on  Bush  street, 
as  it  turned  up  from  Montgomery  street.  At  Congress  Hall 
a  large  body  of  Freedom's  Defenders,  who  had  been  drawn 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  59 

up  in  line,  fell  in,  four  abreast,  under  an  Assistant  Marshal, 
delegated  by  the  Committee  of  Arrangements  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic  to  take  charge  of  that  portion  of  the 
procession.  The  members  were  all  provided  with  flowers, 
wreaths,  immortelles,  &c.,  and  constituted  an  interesting  por- 
tion of  the  procession. 

Carriages  containing  maimed  soldiers  and  sailors  took  their 
place  in  line  between  the  "  Army  "  and  "  Defenders,"  and  then 
fell  in  the  artillery.  This  was  by  far  the  largest  portion  of 
the  military  in  the  procession,  numbering,  as  it  did,  two  full 
batteries.  The  line  of  the  formidable-looking  cannon,  with 
caissons,  and  artillerymen  in  the  uniform  of  the  Government, 
extended  the  length  of  over  two  blocks.  After  the  artillery 
came  citizens  in  vehicles  and  on  foot,  bringing  up  the  rear  of 
the  procession,  which  stretched  from  Montgomery  street  to  the 
summit  of  the  hill  on  Bush  street. 

All  along  the  route  ladies  came  out  of  their  residences,  and, 
passing  up  to  the  soldiers,  would  present  their  floral  offerings. 
Not  only  the  army  veterans,  but  almost  every  man,  woman, 
and  child  in  the  procession  carried  a  bouquet.  Some  bore 
wreaths  on  their  arms,  whilst  others  had  them  entwined  about 
their  necks.  Bouquets  were  poised  on  flags  and  bayonets,  on 
the  harnesses  of  horses,  and  garlands  decorated  vehicles.  La- 
dies and  misses  on  the  sidewalk  handed  flowers  to  Aids  and 
Post  officers  appointed  by  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic. 

Throughout  the  line  of  march,  as  far  as  Leavenworth  street, 
sidewalks  and  balconies  and  windows  were  filled  with  specta- 
tors of  the  imposing  cortege,  and  at  the  intersection  of  the 
various  thoroughfares  might  be  seen  crowded  carriages  and 
others  on  horseback  who  did  not  join  the  procession  on  account 
of  the  inclemency  of  the  weather.  And  the  wind  was  terrific 
enough  to  deter  any  but  those  engaged  in  a  less  laudable  work 
from  attempting  a  walk  of  two  miles  against  such  a  tornado  ; 
but  those  in  the  procession  never  faltered,  but  pedestrianized 
it  all  the  way  to  Lone  Mountain. 

Arriving  at  the  burial-ground,  the  National  Guard  halted 
and  permitted  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  to  file  by, 
saluting  as  they  did  so. 


60  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

The  procession  then  moved  up  to  the  Baker  Monument, 
which  stands  on  the  summit  of  the  highest  eminence  in  the 
cemetery.  Hundreds  who  had  gone  out  earlier  in  the  day 
were  already  grouped  around  this  and  other  monuments,  and 
all  bi'uring  Horal  tributes  to  the  memory  of  the  dear  departed. 

The  solemn  ceremonies  commenced  by  Marshal  Cremony 
reading,  in  a  remarkably  strong,  clear,  and  impressive  manner, 
the  order  of  General  Logan,  Commander-in- Chief  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  directing  the  ceremony  to  be  performed 
throughout  the  United  States. 

Gen.  O.  H.  La  Grange  was  next  introduced,  who  thus  ad- 
dressed the  solemn  concourse : 

COMRADES  :  We  come  not  here  to  honor  these  sacred  graves. 
It  is  not  in  the  power  of  mortals  to  do  that.  We  come  to  gather 
inspiration  in  this  presence — to  make  our  actions  worthy  of  men 
to  whom  it  was  given  in  the  past — to  hold  companionship  with 
the  illustrious  dead. 

These  flowers,  that  will  fade  to-morrow,  are  typical  of  our 
own  brief  lives  ;  but  as  the  flowers  rise  from  their  winter  graves 
in  beauty  each  succeeding  year,  so  the  memory  of  our  departed 
brothers,  like  themselves  immortal,  shall  quicken  patriotism  in 
the  hearts  of  each  succeeding  generation  through  all  coming 
time.  Even  the  eloquence  of  Baker,  by  whose  dust  we  stand, 
though  it  became  the  wonder  and  the  glory  of  the  nation, 
taught  not  the  truth  to  which  he  gave  his  life  as  potently  as 
now  the  speaking  silence  of  his  great  example  teaches  it. 

We  reverently  thank  the  Author  of  all  blessings,  that  the 
peril  to  our  country,  which  bound  us  together  through  so  many 
years  of  toil  and  danger,  lias  passed  away. 

We  tjiank  Him,  too,  that  ties  of  brotherhood,  formed  in  the 
bivouac  and  on  the  battle-field,  cannot  'be  loosed  or  broken 
until  our  hearts  dissolve,  at  being  called  to  join  that  nobler 
band  of  brothers  who  have  gone  before. 

Our  arms  are  returned  to  the  Government  that  placed  them 
in  our  hands ;  our  swords  rust  in  their  scabbards,  and  our  tat- 
tered battle  banners  hang  in  triumph  in  the  halls  of  our  capi- 
tols  ;  our  regiments  have  been  disbanded,  and  we  have  mingled 
in  the  stream  of  civil  life,  to  make  its  currents  wider  and  deeper 
without  diminishing  its  purity.  Success  crowns  every  well- 
directed  effort,  and  plenty  and  prosperity  smile  on  onr  land. 
We  open  wide  our  arms  to  our  late  enemies,  and  pray  that  the 
fair  picture  of  peace  may  never  be  reversed  again  in  all  our 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.         61 

country's  history.  But,  in  prosperity,  we  will  not  break  the 
associations  nor  abandon  the  principles  by  which  we  triumphed 
in  adversity.  Standing  in  the  dawn  of  this  new  era,  with  its 
glad  light  gilding  the  future  of  a  reunited  nation,  while  our 
eyes  bend  forward,  our  hearts  will  turn  to  the  dim  night  of 
SOITOW,  and  mourn  with  the  childless  mothers,  the  fatherless 
children,  and  the  true  wives  wedded  to  the  nameless  graves  of 
loved  ones  who  shall  come  no  more  on  earth. 

Comrades,  we  have  new  fights  to  win,  and  noble  duties  to 
perform  in  civil  life.  Let  us  form  our  lines  in  circles  facing 
outward,  and  wide  enough  to  take  in  all  who  battle  for  the 
truth.  Let  us  uphold  a  falling  brother  as  we  would  have  up- 
held him  on  the  field  of  battle.  Let  us  so  guard  the  fame  of 
those  who  died,  that  no  shadow  shall  ever  fall  upon  it ;  and  let 
us  minister,  so  tenderly  to  their  bereaved  ones,  that  the  tears 
they  shed  shall  be  as  dew  upon  the  blessings  that  spring  up 
around  their  pathways  as  they  journey  on.  And  here,  upon 
this  doubly  hallowed  ground,  oh,  comrades,  let  us  pledge  each 
other,  and  these  silent  ones  once  more,  by  the  baptism  of  fire 
that  has  made  us  brothers,  by  the  communion  of  blood  that  has 
cemented  our  eternal  fellowship,  to  cherish  and  maintain  for- 
ever the  principles  of  those  who  fell  forward  into  the  "  furrows 
of  the  fight,"  and  lay  with  smiles  upon  their  calm,  dead  faces, 
because  they  knew  their  feet  were  in  the  path  of  duty,  and 
their  eyes  were  fixed  upon  the  right. 

Rev.  Dr.  Cox,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  remarks  of  General 
La  Grange,  made  a  most  eloquent,  fervent,  and  patriotic  prayer. 
The  band  then  played  a  dirge,  after  which  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic  proceeded  to  decorate  the  graves  of  the  Union 
volunteers,  the  United  States  artillery,  meanwhile,  firing  a 
salute. 

The  graves  were  seven  in  all.  Hundreds  upon  hundreds 
of  wreaths,  garlands,  and  bouquets  of  the  most  exquisite  and 
costly  flowers  were  piled  upon  the  tomb  of  the  lamented  Colonel 
Baker.  The  crowd  lingered  for  a  long  time  at  the  grave,  and 
called  to  remembrance  his  patriotic  and  fearless  course  in  the 
Senate,  his  brave  acts  during  his  military  career,  and  his  tragic 
death. 

The  last  grave  visited  by  his  comrades  in  arms  was  that  of 
Capt.  J.  B.  Olmstead.  He  was  a  printer,  and  his  remains  lie 
interred  in  the  lot  of  the  Eureka  Typographical  Union.  The 


62  MEMORIAL   CEREMONIES 

grave  of  the  typo  soldier  was  profusely  decorated  with  flowers. 
Colonel  Crernony  (himself  an  old  newspaper  editor)  made  a  few 
pathetic  and  appropriate  remarks  eulogistic  of  his  brother  sol- 
dier. The  cortege  then  threaded  its  way  through  the  cemetery, 
and,  leaving  their  companions  to  sleep  in  the  city  of  the  dead, 
thoughtfully  themselves  returned  to  the  city  of  the  living.  The 
ceremonies  throughout  were  conducted  unostentatiously,  and 
with  a  solemnity  befitting  the  occasion. 

Alter  their  return  to  the  Hall,  Marshal  Cremony  announced 
that  one  year  from  this  day  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic 
would  again  revisit  the  graves  of  their  fellows,  and  again  deco- 
rate them  with  immortelles.  A  unanimous  vote  of  thanks  of 
the  Army  was  returned  to  General  Ord  for  the  services  ren- 
dered by  troops  under  his  command ;  also  to  the  National 
Guard,  in  promptly  and  cheerfully  acting  as  escort ;  and, 
finally,  to  the  patriotic  ladies  who  presented  to  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic  such  a  beautiful  and  bountiful  supply 
of  flowers. 

Amongst  the  many  flags  borne  in  the  procession,  that  which 
excited  universal  interest  was  the  one  on  which  is  emblazoned 
the  names  of  the  many  battles  in  which  the  veteran  California 
Hundred  were  engaged. — Alta  Califomian,  June  8,  1868. 

AT  VALLEJO  AND  MAKE  ISLAND,  CAL. 

HEADQES.  POST  No.  12,  DEPT.  OF  CALIFORNIA,  ) 
VALLEJO,  Aug.  22,  1868.  ) 

COMRADES  :  Tour  Committee  appointed  to  prepare  an  ac- 
count of  the  fulfilment  of  General  Order  No.  11,  by  this  Post, 
to  be  forwarded  when  called  for,  to  Washington,  respectfully 
submit  the  following  report : 

At  a  special  meeting  of  this  Post,  held  on  May  29th,  1868, 
a  telegram  was  received  from  the  A.  A.  G.  of  the  Department 
of  California,  G.  A.  R.,  calling  attention  to  General  Order  No. 
11.  published  in  the  Sacramento  Union  of  that  date.  The  pa- 
per alluded  to  could  not  be  received  in  Yallejo  until  Saturday 
morning ;  but,  on  inquiry,  it  was  ascertained  that  a  copy  of 
the  Order  had  appeared  in  the  San  Francisco  Times  of  the 
28th  inst.  After  some  delay,  a  copy  was  obtained,  and  after  an 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.         03 

interesting  discussion,  in  which  various  plans  were  proposed  for 
giving  the  best  possible  effect  to  a  compliance  with  the  Order, 
the  following  Committees  were  appointed  to  carry  out  its 
provisions. 

FOR  VALLEJO:  Comrades,  R.  J.  Falls,  O.  L.  Henderson.  H. 
C.  Snow,  I.  R.  Lee,  J.  Campbell  and  Edward  Tizzard. 

FOR  MARE  ISLAND  :  Comrades,  J.  Anderson,  C/  B.  Denio, 
Geo.-Fehl,  C.  Fritz,  Washington  Yan  Wyke,  and  J.  A.  Mc- 
Ginniss. 

From  a  verbal  report  made  at  the  next  regular  meeting  of 
the  Post,  and  from  some  personal  sources,  the  following  has 
been  arranged  as  conveying  briefly  but  completely,  all  the  infor- 
mation to  be  gained  concerning  the  obedience  of  the  Order. : 

The  Committee  for  Mare  Island  waited  on  Rear  Admiral 
Craven  of  the  Navy  Yard,  and  obtained  his  permission  to  carry 
ont  the  provision  of  the  Order  at  the  Cemetery  on  the  Island; 
and  he  and  the  residents  of  the  Yard  were  very  energetic  in 
providing  facilities  for  the  proper  performance  of  our  solemn 
duty  to  our  fellow  comrades.  At  about  11  o'clock,  various 
parties  laden  with  bouquets  and  wreaths,  made  their  way 
towards  the  Cemetery,  situated  at  the  southern  extremity  of 
the  Island,  and  overlooking  the  Napa  Straits.  Here,  in  the 
quiet  and  peace  of  a  lovely  morning,  the  graves  of  some  thirty 
Soldiers  and  Sailors  were  decorated  with  the  bloom  of  flowers, 
— perishable  type  of  our- perishable  bodies.  There  was  hung 
on  the  gate  of  the  Cemetery,  a  floral  wreath,  encircling  a  copy 
of  Order  Xo.  11,  to  proclaim  to  visitors  the  meaning  of  this 
last  tribute  of  affection  paid  to  the  honored  dead.  After  tar- 
rying some  two  hours,  the  parties  retraced  their  steps.  Time 
was  too  short  for  much  preparation  ;  but  the  Order  was  obeyed 
in  its  spirit  and  its  letter,  with  a  feeling  of  entire  cheerful- 
ness at  the  thought  of  honoring  those  whose  living  bosoms  had 
been  a  bulwark  against  our  Country's  foes. 

At  Yallejo,  the  Committee  was  at  work  early.  Several 
of  the  ladies  of  the  city  cheerfully  left  their  household  du- 
ties, plied  busy  fingers  in  culling  flowers,  and  fashioning  them 
into  bouquets — a  sacrifice  deserving  of  our  eternal  gratitude, 
and  then  were  ready  to  accompany  the  detail  to  the  grounds, 


64  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

some  three  or  four  miles  from  Yallejo,  on  the  road  to  Bene- 
cia.  Conveyance  was  had  in  carriages  kindly  furnished  by 
Messrs.  Jno.  Browulie.and  J.  Callender  ;  and  on  arrival  at 
the  Cemetery,  the  graves  of  four  or  five  departed  Comrades 
were  found  and  decorated.  Speeches,  there  were  none  ;  but 
the  feeling  of  each  and  every  one  present  was  deeply  imbued 
with  the  hue  of  that  high  and  generous  sentiment  natural  when 
remembering  the  evidence  of  a  sacrifice  of  youth's  best  treasure 
—  the  hope  of  life,  —  exemplified  in  those  speaking  mounds  and 
eloquent  insignia  of  death.  After  spending  two  or  three  hours, 
the  party  slowly  returned,  to  mingle  again  in  the  active  busi- 
ness and  household  cares  of  life  :  —  to  think  forever  after,  with 
a  thrill  of  solemn  pleasure,  of  the  events  of  that  day  ;  and  of 
the  opportunity  —  eagerly  embraced  —  afforded  them  of  partici- 
pating in  the  solemn  duty  the  living  owed  the  dead. 

The  following  publications  in  the  Vallejo  papers  are  ap- 
pended, in  conformity  with  the  order  of  the  Department  : 

RESOLUTIONS. 

The  following  Resolutions  were  adopted  by  the  Committee 
appointed  by  Post  No.  12,  G.  A.  R.,  to  carry  out  Order  No. 
11,  received  from  the  Commauder-in-Chief  at  Washington  : 

HEADQUARTERS  POST  No  12,  DEP'T  OF  CAL.,  ) 

f 


G.  A.  R.,  VALiJfto,  June  3d,  1868. 

We,  the  undersigned,  a  committee  chosen  for  the  purpose, 
do  hereby  tender  to  Mrs.  Susan  Callender,  Mrs.  Frank  Carlton, 
Mrs.  R.  Hildreth,  Miss  Ada  Bailey,  and  Miss  Ethel  Mitchell, 
the  sincere  thanks  of  Post  No.  12,  G.  A  R.,  at  Yallejo,  for 
their  personal  attendance  and  assistance  at  the  Cemetery  at 
Vallejo,  on  the  30th  of  May  last,  to  carry  out  the  above  order  ; 
and  also  to  those  ladies  of  Vallejo  who  so  cheerfully  donated 
flowers,  &c.,  for  the  ocasion.  We  tender  thanks  also  to  Messrs. 
Callender  and  Brownlie,  respectively,  for  the  gratuitous  use  of 
carriages  ;  and  to  the  Vallejo  Rifles  for  their  flag.  Rear-  Ad- 
miral Craven,  and  the  lady  residents  on  Mare  Island,  will  also 
accept  the  thanks  of  the  Post,  for  permission  and  courtesies 
necessary  to  carry  out  the  order  at  the  Cemetery  on  the  Island. 
Respectfully,  &c., 

R.  J.  FALLS,  ) 

C.  B.  DENIO,  V  Committee. 

EDW'D  G.  HAYNES.  ) 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  65 


DECORATING  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES. 

Monday,  June  1st,  was,  in  accordance  with  instructions 
from  the  Headquarters  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
dedicated  throughout  the  United  States  to  the  performance  of 
a  task,  than  which,  none  could  be  more  worthy,  graceful,  and 
just.  Wherever,  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land, 
the  bodies  of  the  soldiers  of  the  Republic  had  been  laid  to  rest, 
there  warm  hearts  gathered  around  towering  monument  and 
turfy  hillock,  and  strewed  with  floral  offerings  the  graves  of 
our  country's  fallen  heroes.  Above  each  consecrated  spot  the 
flag  of  the  nation,  draped  with  expressive  emblems  of  mourn- 
ing, floated  all  the  day  long.  We  have  said  the  rite  was  a 
graceful  one.  And  so  long  as  the  memory  of  the  fierce  strug- 
gle for  her  life,  from  which  the  nation  emerged  victoriously 
through  the  strength  of  those  slain  in  battle,  and  the  valor  ot 
those  who  have  suggested  this  fitting  commemoration  of  the 
heroism  of  their  brethren,  shall  endure,  we  trust  that  each  re- 
curring season  of  flowers  will  be  a  witness  to  a  tribute  as  well 
deserved  as  it  is  beautiful  in  itself.  On  the  day  referred  to, 
the  graves  of  the  Union  soldiers  who  lie  asleep  at  the  cemetery 
attached  to  this  city,  and  those  at  Mare  Island,  were  visited  by 
many  ladies  and  gentlemen,  and  beautifully  decorated.  The 
occasion  recalls  Collins'  exquisite  and  never-to-be-sufficiently 
admired  lines : 

"  How  sleep  the  brave  who  sink  to  rest, 
With  all  their  country's  wishes  bless'd ; 
When  Spring,  with  dewy  fingers  cold, 
Returns  to  deck  their  hallow'd  mould, 
She  there  shall  dress  a  sweeter  sod, 
Than  Fancy's  feet  have  ever  trod. 

By  fairy  hands  their  knell  is  rung, 
By  forms  unseen  their  dirge  is  sung ; 
There  Honor  comes,  a  pilgrim  gray, 
To  bless  the  turf  that  wraps  their  clay  ; 
And  Freedom  shall  awhile  repair, 
To  dwell  a  weeping  hermit  there." 

Vallejo  Recorder,  June  6,  186$. 

(  JOHN  ASHTON,  Chairman, 
Committee.  <  E.  H.  FORESTER, 
(  A.  H.  GUNNING. 

HEADQUARTEBS  POST  No.  12,  DEP'T  or  CAL.,  G.  A.  R.,  ) 
VALLEJO,  Aug.  22,  1868.      ) 

The  above  Committee  were  appointed,  and  made  the  above 
report,  of  the  action  of  this  Post  relating  to  General  Order  No. 
5 


66  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

11,  G.  A.  R,  which  was  accepted  as  correct  at  a  meeting  of 
this  Post  this  date  ;  and  in  compliance  with  the  order  of  Com- 
rade J.  L.  Gamble,  Post  Commander  of  this  Post,  I  hereby  for- 
ward said  report.  Fraternally  yours, 

EDWABD  G.  HAYXES,  Post  Adjutant. 

At  Sacramento,  Cal,  the  few  who  lie  buried  in  the  city 
cemeteries  were  not  forgotten.  Maj.  W.  L.  Campbell,  Post 
Commander  in  that  city,  visited  the  graves  of  the  Union  sol 
diers  who  are  buried  in  the  vicinity,  and  scattered  the  beautiful 
flowers  of  Spring  over  the  last  resting-places  of  those  who  loved 
and  served  their  country. — Sacramento  Union. 

AT  BALTIMORE,  MD. 

In  common  with  the  ceremonies  that  took  place  in  every 
part  of  the  country  where  the  bodies  of  the  soldiers  and  sailors 
of  the  Union  armies  and  navies  are  buried,  the  Union  people  of 
Baltimore  turned  out  en  masse  for  the  purpose  of  decorating, 
with  floral  tributes  of  affection  for  their  memory  and  the  cause 
for  which  they  died,  the  graves  of  the  soldiers  and  sailors  who 
died  in  Baltimore  during  the  war,  and  lie  entombed  at  London 
Park  Cemetery. 

The  project  originated  with  General  Logan,  the  Commander- 
in-Chief  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  was  by  him 
communicated  through  the  medium  of  General  Orders  !No.  11, 
to  all  the  posts  of  the  army,  and  the  members  of  the  organiza- 
tion at  once  showed  every  disposition  to  carry  out  to  the  fullest 
extent  the  orders  of  their  Chief.  The  spirit  which  prompted 
the  paying  of  honors  to  the  memory  of  the  dead  was  speedily 
caught  up  by  the  people  everywhere,  who  during  the  war  had 
sustained  the  Government. 

This  is  especially  true  of  Baltimore ;  and  in  response  to  the 
appeals  made  for  donations  of  flowers,  the  most  liberal  re- 
sponses were  received.  Every  preparation  was  made  for  a  fit- 
ting observance  of  the  occasion,  and  the  result  richly  rewarded 
the  efibrts  made. 

AT  THE  WESTERN  CEMETERY. 

At  the  "Western  Cemetery  there  lie  buried  the  bodies  of 
fifteen  soldiers,  former  inmates  of  the  Home  for  Disabled  Mary- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  67 

land  Soldiers,  and  who  had  died  in  that  institution.  These 
graves  were  handsomely  decorated  by  those  of  the  present  in- 
mates of  the  Home  who  were  able  to  leave  the  house.  They 
were  twenty  in  number,  and  were  under  the  charge  of  Mr. 
Win.  Stahl,  the  Superintendent  of  the  Home.  The  disabled 
veterans  performed  the  duty  by  laying  upon  each  grave  a  bou- 
quet of  choice  flowers. 

AT  kouDON  PARK. 

From  an  early  hour  of  the  afternoon,  the  Frederick  road 
leading  toward  London  Park  Cemetery  was  thronged  by  eager 
pedestrians  pushing  their  way  toward  the  scene  of  the  ceremo- 
nies. An  extra  number  of  cars  were  run  on  the  railway,  but 
they  fell  far  short  of  accommodating  the  crowd,  although  each 
one  presented  "a  mass  of  humanity  clinging  to  every  inch  where 
a  foothold  could  be  had.  A  large  number  of  vehicles,  many  of 
them  some  of  the  most  elegant  turn-outs  of  Baltimore,  were 
also  upon  the  road,  hurrying  to  the  spot  where  this  great  mass 
of  people  were  concentrating. 

Posts  Nos.  1,  4,  and  5,  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
located  in  the  city,  formed  at  their  various  headquarters  and 
marched  to  the  Cemetery.  As  they  went  along  the  road,  with 
several  of  the  battle-scarred  flags  of  the  famous  Maryland  Brig- 
ade in  the  ranks,  and  marched  witli  the  free,  swinging  route- 
step  of  old  and  disciplined  soldiers,  their  fine  appearance  was 
noticed  and  most  favorably  commented  on.  Post  No.  1  was 
under  Commander  Harrison  Adreon  ;  Post  No.  4  under  Com- 
mander Thos.  J.  Garrison  ;  and  Post  No.  5  under  Commander 
£.  T.  Daneker.  The  men  were  in  plain  dress,  except  that  each 
one  bore  upon  his  breast  the  badge  of  the  army.  The  shield 
and  symbolical  motto  was  carried  in  the  ranks  of  Post  No.  4. 
Upon  arriving  at  the  Cemetery,  the  line  was  formed  in  parade 
and  afterwards  dismissed  by  the  Department  Commander,  Gen. 
A.  "W.  Dennison,  to  wait  the  beginning  of  the  exercises. 

Although  it  was  now  a  full  hour  before  the  programme  was 
to  commence,  yet  there  were  fully  three  thousand  people  in  the 
Cemetery,  and  the  crowd  was  still  pouring  in — on  foot  and  in 
carriages.  Each  new  arrival  brought  fresh  floral  offerings,  until 


68  Ml.MOKIAL    CEREMONIES 

where  they  were  heaped  up  and  being  arranged  by  the  ladies, 
the  spot  looked  as  if  all  the  gardens  around  had  been  rifled  of 
the  choicest  beauties,  that  they  might  surround  with  a  fresh 
odor  of  hallowed  sanctity  the  graves  of  the  departed. 

The  feature  that  attracted  the  most  attention  was  the  pres- 
ence of  seventy  of  the  children  of  the  Union  Orphan  Asylum, 
under  the  care  of*  the  kind  matron,  Mrs.  Perry.  The  fact  that 
the  fathers  of  many  of  them  were  interred  within  a  few  feet  of 
where  they  were  standing,  lent  a  mournful  interest  to  the  feel- 
ing with  which  they  were  regarded.  The  appearance  of  these 
girls  and  boys  was  sufficient  to  bring  home  the  knowledge  to 
every  one  that  they  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  those  who 
would  care  for  them,  and  bring  them  up  in  the  way  that  they 
should  least  know  the  great  loss  they  had  suffered^  Everybody 
had  a  kind  word  for  them,  and  many  a  wish  was  formed  for  the 
future  happiness  of  those  who  had  been  left  as  a  sacred  trust  to 
the  nation. 

There  were  also  some  twenty  of  the  veterans  from  the  Sol- 
diers' Home,  men  who  had  suffered  diseases  and  received 
wounds  that  had  rendered  them  disabled  for  their  future  Jives. 
They  also  showed  the  marks  of  excellent  care.  Like  good  sol- 
diers, to  whom  habit  had  become  second  nature,  they  fell  in 
with  the  ranks  of  the  Grand  Army  at  the  tap  of  the  drum. 

The  graves  are  located  at  the  northern  and  eastern  sides  of 
the  Cemetery.  They  number,  in  all,  1,752,  of  which  1,664  are 
known,  and  84  unknown.  One  commissioned  officer,  a  Lieuten- 
ant, and  a  hospital  nurse  are  among  the  number.  The  latter, 
Mrs.  Beale,  died  while  in  the  prosecution  of  her  duty  at  the 
Adams  Hospital,  in  1862. 

Over  each  of  the  graves  is  a  well-proportioned  mound, 
handsomely  sodded,  and  showing  evidence  of  being  well  taken 
care  of.  At  each  grave  is  a  neat  wooden  head-board,  painted 
white,  .and  having  lettered  on  it  in  black  the  name,  rank,  regi- 
ment, and  date  of  the  death  of  the  deceased  soldier. 

Prior  to  the  opening  of  the  exercises,  most  of  the  throng 
present  occupied  themselves  with  walking  around  among  the 
graves.  Many  had  friends  and  relatives  among  that  silent  army 
of  the  dead ;  and  over  many  of  the  low  mounds  faces  could  be 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  69 

observed  bending,  that,  when  rising,  were  wet  with  tears.  A 
sad  and  mournful  mood  had  seemed  to  fall  with  a  solemn  hush 
upon  all  present. 

A  convenient  stand  had  been  erected  near  the  iron  railing 
which  separates  the  soldiers'  graves  from  the  other  portion  of 
the  Cemetery,  and  around  it  the  vast  throng,  now  numbering 
some  four  thousand,  congregated.  The  ranks  of  the  members 
of  the  Grand  Army  were  formed  on  three  sides  of  the  stand, 
and  next  to  them  the  orphans  from  the  asylum.  Prominent* in 
the  column  was  the  headquarters'  flag,  used  by  Gen.  A.  W. 
Dennison  when  commanding  the  Maryland  Brigade  of  the  Sec- 
ond Division  of  the  Fifth  Corps.  It  was  carried  by  Post  1,  and 
its  tattered  and  stained  folds  seemed  to  possess  a  peculiar  inter- 
est for  the  men  who  had  so  often  seen  it  at  the  head  of  the  col- 
umn during  the  weary  marches  and  hard-fought  battle-fields. 

Shortly  after  4  o'clock,  Dr.  S.  B.  Wolfe  ascended  the  stand, 
and  announced  that  the  programme  would  be  commenced.  He 
said  that  they  had  come  together  to  do*  honor  to  those  who  had 
fallen  in  defence  of  their  country.  He  thanked  the  audience 
for  their  presence. 

A  selected  choir  of  twenty,  led  by  Dr.  William  B.  Hidden, 
then  sang  "  The  Star-Spangled  Banner,"  the  audience  joining  in 
the  chorus.  A  handsome  parlor  organ  was  on  the  ground,  and 
its  powerfully  resonant  notes,  mingling  with  the  voices  of  the 
singers  and  the  concord  of  sound  resounding  from  among  the 
foliage  of  the  grand  old  trees,  produced  a  most  inspiriting  and 
delightful  effect. 

Capt.  E.  T.  Daneker,  Commander  of  Post  No.  5,  read  Gen- 
eral Orders  No.  11  from  the  headquarters  of  the  G.  A.  R., 
directing  the  members  of  the  order  to  observe  the  occasion. 

The  orphan  children  then  sang  the  beautiful  chant,  "  Come 
to  Me."  The  composition  is  one  that  requires  good  musical 
training  for  its  proper  execution,  and  this  these  little  vocalists 
had,  and  most  beautifully  did  they  sing. 

Rev.  Geo.  P.  Hayes  then  delivered  an  exceedingly  touching 
and  appropriate  prayer.  All  heads  were  bowed,  and  in  the  vast 
throng  no  sound  but  the  minister's  voice  could  be  heard  during 
its  delivery.  Of  the  prayer,  the  following  is  an  outline : 


70  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

O  God,  Thou  who  in  darkness  and  in  light  gone  by  hast 
been  our  dwelling-place,  who  dost  adorn  Nature  with  all  her 
loveliness,  and  who  dost  rule  wisely  and  well.  In  the  years  of 
darkness,  whose  memory  to-day  rushes  in  upon  us,  Thou  wast 
our  Friend,  and  out  of  the  darkness  and  peril  Thou  hast  deliv- 
ered us.  We  come  to  commend  to  Thy  fatherly  care  and  bene- 
diction these  orphan  children  now  before  us.  Remember  the 
orphans  who  have  been  left  behind  to  our  protection.  Let  the 
mrmory  of  their  beloved  dead  be  the  guide  of  their  future  civil 
life,  so  that  they  may  grow  up  good  and  useful  men  and  women 
in  Thy  sight.  Let  those  whose  loved  duty  it  is  to  watch  over 
them  be  ever  mindful  of  their  great  responsibility.  Remember 
in  their  infirmity  those  Buffering  ones  who  have  been  left  be- 
hind. The  God  of  grace  enrich  them  with  his  blessings.  Re- 
member the  widows  all  over  the  land  who  mourn  the  untimely 
death  of  their  loved  and  lost  ones.  As  they  have  suffered  much, 
may  this  people  have  them,  ever  in  remembrance.  Bless  these 
comrades  of  the  dead  who  are  still  on  the  field  of  action.  May 
they  never  swerve  from  the  faithful  fulfilment  of  their  obliga- 
tions to  Thee,  and  to  the  nation  of  which  they  form  so  illustri- 
ous a  part.  We  bless  Thee  for  the  memory  of  the  dead.  Re- 
member this  nation,  we  pray  Thee.  We  hold  it  up  to  Thee  for 
Thy  care,  as  in  the  days  gone  by.  Bind  it  together  again,  not 
in  the  force  of  constrained  bonds,  but  in  those  of  fraternal  love, 
BO  that  it  may-be  stronger  than  ever  in  its  renewed  affection  for 
.stittitions.  So  may  we  hope  to  look  to  the  glorious  future 
of  a  united  nation  in  the  days  to  come.  Watch  over  our  rulers ; 
keep  them  in  their  different  departments  ;  help  them  to  do  Thy 
will  to  this  nation.  Guard  them  so  that  they  may  not  be  such 
as  forget  God.  Let  whatever  of  trials  or  affliction  may  come  to 
us  draw  us  nearer  to  each  other  and  to  Thee  ;  until  at  last,  hav- 
ing done  our  duty,  having  broken  every  bond,  and  helped  every 
man  upward,  we  may  come  before  Thee,  and  enter  the  kingdom 
and  share  eternal  life. 

Then  followed  the  Lord's  Prayer,  many  in  the  audience  join- 
ing in  its  repetition. 

The  orphan  children  then  sang  "  Hail  Columbia." 

GENERAL  RICHARDSON'S  ADDRESS. 

Gen.  Hollen  Richardson  was  introduced  to  the  audience  by 
Dr.  Wolfe,  and  delivered  the  following  address : 

As  I  was  coming  to  this 'solemn  scene,  I  was  trying  to  real- 
ize that,  within  a  brief  century,  from  a  mere  handful  of  souls, 


AT    THE    SOLDIERS*    GRAVES. 


weary  ;ind  oppressed  of  other  lands,  a  great  nation  of  more  tliaii 
tiiirty  millions  of  freemen  had  sprung  up  on  this  continent  ; 
that  cities  and  States  had  been  the  work  of  but  a  few  short 
vcars.  I  was  trying  to  view  civilization  as  she  steadily  pushed 
l:er  way  from  the  Atlantic  across  the  Alleghanies,  beyond  the 
Mississippi,  over  the  snow-clad  Rocky  Mountains,  down  their 
western  slopes  to  the  sea,  and  in  its  march  from  our  sparkling 
lakes  that  bind  our  North  to  the  briny  gulf  at  the  South  ;  that 
under  her  guidance  our  agriculture  was  feeding  the  starving 
millions  of  Europe  ;  that  here  art  and  mechanism  had  wiped 
the  brow  of  the  once  toiling  masses  ;  that  letters,  literature,  and 
learning  were  the  free  gift  of  our  people  ;  that  our  vast  and 
accumulating  wealth  had  sent  her  commerce  to  every  sea  ;  that 
everywhere  prosperity  had  kissed  the  hand  of  industry.  In 
vain  was  I  trying  to  realize  that  a  nation  not  schooled  to  war, 
without  an  army  except  for  her  frontiers,  with  no  defence  but 
the.  brave  hearts  of  her  loyal  people,  should  be  honored  and 
respected  by  the  entire  civilized  world  ;  that  her  flag  was  hon- 
ored by  every  nation,  and  floated  triumphantly  on  every  breeze. 

As  I  thus  beheld  the  new  Republic,  I  was  trying  to  under- 
stand how  such  a  people,  so  free,  so  prosperous,  and  so  happy, 
could  war  with  each  other. 

Before  us,  in  hushed  silence,  is  the  sad  proof  that  we  had  in 
our  midst  an  element  of  revolution  that  only  waited  an  oppor- 
tunity to  strike  the  dagger  at  the  heart  of  tlie  nation  ;  that  ele- 
ment, upon  the  false  pretext  of  "  Northern  aggression  upon 
Southern  right,"  brought  about  the  most  terrible  civil  war  of 
any  age.  I  have  thought  this  a  fitting  time  briefly  to  discuss 
the  cause  of  the  war. 

The  enemies  of  the  Government  had  but  a  single  object, 
viz.,  the  establishment  of  an  aristocratic  Southern  Confederacy, 
based  upon  supposed  superiority,  with  slavery  as  its  chief  cor- 
ner-stone. 

Upon  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  to  the  high  office  of  Presi- 
dent, the  long-looked-for  hour  had  come.  Southern  Senators 
and  Representatives  withdrew  from  Congress,  and  one  by  one 
the  Southern  States^  under  the  since  abandoned  and  beaten 
heresy,  "  State's  rights,"  assumed  to  withdraw  from  the  Union 
of  States.  As  an  armed  mob  they  fired  upon  and  captured 
Fort  Sumter,  and  the  nation  awoke  from  its  long,  sweet  sleep 
of  peace  and  prosperity  to  the  realization  of  the  sad  fact  that 
we  were  in  the  midst  of  war.  The  echo  of  the  guns  from  Sum- 
ter  had  not  died  in  the  valley  ere  our  people  were  in  arms. 

The  plowman  left  his  work  but  just  begun;  the  merchant 
and  the  mechanic  forsook  his  counting-room  and  work-shop  ; 


72  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

the  laborer  his  daily  toil ;  men  of  even-  avocation  and  station 
in  life  rushed  to  the  scene  of  death  and  carnage.. 

Ere  the  May  flowers  of  1861  had  lost  their  fragrance,  the 
two  armies  of  the  contending  sections  were  confronting  each 
other  before  the  Capital  of  the  nation. 

July  21, 1861,  we  fought  the  memorable  battle  of  Bull  Run. 
Then  for  the  first  time  did  the  friends  of  the  Government  real- 
ize the  magnitude  of  the  war. 

Fall  and  the  coming  winter  was  spent  in  reinforcing,  equip- 

S'ng,  and  drilling  the  army.  With  the  Spring  of  1862  we  had 
cClellan's  Peninsular  campaign,  with  various  battles  in  the 
"West.  Summer  brought  on  our  second  defeat  on  the  plains  of 
Manassas  (which  failed  for  want  of  cooperation  on  the  part  of 
the  subordinate  officer).  From  the  Spring  of  1861  to  the  mem- 
orable battle  of  Antietarn,  when  Lincoln  promised  God  that,  if 
He  would  give  him  victory,  he  would  issue  his  proclamation  of 
freedom  to  the  slaves,  we  had  nothing  but  disaster  and  inglori- 
ous defeat. 

From  that  hour  until  the  close  of  the  war,  at  Vicksburg,  at 
Chattanooga,  in  Sherman's  grand  march  to  the  sea,  in  the  Val- 
ley of  Virginia,  in  the  Wilderness  of  Spottsylvania,  before 
Richmond,  at  Five  Forks,  and  on  to  the  Appomattox  Court- 
House,  success  attended  our  almost  every  effort. 

It  only  took  the  first  year  of  the  war  to  demonstrate  the 
impracticability  of  the  doctrine  of  "  State's  rights."  They 
abandoned  it  when  they  dragged  their  unwilling  troops  of  the 
extreme  South  to  the  defence  of  Virginia. 

As  for  their  pet  institution,  slavery,  they  tried  to  barter  it 
away  for  foreign  intervention  when  they  sent  Mason  arid  Slidell 
to  Europe.  ; 

With  State's  rights  and  slavery  thus  abandoned,  their  de- 
clared cause  of  war  was  at  an  end  ;  from  that  hour,  with  them, 
it  was  murder  most  foul  to  continue  the  contest. 

The  blood  of  McPherson,  Sedgwick,  Reynolds,  Kearney, 
with  the  three  hundred  thousand  brave 'and  true  who  fell  m 
Freedom's  holy  cause,  cry  from  the  ground  against  them  ;  the 
mangled  bodies  and  wasted  forms  of  those  who  still  survive  the 
shock  of  battle,  beseech  you,  in  the  name  of  comrades  starved 
and  slain,  to  guard  with  jealous  care  the  honor  and  the  flag  of 
that  Union  they  fought  and  die!  to  save,  as  in  death's  approach 
they  breathed  their  last  request  to  guard  their  little  flock  they 
left  behind,  and,  dying,  blessed  their  country.  Be  these  little 
ones  our  charge ;  and  as  now  we  look  upon  their  sweet  and 
pleading  faces,  and  on  the  graves  of  their  fathers  slain,  let  us 
remember  and  honor  the  dead,  and  care  for  their  living.  So 


AT  THE  &OLDIERS'  GRAVES.  73 

shall  be  the  future  strength  of  our  Republic.  Do  this,  and,  in 
the  language  of  the  martyred  Lincoln,  "  the  nation  shall,  under 
God,  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom,  and  the  Government  of  the 
people  by  the  people, 'and  for  the  people,  shall  not  perish  from 
the  earth"." 

In  imitation  of  the  Athenian  custom,  we  have  come  to  honor 
our  honored  dead  ;  and  as  we  spread  upon  their  graves  narcis- 
sum,  the  flower  of  quiet  sleep,  we  will  not  forget  to  plant  the 
hyacinth,  that  they  may  bloom  immortal. 

As  we  stand  by  the  graves  of  our  fallen  comrades,  let  us 
pledge  anew  to-day  our  devotion  to  the  glorious  Union  be- 
queathed us  by  our  Revolutionary  fathers,  to  the  wives  and 
children  of  those  who  will  return  to  us  no  more  forever,  and 
to  the  living  representatives  of  the  great  army  of  the  Union, 
the  saviours  of  the  nation,  and  vow  to  teach  our  children  the 
cherished  thought  that 

"  On  fame's  eternal  camping-ground 

Their  silent  tents  are  spread, 
And  glory  guards  with  sacred  round 
The  bivouac  of  the  dead." 

During  this  time  some  of  the  ladies  were  busy  among  the 
immense  piles  of  flowers  of  all  species,  colors  and  sizes,  making 
them  up  into  bouquets  of  an  appropriate  size  and  style.  Be- 
sides these  there  were  many  floral  designs  of  the  most  beautiful 
kinds,  such  as  crosses,  baskets,  &c.,  that  had  been  brought  by 
those  having  friends  or  relatives  buried  here,  and  designed  for 
some  especial  tribute  of  love. 

At  this  point,  and  while  General  Richardson  was  speaking,  a 
slight  fall  of  rain  took  place,  but  did  not  last  more  than  a  few 
minutes,  and  no  one  left  the  grounds. 

The  arrangements  being  complete,  the  decoration  was  com- 
menced. A  long  line  was  formed  with  the  orphan  children  at 
the  head,  followed  by  the  Grand  Army  column,  after  which  the 
citizens  passed  in  two  by  two.  As  the  line  slowly  and  with 
reverential  steps  passed  the  gate  leading  into  the  Government's 
section  of  the  Cemetery,  each  person  received  a  bouquet  and, 
one  by  one,  each  took  a  position  at  a  grave.  At  the  tap  of  the 
drum  the  flowers  were  deposited  oil  the  mounds  of  earth,  and  the 
ceremony  was  concluded. 

Just  as  this  was  being  done  a  loud  peal  of  thunder  was  heard 
that  reverberated  for  several  seconds,  when  the  skies  suddenly 


74  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

cleared,  the  sun  shone  brightly  out,  transmuting  the  rain  drops 
that  hung  heavily  upon  each  blade  of  grass  and  bush  into  a 
sparkling  jewel  of  light,  and  in  the  East  a  magnificent  rainbow 
spanned  the  arch  just  above  the  horizon.  Every  one  present 
was  deeply  inspired  by  the  beauty  and  solemnity  of  the  scene, 
to  which  it  seemed  Heaven  was  lending  its  glories.  Nor  was 
this  feeling  lessened  when  the  children,  standing  amid  the  rows 
of  graves  that  stretched  on  each  side,  sang,  "  They  peacefully 
Sleep." 

Next  followed,  "  How  Sleep  the  Brave,"  sang  by  a  quartette 
of  four  very  fine  voices,  and  accompanied  by  the  organ. 

Rev.  J.  N.  Maxwell  then,  from  the  stand,  delivered  an  ear- 
nest prayer.  He  said  that  although  we  mourn  the  death  of 
those  who  sleep  here  in  their  bloody  graves,  we  bless  Thee  that 
the  cause  for  which  they  fought  has  triumphed.  Thou  hast 
caused  this  nation  to  grow  up  and  become  great  among  the  na- 
tions of  the  earth,  and  when  attacked  Thou  hast  caused  us  to 
triumph.  We  pray  for  the  triumphs  of  the  cross,  and  we  pray 
that  this  nation  may  long  be  established  in  the  principles  of 
truth  and  justice.  We  pray  Thee  that  those  who  have  fought 
and  survived  may  love  their  God  and  their  nation.  May  these 
flowers  in  their  purity  be  an  emblem  of  the  purity  of  our  patriot- 
ism, our  love  of  God  and  of  humanity.  We  pray  Thee  to  bless 
the  orphan  children,  the  widows  and  friends  of  those  deceased 
Soldiers. 

Comrade  W.  A.  Noel,  of  Post  No.  4,  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Arrangements,  made  a  short  speech  from  the  stand. 
He  thanked  the  large  audience  for  their  attendance,  and  congrat- 
ulated them  on  the  deep  interest  which  they  manifested  in  the 
occasion.  To  the  orphan  children  and  to  the  choir,  which  had 
given  them  such  beautiful  music,  especial  thanks  were  returned. 
The  benediction  was  then  pronounced  by  Rev.  Geo.  P.  Hayes. 

The  ceremonies  began  about f  half-past  four  o'clock,  and 
terminated  at  six  o'clock. 

Those  who  participated  in  the  ceremonies,  and  especially  its 
originators,  have  every  cause  to  feel  proud  and  gratified  at  its 
entire  success.  The  throng  was  immense,  and  everything  passed 
off  most  agreeably. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.         75 

There  was  the  greatest  profusion  of  flowers,  and  it  seemed 
as  if  no  one  was  too  poor  to  offer  this  testimonial.  Thanks  are 
returned  to  all  the  donors,  and  if  possible  we  would  like  to  name 
them  all.  Among  the  lot  was  a  box  full  of  magnificent  hot- 
house flowers,  sent  from  the  public  gardens  at  Washington,  in 
obedience  to  a  resolution  offered  by  Senator  Morgan,  of  New 
York,  and  adopted  by  the  United  States  Senate. 

Among  the  many  interesting  incidents  connected  with  the 
decoration  of  the  graves  of  our  loyal  Soldiers  on  Saturday,  we 
allude  to  the  fact  that  some  of  the  many  friends  of  that  excellent 
and  much  lamented  gentleman,  the  late  Sebastian  F.  Streeter, 
visited  his  grave  in  Greenmount  Cemetery  and  ornamented  it 
with  a  large  collection  of  rare  and  beautiful  flowers.  The  affec- 
tionate regard  entertained  for  his  memory  by  those  who,  with 
him,  so  devotedly  ministered  to  the  necessities  of  our  brave 
Soldiers,  when  suffering  trom  the  effects  of  battle  and  disease, 
and  their  appreciation  of  Mr.  Streeter's  efforts  to  secure  the  com- 
fort of  the  sick  and  wounded,  were  manifested  by  this  unosten- 
tatious tribute  to  his  worth,  and  it  is  of  itself  a  monument  to 
one  who  was  stricken  down  whilst  engaged  in  his  noble  work. 
"We  may  re.>t  assured  that  while  the  graves  of  other  noble,  self- 
sucriticing  heroes  are  being  decorated,  the  grave  of  Streeter 
cannot  be  forgotten.  His  memory  will  ever  be  green  in  the 
hearts  of  those  to  whom  he  endeared  himself  throughout  the 
Union  during  the  war  by  his  kind,  ever-ministering  heart  and 
hand.  He  was  always  active  in  the  promotion  of  the  great  and 
finally  successful  cause  in  which  he  was  engaged,  and  for  which, 
though  not  a  Soldier,  he  sacrificed  his  valuable  life. — Baltimore 
Americwi,  June  1, 1868. 

Ax  FREDERICK,  MARYLAND. 

On  the  30th  of  May,  pursuant  to  the  order  from  General 
John  A.  Logan,  Commander-in-Chief  of  "  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic,"  a  detachment  of  the  members  of  Post  ISTo.  2,  and 
other  returned  Soldiers  of  Frederick  and  vicinity,  assembled  at 
Headquarters  to  conduct  the  ceremonies  arranged  for  decora- 
ting the  graves  of  their  comrades.  At  2  o'clock  the  column, 
composed  of  Soldiers  alone,  under  the  command  of  Captain 


76  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

William  Glessner,  assisted  by  Captain  Walter  Saunders,  formed 
and  moved  out  South  Market  Street,  to  Mount  Olivet  Cemetery, 
in  the  following  order :  A  monument,  mounted  upon  a  wagon 
drawn  by  two  black  horses;  the  monument  bore  the  inscription: 
"  To  our  Comrades,"  it  was  covered  with  wreaths  and  evergreen, 
the  base  covered  with  the  stars  and  stripes,  and  surmounted  by 
the  national  flag  draped  with  crape ;  then  came  the  drum  corps, 
(composed  of  four  drummers  and  a  fifer,  all  of  whom  served  in 
that  capacity  in  the  U.  S.  Army  during  the  Eebellion ; )  and 
next  the  column  of  Veterans,  bearing  three  large  flags,  at  half 
mast,  draped  in  mourning,  each  Soldier  wearing  crape  on  his 
left  arm,  and  bearing  a  wreath  on  his  right.  The  men  marched 
with  regular  and  firm  step,  the  solid  "  tramp,"  and  martial 
music  of  the  fife  and  drums,  calling  forth  the  frequent  remark, 
"  these  men  are  Soldiers  yet."  At  the  Cemetery  gate  the  col- 
umn was  halted,  and  the  printed  programmes  and  copies  of  the 
National  Hymn  distributed.  Just  inside  the  Cemetery  were 
the  ladies  who  had  been  selected  to  decorate  the  graves,  dressed 
in  pure  white,  and  formed  in  line  on  each  side  of  the  avenue 
leading  from  the  entrance ;  next  were  the  ladies  of  the  committee 
of  arrangements,  arranged  in  the  same  order,  and  on  both  sides  a 
large  concourse  of  persons  anxious  to  witness  the  ceremonies. 
Then  followed  an  impressive  and  solemn  scene,  one  not  likely 
to  be  soon  forgotten  either  by  those  who  participated  or  those 
who  witnessed  it.  The  column  was  formed  in  two  ranks,  the 
drums  muffled,  and  at  the  command  "March,"  the  line  moved 
on  to  the  solemn  Roll  of  the  funeral  march.  A  deathlike  silence 
reigned,  not  a  word  was  spoken,  as  those  maimed  aud  war- 
scarred  veterans,  with  uncovered  heads,  and  slow  and  measured 
Btep,  passed  through  that  solid  file  of  beautiful  beings,  the  true  and 
loyal  women  of  Frederick,  whose  hearts  had  beaten  in  full  har- 
mony with  the  music  of  a  nation  struggling  for  its  life,  and 
whose  deeds  of  charity  to  the  sick  and  wounded  heroes  of  the 
Republic  have  won  for  them  a  name  that  future  historians  will 
be  proud  to  record.  The  appearance  of  those  tried  Warriors 
upon  this  sacred  spot,  there  to  do  honor  to  the  memories  of 
those  by  whose  side  they  had  marched  and  fought,  revived  the 
recollection  of  scenes  which  caused  the  silent  tear  to  trickle 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.         77 

down  the  cheeks  of  many,  both  in  the  column  and  of  the  assem- 
blage. The  line  filed  to  the  left  and  formed  a  crescent  around 
a  beautiful  mound  surrounded  by  trees  and  flowering  shrubs, 
the  ladies  forming  the  inner  line.  Here  the  ceremonies  were 
commenced ;  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hinkle,  by  request,  offered  a  beauti- 
ful and  patriotic  prayer.  General  John  A.  Steiner,  who  had  been 
selected  as  Chaplain  for  the  occasion,  then  read  the  opening 
services  :  "  Reign,  thou  Spirit  of  Peace,  over  this  consecrated 
spot.  Rest  here  in  hope,  ye  who  fall  asleep  in  Jesus.  Rest  till 
the  welcome  voice  of  invitation  shall  break  your  slumber,  and 
sound  aloud  through  your  silent  mansions.  Awake  and  sing, 
ye  that  dwell  in  dust,"  concluding  with  a  portion  of  the  90th 
Psalm,  the  Chaplain  reading  one  verse  and  the  audience  res- 
ponding the  next.  The  Hymn  of  Liberty  was  then  sung,  all 
joining  in  it,  after  which  the  beautiful  address  delivered  by  Mr. 
Lincoln  at  the  dedication  of  the  Cemetery  at  Gettysburg  was 
read  by  Lieut.  Edward  Y.  Goldsborough. 

The  column,  with  the  ladies- in  front,  preceded  by  Mrs.  Mary 
Cromwell,  Chairman  of  the  Ladies'  Committee  of  Arrangements, 
and  Lieut.  Goldsborough,  with  a  list  of  the  graves  which  were 
located  in  various  parts  of  the  Cemetery,  and  kindly  pointed  out 
by  Mr.  Duvall,  the  gentleman  in  charge  of  the  grounds,  moved 
off  and  formed  into  a  circle  around  each  grave,  as  it  was  reach- 
ed, the  ladies  forming  the  inner  line.  The  Chaplain  then  read 
from  the  printed  ceremonies  as  follows : 

COMRADES  :  We  cherish  the  memory  of  our  Brothers  who 
fell  in  defense  of.  and  fighting  for  the  Government  for  which  we 
all  feel  so  grateful  to  Almighty  God,  and  we  therefore  now 
bestrew  their  graves  with  flowers  and  evergreens,  thereby  pledg- 
ing that  their  memories  shall  ever  be  fresh  with  us  whilst  life, 
or  thought,  or  being  last. 

After  which  the  name  of  the  Comrade  around  whose  grave 
they  were  formed,  and  of  the  lady  selected  to  bestrew  it,  was 
then  announced  from  the  list,  and  the  grave  decorated  by  plac- 
ing a  flag  encircled  by  a  wreath  of  white  flowers  and  laurel  at 
the  head,  a  bouquet  on  the  centre,  and  a  cross  of  white  flowers 
and  evergreens  on  the  foot  of  the  mound.  A  prayer  was  then 
read  by  the  Chaplain,  and  the  column  moved  to  the  next  grave, 


78  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

and  so  on  .until  the  list  of  those  in  the  Cemetery  was  ended. 
The  same  services  and  the  same  decorations  were  used  at  each 
tomb. 

The  assemblage  was  then  halted  in  front. of  the  Cemetery 
house,  and  from  the  porch  the  Rev.  Mr.  Owens,  formerly  Chap- 
lain of  the  Hospital  at  this  place,  addressed  them  in  a  very  feel- 
ing and  patriotic  strain.  The  ceremonies  at  the  Cemetery  were 
then  closed  by  a  beautiful  and  impressive  prayer  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Diehl.  The  column  was  again  formed  and  moved  from 
the  Cemetery  to  the  Lutheran  burial-ground,  thence  to  the 
Roman  Catholic,  and  thence  to  the  German  Reformed  grave- 
yard, back  to  their  Headquarters,  where  the  line  was  dis- 
missed. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  names  of  the  soldiers  whose 
graves  were  decorated,  and  the  lady  who  strewed  the  flowers : 

Mt.  Olivet  Cemetery — Sergt.  Daniel  J.  Albaugh,  by  Miss 
Sallie  Miller ;  J.  Ross  Beistle,  Sallie  Koehler ;  (ren.  James 
Cooper,  Gussie  De  Grange  ;  Capt.  Jas.  Cooper,  Jennie  Wisong  ; 
John  Coates,  Mollie  Perry  ;  Lieut.  Charles  Eader,  Ida  Frazier  ; 
David  Freshour,  Florence  Rohr  ;  George  Font,  Rachael  Eader  ; 
Minor  Frey,  Mary  Grey ;  J.  W.  Glidden,  Kate  Reefer ;  Geo. 
Heckathorn,  Kate  Fleming;  Lieut.  Robert  Hergersheimer, 
Lannie  Creager  ;  Wm.  Lewis,  Ella  Shaffner  ;  Conrad  Mehrling, 
Bettie  Haller ;  Robert  McCleery,  Emma  De  Grange  ;  John 
Pimm,  Lizzie  Mehrling;  Henry  Roelkey, Emma  Kauffman  ;  E. 
JI.  Rider,  Lottie  Haller;  Job  Rice,  Olivia  Straeffer:  Capt. 
Edgar  Ramsbnrg,  Sarah  Hood  ;  J.  E.  Ryan,  Mollie  Perry ; 
Samuel  Staub,  Mollie  Tabler ;  W".  L.  Simmons,  Ellen  Marken ; 
Sergt.  Henry  Smith,  Mary  Hood  ;  Milton  Shope,  Emma  Fox ; 
Lieut.  James  Smith,  Mollie  Tabler ;  Lieut.  Weaver,  Fannie 
Haller.  Evan,  Ref.  Graveyard — Lieut.  Hammitt,  Lannie 
Creager ;  Jos.  Staley,  Jennie  Wisonj? ;  Ephraim  Folsom,  Lan- 
nie Oreager.  Lutheran  Graveyard— ^ieut.  Isaac  Crum,  Emma 
De  Grange.  Catholic  Graveyard — P.  Y.  Renner.  Emma  Fox  ; 
David  Karns,  Gussie  De  Grange. 

The  afternoon  was  excessively  hot,  yet  most  of  the  assemblage 
remained  to  see  the  ceremonies  closed  at  the  Cemetery.  There 
were  no  accidents,  and  nothing  unpleasant  occurred  during  the 
exercises.  Those  who  had  charge  of  the  arrangements  deserve 
the  highest  credit  for  the  manner  in  which  everything  passed 
off,  and  it  is  hoped  that  this  beautiful  ceremony  may  become  a 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  .79 

permanent  custom  as  long  as  there  shall  be  left  any  of  the 
survivors  of  the  late  war,  aud  a  Post  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic. 

AT  MOKRISVILLE,  VERMONT. 

Post  No.  4,  Dept.  of  Yt.,  met  in  accordance  with  Gen.  Order 
No.  1,  at  the  Town  Hall,  Morrisville,  Yt.,  at  5  o'clock  p.  M., 
May  30,  1S68,  to  carry  into  execution  the  provisions  of  Gen. 
Order  No.  11,  Hd.  Qrs.  G.  A.  R. 

Comrades  appeared  in  full  uniform,  each  carrying  a  sprig  of 
evergreen. 

Comrade  D.  J.  Safford,  Officer  of  the  Day,  .formed  the  pro- 
cession. The  Comrades  of  the  Post,  in  front,  followed  by  all 
soldier-  present,  the  members  of  Choir  and  a  long  train  of  ladies 
and  gentlemen  from  all  parts  of  the  town  who  had  gathered  in, 
bringing  their  wreaths  and  flowers,  that  they  too  might  express 
their  regard  for  the  heroic  dead. 

After  the  procession  was  formed,  the  Adjutant  read  Post 
Order  No.  2,  including  the  Order  of  Exercises  for  the  Decora- 
tion. 

The  Commander  of  the  Post  then  took  command,  and 
marched  the  procession  within  the  enclosure  of  the  Cemetery, 
halted,  and  brought  the  line  to  front,  and  commanded  "parade 
rest." 

Rev.  G.  W.  Bailey  then  offered  prayer,  praying  that  our 
beloved  land  of  liberty  should  never  again  be  disturbed  by  the 
desolating  cry  of  war,  that  the  memory  of  our  fallen  heroes 
might  never  grow  dim,  and  that  our  hands  might  be  ready  to 
do  honor  to  the  noble  fallen  braves,  and  to  assist  their  widows 
and  orphans. 

Appropriate  music  was  then  furnished  by  the  choir. 

The  Adjutant  then  read  Gen.  Order  No.  11,  G.  A.  R.,  after 
which  Comrade  Commander  C.  J.  Lewis  addressed  the  assembly, 
as  follows : 

CCMIIADES   OF    THE     "  GRAND    ARMY     OF     THE     REPUBLIC," — 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  :  Vv'e  have  on  this  occasion  assembled 
within  this  enclosure,  where  sleep  the  remains  of  our  departed 
comiades,  for  a  worthy  and  laudable  purpose.  The  history  of 


80  *  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

their  service  for  their  country's  preservation  need  not  here  be 
recounted  by  me.  It  would'  only  add  deeper  sorrow  to  the 
grief  that  now  afflicts  us.  It  would  speak  of  those  hurried 
marches,  those  closely  contested  combats,  those  desperate 
charges.  It  would  bring  to  liie  again  those  scenes  of  carnage 
and  contested  strife,  on  a  score  of  battle-fields,  where  our 
cherished  and  beloved  comrades  laid  themselves  down>  willing 
sacrifices,  upon  their  country's  altar.  It  would  tell  of  the  droop- 
ing, bleeding,  dving  hero,  of  the  ghastly  corse,  of  the  slain 
warrior,  of  the  thoughtful,  pleading  look  of  the  maimed  com- 
rade, friend,  and  companion.  No,  we  will  not  dwell  upon  these 
scenes,  so  fraught  with  unpleasant  recollections.  But  let  us 
rather  turn  to  the  proud  spirits  that  inhabited  these  crumbling 
remains  which  now  lie  beneath  yonder  mounds,  mingling  their 
dust  with  the  mother  dust. 

It  must,  comrades  and  fellow-citizens,  have  been  an  occa- 
sion of  no  small  importance  that  necessitated  the  martialing  of 
an  armed  host,  and  the  sending  it  forth  to  battle  in  deadly  strife 
with  a  people  of  kindred  blood.  It  was  no  unmeaning  request 
that  called  upon  these  peaceful  inhabitants  of  our  peaceful  com- 
munities to  surrender  for  a  season  their  freedom  of  action  and 
to  become  willing  subjects  to  the  demands  of  an  outraged  Gov- 
ernment, and  to  make  their  lives,  their  political  and  religious 
interests,  identical  with  the  perpetuity  of  the  Constitution  and 
the  laws.  And  the  spontaneous  rising  up  and  moving  forward 
to  those  scenes  of  carnage,  scenes  so  much  in  contrast  with  home 
enterprise,  associations,  and  peacefulness,  by  so  many  of  our  ac- 
quaintances and  neighbors,  indicate  the  highest  manliness,  the 
loftiest  patriotism  and  the  purest  devotion  to  the  land  of  our 
fathers.  Long  indeed  had  we  slept  undisturbed  in  the  lap  of 
peace.  Its  pure  principles  had  been  transmitted  from  father  to 
son,  and  from  son  to  grandson,  until  they  had  almost  become  a 
part  of  our  natural  elements.  Those  good  old  days  of  peace  are 
within  the  memory  of  us  all,  when  the  plowshare  and  the 
pruning-hook,  the  loom  and  the  office,  the  desk  and  the  forum 
were  the  all-absorbing  subjects  of  interest  and  attention  ;  when 
the  son  toiled  from  youth  to  manhood,  and  from  manhood  to 
the  grave,  seeking  such  honors,  and  such  alone,  as  the  common 
pursuits  and  callings  of  a  peaceful  and  civil  life  would  afford ; 
when  the  measured  tones  of  the  slow  tolling  bell  seemed  to 
linger  long  and  dolefully,  as  if  for  fear  that  they  might  never 
again  bear  the  death  message  of  even  another  departed  one  ;  so 
slow,  seemingly,  did  people  live  and  die,  when  the  busy  clink 
of  the  axe  and  hammer  gave  the  only  cadence  of  our  march 
along  the  highway  of  improvement ;  when  we,  satisfied  with 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  8] 

our  lot,  kept  within  the  bounds  of  honest  industry,  and  left  to 
the  subtle  intrigues  of  crafty  politicians,  the  details  for  videttes 
and  sentinels  around  the  fortress  of  our  liberties.  Aye, 
when  we  had  well  nigh  forgotten  that  "eternal  vigilance  is 
the  price  of  liberty."  And  we  can  remember,  too,  when  the 
tocsin  of  war  first  pealed  its  clarion  notes  along  our  country, 
'from  border  to  border.  Those  deep  waters  of  placid  peace  were 
then  suddenly  ruffled  into  mountain  waves  of  engulphing  war. 
Fears,  hopes,  expectations,  and  resolves  broke  the  long  silent 
spell  of  quietude  in  the  family  circle  of  every  hamlet,  village, 
and  city.  How  then  did  the  acclamations  of  bitter  contempt 
towards  the  foul  aggressors  reverberate  along  these  green  val- 
leys, and  bound  from  hill-top  to  hill-top,  gaining  new  impetus 
continually  by  the  outspoken  approvals  of  every  heart  within 
our  borders,  from  the  youngest  to  the  oldest  ?  And  we  can  re- 
member how  these  departed,  comrades,  when  the  first  minute- 
gun  was  fired,  gathered  with  us  most  manfully  around  the  dear 
old  flag,  and  there  plighted  their  vows,  relying  on  the  God  of 
battles  for  the  rectitude  of  their  cause,  that  this  banner  should 
wave  over  every  foot  of  Southern  soil,  though  it  cost  the  sacri- 
fice of  their  own  lives.  They  were  unaccustomed  to  the  duties 
and  hardships  of  camp  life,  undisciplined  in  military  customs 
and  requirements,  unknown  to  the  scenes  of  woe  and  desolation 
incident  to  the  battle  field,  yet  with  a  full  realization  of  all 
these,  how  did  they  come  forward  and  give  themselves  away  to 
their  country.  Motives  that  before  had  laid  dormant  like  a 
sleeping  infant,  now  put  on  the  strength  of  manhood,  and 
moved  them  forward  to  enrol  themselves  in  the  ranks  of  the 
nation's  defenders. 

Home  and  its  pleasures,  childhood  and  its  scenes,  maternal 
care  and  its  associations  and  their  enjoyments,  business  and  its 
duties,  all  must  be  left  behind  as  considerations  altogether  sec- 
ondary to  the  pressing  needs  of  the  endangered  Government. 
The  citzen's  soul  was  moved,  and  it  became  a  warrior's  heart. 
The  crown  of  the  king  was  placed  upon  the  head  of  the  subject. 
Manhood  rose  above  the  pleasures  and  calamities  of  life,  and 
planted  itself  upon  the  high  eminence  of  duty. 

The  independence  of  the  Government,  whose  supporting 
fibres 'entwine  themselves  around  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and 
from  that  source  alone  receives  its  life-giving  nourishment,  had 
been  threatened  by  ruthless  hands.  The  people's  liberties  were 
being  surrendered  to  the  dictatorial  control  of  tyranny,  and  that 
people's  dignity  rose  like  an  upheaving  sea. 

And,  my  friends,  these  slain  heroes,  whose  memory  we  to- 
day celebrate  in  a  peculiar  manner,  were  among  the  foremost 
6 


82  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

of  that  innumerable  band  to  bid  a  long,  last  farewell  to  the 
home  of  their  childhood,  to  all  its  comforts  and  endearing  asso- 
ciations, to  companions  and  associates,  to  father,  mother,  brother, 
sister,  wife,  and  children,  to  all  that  had  been  so  dear  to  them 
in  life  before,  and  there,  beneath  the  scorching  rajs  of  that- 
South  ern  sun,  amid  the  din  of  musketry  and  roar  of  artillery, 
the  groans  of  the  dying  and  the  shouts  of  the  victorious,  with 
their  eyes  fixed  on  the  star-bedecked  banner,  beneath  which 
they  fought  and  fell,  they  poured  out  their  lives  serenely  there  as 


"The  morning  flies  away, 
And  melts  to  deeper  day. 


And  shall  we  ever  forget  to  honor  them  ?  Will  proud  Colum- 
bia ever  cease  to  drop  her  tears  of  gratitude  in  memory  of  the 
noblest  of  her  noble  sons?  Will  she  not  ever  deign  ito  pay  a 
tribute  of  respect  to  these  sainted  dead  whose  proud  spirits  bore 
them  so  triumphantly  above  the  fear  of  death-dealing  war,  and 
immortalized  the  name  of  American  citizens  ? 

Will  we,  while  the  American  blood  shall  course  in  our  veins 
and  give  pulsation  to  our  hearts,  we,  the  recipients  of  the  bless- 
ings secured  to  our  common  country  by  the  death-wounds  of  the 
fallen  comrades,  will  we  ever  fail  to  keep  in  fond  commemora- 
tion their  honored  characters  ?  No,  no.  Our  relation  to  them 
was  too  intimate,  and  what  is  more,  their  service  was  of  too 
high  an  order  for  their  names  and  deeds  ever  to  be  blotted  from 
the  tablets  of  our  hearts. 

Let  it  then  not  be  said  of  us,  as  of  others  : 

"•  As  from  the  wing,  no  scar  the  sky  retains, 
The  parted  deep  no  furrow  from  the  keel, 
So  dies  in  human  hearts  thoughts  of  the  dead." 

But  rather  let  it  be  a  thank  offering  from  the  depths  of  our 
affections,  that  the  Universal  Commander  has  so  disposed  the 
order  of  tilings  that  it  now  becomes  our  humble  lot  and  privi- 
lege, in  this  unostentatious  way,  to  commemorate  the  death  of 
those  whose  sacrifices  can  never  be  fully  substituted  even  by  the 
nation's  gratitude. 

^Then  let  their  names  and  heroic  career  be  honored  by  us 
while  we  have  hearts  to  feel  and  tongues  to  speak. 

These,  my  friends,  whom  we  would  to-day  honor,  are  not  the 
Napoleons  or  Alexanders  of  history,  but  they  are  the  Spartans 
of  America. 

Neither  do  the  marble  slabs  that  tell  us  of  the  spot  where 
rest  their  sleeping  ashes,  bear  the  names  of  kings  or  philoso- 
phers, so  called  and  considered  by  the  world  at  large,  but  they 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.         83 

tell  us  of  the  all-honored  heroes,  the  all-praiseworthy,  liberty- 
loving  patriots,  who,  when 

"The  storm  of  war  arose,  and  wlien  its  thunder 

Filled  all  the  happy  land  with  rudo  alarms, 
Filled  some  with  doubt*,  with  fears,  and  some  with  wonder, 

Nolily  and  fearlessly  spring  to  their  a-nis; 
Who  firmly  marched  with  the  advancing  column, 

"Who  hraveiy  fought  and  cruelly  bled, 
But  soon  their  names  were  written  in  the  solemn 

And  deathless  record  of  the  dead." 

And  now,  comrades  and  friends,  let  us  go  to  the  graves  of 
our  fallen  associates,  and  there,  silently  above  their  ashes,  plant 
this  flag — emblem  of  the'  glorious  prize  for  which  they  fought 
and  fell — the  nation's  perpetuity  and  the  people's  liberties — and 
let  us  there  deposit  these  flowers  and  twigs  of  evergreen,  prom- 
ising thereby  to  keep  their  memory  as  fresh  and  fragrant  in  our 
hearts  as  these  garlands  from  the  lap  of  blooming  nature." 

The  procession  then  marched  to  the  graves  of  their  com- 
rades, planting  the  flag  above  each,  and  depositing  their  wreaths 
and  garlands,  n't  emblems  of  their  respect  for  the  fallen.  Re- 
turning, the  procession  marched  to  the  Town  Hall.  All  joined 
in  singing  the  "  Star  Spangled  Banner."  After  benediction,  the 
Commander  of  the  Post  closed  the  ceremony  with  the  order 
"  break  ranks." 

A.  O.  GATES,  Adft. 

AT  NEW  HAVEN,  CONNECTICUT. 

July  3d  &  4th,  1868. 

The  response  of  the  citizens  of  New  Haven,  for  flowers  to  de- 
corate Music  Hall,  to  place  on  the  soldiers'  graves,  was  most  gen- 
erous. A  great  quantity  of  roses  and  ether  beautiful  flowers 
were  taken  to  the  hall,  and  the  ladies,  who  responded  in  such 
numbers  that  there  was  not  room  for  all  to  work,  spent  the 
forenoon  in  arranging  the  flowers  into  elegant  bouquets.  Many 
and  grateful  thanks  are  due  them  for  their  earnest  and  assiduous 
labors.  The  floral  committee  of  gentlemen  were  also  busy  all 
day  in  putting  up  the  decorations,  and  great  credit  is  due  them 
for  the  arduous  work  they  performed.  Especial  credit  is  due 
Mr.  P.  Ferguson,  who  superintended  the  work.  The  decora- 
tions of  the  hall  were  not  only  very  beautitul,  but  truly  gor- 
geous. To  one  first  entering  the  hall,  the  array  of  flowers,  flags. 


84  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

portraits  and  mottoes,  beneath  the  glare  of  gas  light,  was  most 
striking  and  effective  in  appearance.  The  stage,  of  course,  was 
die  great  focus  of  beauty,  and  it  was  most  profusely  decorated. 
Over  the  oridinary  side-scenes  were  arranged  panels  covered 
with  evergreens,  and  thickly  set  with  oblique  rows  of  bouquets 
in  glasses  of  water,  the  latter  being  so  deftly  hid  in  the  leaves 
as  not  to  be  observed.  There  were  eight  of  these,  four  on  a  side, 
commencing  at  the  front  and  retreating  to  the  rear  of  the  stage, 
forming  a  splendid  mass  of  flowers.  At  the  rear  of  the  stage, 
which  was  covered  over  with  flags  to  shut  out  the  illy-daubed 
theatrical  scenes,  arranged  on  a  dark  background  in  the  shape 
of  a  segment  of  a  circle,  was  a  blank  space  for  the  words  "  Honor 
the  Dead."  Beneath  this  was  a  large  bust  of  that  great 
martyr,  who  name  heads  the  list  of  the  nation's  heroic  dead — 
ABRAHAM  LINCOLN.  The  arching  portion  of  the  proscenium  of 
the  stage  was  covered  with  flags,  as  was  also  the  curtain  portion 
of  the  drop-scenes.  Surmounting  the  entire  proscenium,  and 
reaching  the  ceiling,  in  large  letters  was  this  memorable  verse, 
which  is  also  to  be  found  over  the  gate  at  the  soldiers'  cemetery 
at  Andersonville,  Ga.  : 

"  On  fame's  eternal  camping  ground 

Their  silent  tents  are  spread, 
While  angels  guard,  with  solemn  round, 
The  bivouac  of  the  dead." 

The  words  were  surrounded  with  evergreens.  At  the  sides  of 
the  stage  were  arranged  the  tattered  'battle-flags  carried  by  the 
various  regiments  in  the  war,  and  stacks  of  muskets  with  drums. 
In  the  galleries,  hung  to  each  gas-light,  was  a  wreath  of  ever- 
greens and  roses,  and  the  gallery  fronts  were  decorated  with 
bouquets  placed  at  intervals  in  glasses.  Here,  also,  were  hung 
portraits  of  some  of  those  who  lost  their  lives  while  in  the  ser- 
vice of  their  country.  Commencing  on  the  left,  there  were  the 
portraits  of  Col.  Merwin,  Admiral  Foote,  Col.  Peck,  Gen.  Lyon, 
Sergt.  Barrett,  Lieut.  Dutton  and  Major  Osborn.  In  front  of 
the  stage  were  a  pile  of  drums,  in  pyramidal  shape,  decorated 
with  bouquets,  and  on  each  side  of  the  bust  of  Lincoln  were  two 
large  and  beautiful  bouquets.  Beneath  were  two  crossed  swords, 
wreathed  with  pink  roses,  and  the  head  of  the  bust  was  encir- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.         85 

cled  with  a  wreath  of  oak  leaves.  From  the  ceiling,  in  front  of 
the  stage,  was  suspended  a  handsome  hanging  basket,  filled  with 
trailing  green  vines,  and  over  the  gaslights  in  the  gallery  were 
flags  crossed,  and  over  the  chandelier  above  the  stage  was 
placed  a  basket  of  elegant  flowers.  These  constituted  the  prin- 
cipal decorations.  Description  inadequately  conveys  an  idea  of 
how  they  appeared.  Their  splendor  should  have  been  seen  to 
be  fully  appreciated. 

In  the  evening  of  the  3d  there  was  a  monstrous  gathering 
at  the  hall.  Every  seat,  aisle,  and  all  possible  standing  room 
was  occupied  by  an  audience  eager  to  see  and  to  hear.  In  the 
rear  galleries  were  seated  three  hundred  little  girls,  dressed  in 
white,  holding  bouquets.  On  the  stage  were  seated  members  of 
the  Mendelssohn  Society,  and  a  number  of  spectators,  filling  all 
the  available  room.  The  whole  scene  was  one  rarely  it  ever 
beheld  in  our  city. 

Col.  Blakeslee  called  the  meeting  to  order  at  8  o'clock,  and 
the  exercises  were  opened  by  the  children,  under  the  direction 
of  Prof.  Jepson,  singing  a  Union  hymn,  beginning  with  the 
words,  "  Lord  of  Hosts,  thou  God  of  Nations,"  which  was  fine- 
ly given.  This  was  followed  by  a  short  address  by  President 
Woolsey,  who  presided  over  the  meeting.  On  being  presented 
by  Col.  Blakeslee,  he  said  in  substance,  as  follows: 

We  are  gathered  here,  not  as  any  partisans,  nor  anything  of 
that  character,  but  as  those  who  have  a  deep  and  lasting  convic- 
tion of  the  importance  of  the  Union.  A  time  came  when  we 
were  not  prepared  for  it,  when  it  was  necessary  for  us  to  calcu- 
late the  value  of  the  Union,  when  every  man  asked,  what  is  the 
Union  worth  ?  and  they  were  answered.  The  father  answered, 
and  gave  up  his  sons,  and  there  are  persons  around  me  to-night, 
who  submitted  to  this  sacrifice,  and  they  sent  out  their  sons,  and 
never  saw  them  again,  and  the  women  calculated  and  became 
nurses  in  hospitals,  and  the  physician  calculated,  and  gave  him- 
self up,  to  attend  the  wounded  upon  the  battle-field,  and  the 
man  of  substance  calculated,  and  gave  part  that  he  had,  that  he 
might  save  the  rest,  and  they  went  forth.  Hundreds  of  thous- 
ands went  forth  and  died.  Now,  if  they  had  failed,  and  the  end 
had  not  been  reached,  we  should  still  have  the  same  feeling  to- 
ward them.  We  stand  here  now  enjoying  all  that  they  labored 
for,  and  thus  the  words  of  the  Lord  are  fulfilled,  "  that  other 


86  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

men  have  labored,  and  we  have  entered  into  that  labor/' 
This  is  the  great  law  of  life — that  toil  and  labor  win  for  another. 
We  spend  a  life  to  bring  to  an  end  an  accomplishment  that  is  to 
be  a  source  of  joy  to  millions.  The  martyr  does  not  think  he  is 
doing  anything  great,  but  Only  something  for  Christ.  So  the 
law  holds  in  regard  to  every  patriot.  Every  one  who  fell  for 
the  country,  has  labored,  and  we  have  entered  into  that  labor. 
There  is  no  question  that  the  country  will  be  better  and  nobler 
for  these  expressions  of  gratitude.  I  rejoice  to  see  these  mani- 
;tions.  Although  I  had  no  son  to  give,  I  rejoice  to  testify  to 
t^e  valor  of  others. 

The  Mendelssohn  Society  then  sang  with  fine  effect  the 
chorus,  "  Happy  and  blessed,"  from,  the  Oratorio  of  St. 
Paul. 

After  a  prayer  by  Rev.  Mr.  Start,  of  the  Universalist 
Church,  twelve  of  the  orphan  children  appeared  in  t£e  rear  of 
the  stage,  and  handed  up  in  turn  letter  after  letter  to  be  placed 
on  a  blank  space  for  a  motto.  "When  all  the  letters  were  placed, 
they  formed  the  words,  "  Honor  the  Dead"  This  ceremony  was 
watched  with  great  attention  and  in  silence.  The  children  in 
the  galleries  then  sang  very  swreetly  an  original  hymn.  Rev. 
Dr.  Phelps  then  read  a  beautiful  and  touching  poem,  referring 
to  the  nobleness  of  the  memorial  service,  the  sacrifices  of  the 
soldiers,  and  spoke  of  some  of  the  leading  heroes  of  the  State 
who  fell  in  the  service,  and  closed  foreshadowing  the  glorious 
tnture  of  the  country.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  poem,  the 
Mendelssohn  Society  sang  the  beautiful  chorus  from  Elijah, 
"  He  is  watching  over  Israel."  The  address  by  Rev.  E.  L. 
Clark,  of  the  North  Church,  was  then  delivered.  He  com- 
menced by  saying  that  it  was  impossible  to  give  expression  to 
the  feelings  of  the  hour.  Taking  up  two  bouquets,  he  said  they 
were  brought  by  two  poor  children,  who  out  of  their  poverty 
wished  to  remember  the  dead  soldiers,  because  their  father  was 
one,  and  another  by  a  mother  of  a  son  whose  portrait  hung 
beneath  the  gallery.  It  was  not  the  fact  that  the  soldiers  went 
to  war,  but  the  manner  in  which  they  went,  that  marked  the. 
significance  of  the  sacrifice.  The  martyrs  of  1776  had  entered 
into  the  freedom  of  the  country,  and,  like  that  freedom,  would 
never  be  forgotten.  The  great  opening  day  then  was  the  4th 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GUAYKS.  87 

of  July,  now  annually  celebrated.  It  was  the  significance  of 
that  day  that  added  to  the  day  when  Sinnter  fell.  The  cheers 
at  Appoinattox  were  but  the  echoes  of  the  times  of  our  fore- 
fathers. The  declaration  of  the  nation's  martyr  at  Gettysburg, 
that  "  this  is  a  nation  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the 
people,"  was  one  of  the  lessons  that  the  soldiers  of  the  war 
learned.  The  lesson  of  the  war  had  taught  us  that  the  liberty 
of  the  people  was  the  sacrifice  of  something  by  every  one.  The 
soldiers  went  not  to  the  army  for  the  love  of  fighting.  It  was 
for  this  simple  principle  of  sacrifice.  This  was  American,  yea, 
even  more  than  Roman  or  American — it  was  Christian.  It  was 
not  upon  Congress,  nor  upon  those  at  home,  nor  the  creaking 
loads  of  supplies  that  in  that  time  the  eyes  of  the  world  were 
upon,  but  it  was  the  army.  He  spoke  of  their  camp  scenes. 
He  saw  them  in  the  month  of  July,  when  men  here  at  home 
cannot  walk  in  a  procession  on  an  early  morning  to  a  soldier's 
grave  ;  he  saw  them  marching  with  heavy  knapsacks,  overbur- 
dened with  heat.  He  saw  them  reading  letters  from  home,  tell- 
ing them  to  stay  till  the  war  was  over,  and  he  saw  them  in'  the 
terrible  roar  and  death  of  battle.  They  fell  shouting  there, 
bleeding  there,  without  a  murmur,  while  the  tender  young  men 
here  grumble  about  marching  on  a  July  morning.  They  fell 
without  innrmuring,  and  were  glad  to  suffer  and  serve  until  an 
honorable  peace  was  secured.  To  the  soldiers  he  said  the  com- 
mand to  sheath  the  sword,  at  Gethsemane,  was  not  a  command 
to  throw  away  the  sword,  but  a  command  not  to  disgrace  it. 
He  asked  them  not  to  be  aifected  by  that  spirit  that  would  stir 
up  jealousy  among  them,  and  use  them  for  base  party  purposes. 
They  were  growing  old,  and  would  soon  be  unable  to  shout  as 
they  did  to  Sheridan  in  the  valley  ;  but  they  should  teach  their 
children  how  they  won  Gettysburg  and  Antietam,  and  how 
grand  a  thing  it  is  to  write  upon  a  man's  grave  that  he  died  for 
his  country.  The  speaker  closed  with  a  most  eloquent  perora- 
tion. His  remarks  were  extemporaneous,  and  of  a  most  affect- 
ing and  thrilling  character. 

The  vast  audience  joined  in  singing  a  song  to  the  tune  of 
"  America,"  after  which  the  benediction  was  pronounced  by 
Rev.  Dr.  Harwood,  of  Trinity  Church,  and  then  the  great 


88  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

throng  departed  slowly  from  the  hall,  while  the  members  of  the 
G.  A.  R.  took  down  the  decorations  and  made  ready  the  flowers' 
for  the  graves. 

Karly  on  the  morning  of  the  4th,  the  Grand  Army  assem- 
bled at  their  headquarters,  numbering  about  120,  and  marched 
to  Music  Hall,  to  get  the  flowers  there  in  readiness  for  them. 
The  veterans,  who  had  been  invited,  at  the  meeting  on  the  pre- 
vious evening,  to  volunteer  to  carry  the  war-worn  flags  of  their 
respective  regiments  which  were  at  the  hall,  responded  in  good- 
ly numbers,  and  nearly  every  regiment  that  Connecticut  sent 
to  the  war,  with  perhaps  one  or  two  exceptions,  was  represented 
by  from  one  to  a  dozen  men,  so  that  the  standard-bearing  col- 
umn numbered  over  a  hundred.  The  two  companies  inarched 
to  the  Green,  and  formed  on  Temple  street.  In  a  few  moments 
the  Wooster  Guard  arrived,  and  at  a  little  after  8  o'clock,  the 
column,  in  the  presence  of  a  large  crowd  of  people,  filed  out 
of  the  south  gate  of  the  Green,  and  proceeded  down  Chapel 
street  to  Church,  up  Church  to  Congress  Avenue,  and  then  up 
Congress  Avenue.  At  Vernon  street  the  line  was  joined  by 
the  orphan  children,  the  girls  being  in  Barker  &  Ransom's 
barge  Nightingale,  drawn  by  four  horses.  They  were  dressed 
in  pink  dresses  and  white  sacks,  and  carried  flowers  and  wreaths 
in  their  hands.  The  boys  were  in  Mr.  John  Lynch's  wagon, 
which  was  drawn  by  four  horses  wearing  plumes.  The  boys 
also  carried  bouquets  of  flowers.  The  line  then  proceeded  in 
the  following  order : 

Felsburg's  Band. 

Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  under  Colonel  "Wright, 
Veterans,  with  colors,  under  General  Greele'y, 

"Wooster  Guard, 

Carriage  with  flowers  and  a  large  cross, 

The  Orphan  Children,  in  charge  of  Captain  Harmon, 

Citizens  in  carriages. 

St.  Bernard  Cemetery  was  reached  about  9  o'clock.  The 
Grand  Army,  bearing  their  bouquets,  and  the  veterans  with 
flags,  preceded  by  a  drummer  and  the  sexton,  entered  the 
grounds,  the  rest  of  the  line  remaining  outside.  Within  the 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  89 

Cemetery  were  large  numbers  of  people,  among  whom  were 
many  of  the  friends  of  the  fallen ;  and  as  the  ceremony  pro- 
ceeded, here  and  there  bowed  and  weeping  forms  could  be  seen, 
while  all  observed  respectftil  silence.  The  graves  of  the  sol- 
ders, of  which  there  twenty-four,  were  all  marked  with  a  little 
flag.  The  sexton  led  the  procession  to  each  grave,  giving  the 
name  to  the  clergyman,  Rev.  Mr.  Start,  who  announced  it  so 
that  all  could  hear,  the  drummer  gave  three  rolls  upon  his 
muffled  drum,  a  few  members  of  the  line  stepped  forward  and 
deposited  flowers  upon  the  grave,  when  the  procession  moved 
on  to  the  next  grave,  and  so  on  till  all  were  visited,  when  a  halt 
was  made  near  the  gate,  to  await  the  arrival  of  Father  O'Brien, 
who  was  expected  to  be  present  and  perform  some  appropriate 
service.  He  failed  to  come,  and  the  procession  re-formed  and 
moved  on  to  the  Evergreen  Cemetery.  Here  hundreds  of  peo- 
ple were  in  waiting,  and  as  the  line  moved  up  to  the  entrance, 
and  the  old  battle-flags  came  in  view,  the  sight  of  them  set  the 
memories  of  many  a  man  and  woman  running  back  to  the  war 
times,  and  caused  many  a  lip  to  tremble  with  emotion  and 
many  eyes  to  weep.  The  procession  filed  into  the  grounds,  and 
a  short  rest  was  taken,  for  the  weather  was  terribly  oppressive, 
and  then  the  ceremony  of  decorating  the  graves  was  resumed, 
the  line  traversing  each  avenue  and  visiting  each  grave.  There 
were  143  buried  in  this  Cemetery,  106  being  in  one  common 
lot.  It  took  about  an  hour  to  visit  the  different  graves,  after 
which  the  veterans,  with  colors,  assembled  upon  the  two  sides 
of  the  large  lot  containing  the  remains  of  106  soldiers  who  died 
at  the  Knight  Hospital,  and  the  Grand  Army  were  arranged  on 
the  other  two  sides  of  the  iron  fence  surrounding  the  lot.  The 
orphan  children  were  then  formed  in  a  hollow  square  in  the 
centre  of  the  lot,  facing  outward.  The  band  played  a  dirge, 
the  colors  being  dipped  over  the  graves,  after  which  the  chil- 
dren sang  a  song,  and  then  sprinkled  their  flowers  upon  the 
graves.  This  ceremony  was  witnessed  by  a  large  assemblage, 
and  was  very  solemn  and  touching.  This  concluded  the  cere- 
monies at  this  Cemetery.  The  procession  marched  then  to  the 
u-ate,  and  took  a  short  rest.  Rev.  Mr.  Start,  who  had  become 
quite  exhausted  by  the  heat,  had  to  take  a  carriage  and  go 


1)0  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

home.  A  little  after  11  o'clock,  the  procession  filed  out  of  the 
grounds,  and  took  up  its  line  of  march  for  the  Grove  street 
Cemetery. 

From  early  in  the  day,  people  began  their  pilgrimage  of 
love  to  the  bury  ing-ground  in  Grove  street,  and  by  9  o'clock 
there  was  an  expectant  assemblage  gathered  at  the  Egyptian 
portal,  and  looking  eagerly  for  the  first  appearance  of  the  bou- 
quet-bearers. All  the  forenoon,  large  numbers  of  people,  a 
great  proportion  women,  came,  bringing  their  offerings,  and 
the  time  before  the  arrival  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic 
was  .occupied  in  passing  from  grave  to  grave,  decking  each,  and 
its  monumental  stone,  with  a  profusion  of  flowers  and  green 
leaves.  The  ivy  leaf  was  not  wafating,  with  its  symbolic  mean- 
ing, and  it  was  evident  that  some  of  the  wreaths  and  crosses 
had  been  arranged  with  special  reference  to  the  beautiful  cus- 
tom of  the  Orient,  which  thus  enabled  the  silent  heart  to  speak 
the  fulness  of  its  emotion.  On  the  stone  in  Admiral  Foote's 
ground,  a  great  heap  of  roses  and  flowers  of  exquisite  beauty 
were  placed,  and  on  the  graves  of  Winthrop,  Thompson,  Blake, 
Corn  well,  Osborn,  and  Merwin,  the  hand  of  affection  and  taste 
had  been  busy  with  the  beautiful  offices  of  the  hour.  So,  too, 
at  many  of  the  other  graves,  great  taste  "was  exhibited  in  their 
decoration,  and  on  the  graves  of  the  strangers  who  died  within 
our  gates,  there  were  not  wanting  evidences  of  the  gratitude  and 
respect  of  the  people. 

Just  within  the  entrance  to  the  Cemetery  there  stands  a 
thick  growth  of  evergreens,  where,  in  the  Spring,  the  black- 
birds and  robins  congregate,  and  in  the  deep  shade  made  by  the 
boughs,  which  grow  so  closely  together  as  to  create  a  twilight 
underneath,  even  at  mid-day,  were  groups  of  colored  folks,  and 
the  bright  eyes  of  two  or  three  little  ones  attracted  considerable 
notice.  Though  the  assemblage  had  waited  long  for  some  sign 
of  the  procession,  there  was  no  apparent  levity,  but  all  seemed 
impressed  with  the  touching  character  of  the  ceremonial.  At 
the  grave  of  Dutton,  a  constantly  drifting  group  were  seen,  who 
talked  in  subdued  tones  of  his  courage,  his  patriotism,  and  of 
the  loss  the  State  had  sustained  by  his  cruel  death.  One  pic- 
ture is  presented  to  our  mind,  which  made  an  impression  not 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.         91 

soon  to  be  forgotten.  Our  readers  will  remember  the  Roman- 
shaped  tomb  which  covers  the  remains  of  Ashmun,  and  its  in- 
scription stating  that  he  was  the  first  Colonial  Agent  to  Libe- 
ria. That  monument  brings  to  mind  the  earlier  histories  of  the 
slavery  troubles,  and  the  failures  of  all  attempts  which  were 
made  to  secure  peace  by  any  thing  less  than  exact  justice.  In 
the  days  of  Ashmun,  those  who  were  good  and  professed  the 
religion  of  Christ,  both  at  the  South  and  the  North,  conceived 
the  idea  of  gradually  sending  to  Africa  all  of  the  unfortunate 
race,  and  some  ship-loads  were  thus  sent.  Southern  owners 
often  made  apology  for  having  robbed  the  poor  slave  of  his  lib- 
erty and  labor  during  his  lite,  by  munumitting  him  at  death  ; 
thus  tardily  acknowledging  the  wrong  they  had  done,  and  often- 
times impoverishing  an  expectant  heirhood,  who,  without  the 
bequeathment  of  the  slaves,  would  be  left  entirely  penniless. 
These  freedom-wills  were  made  containing  a  provision  that  the 
Colonization  Society  should  send  the  poor  negro  to  his  native 
clime.  All  the  first  statesmen  of  the  South  belonged  to  the 
Society.  But  the  Colonization  Society,  after  dragging  its  tem- 
porizing and  insufficient  life  and  policy  through  a  few  years, 
was  extinguished  in  the  breath  of  indignant  abolitionism.  And 
then  came  the  war,  and  the  question  was  settled  at  last,  in  the 
only  way  it  ought  to  have  been  at  the  outset  of  the  confedera- 
tion ;  and  the  curse,  that  no  man  had  been  able  to  abate,  fled 
away  before  the  battle  which  took  our  bra,vest  and  best  in  its 
train.  So,  Saturday,  on  the  tomb  of  the  almost  forgotten  Ash- 
mun, stood  a  child  with  his  little  hands  outstretched  and  his 
eyes  eager  with  anticipation,  looking  like  an  animate  sculpture 
of  purity  and  innocency,  and  waiting  for  the  spectacle  which, 
could  he  have  known  the  past  concerning  the  life  of  the  man 
whose  name  was  panelled  on  the  stone  upon  which  he  stood,  he 
would  also  have  known  that  they  labor  in  vain  .who  labor  not 
aright.  The  youth  and  beauty  of  the  boy  clearly  emblematized 
the  hopefulness  of  the  new  birth  of  our  country  ;  the  day,  the 
monument,  the~child,  were  all  suggestive  of  much  that  was  not 
without  profit.  Before  noon,  the  drums  were  heard  approach- 
ing, and  the  scattered  groups  came  toward  the  entrance  to  meet 
the  procession.  The  grand  army,  bearing  the  torn  battle-flags, 


92  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

and  carrying  what  remained  of  their  floral  gifts,  and  the  com- 
pany of  colored  soldiers,  marched  in  to  solemn  music  \vailed 
from  the  brass  instruments,  and  the  kindly  ceremony  of  visit- 
ing each  grave  was  gone  through.  The  name  of  each  soldier 
was  called  as  the  committee  came  to  the  place  of  his  burial,  or 
the  place  where  stood  the  tablet  which  recorded  his  death,  while 
a  detail  of  men  laid  reverently  upon  the  ground  the  fast-fading 
flowers.  Though  they  are  faded  and  withered  under  the  glare 
of  the  summer  sun,  the  memory  of  the  ceremonial  is  not  to  pass 
from  history  ;  and  if  the  boys  of  Thermopylae  are  remembered 
to-day,  how  much  more  shall  these  be  remembered,  long  after 
every  participant  in  this  pageant  shall  be  gone,  where  the  war- 
trumpets  and  the  failures  and  successes  of  waf  give  place  to  the 
rewards  for  duty  done  on  earth.  After  the  flowers  were  all  de- 
posited, amid  silence  and  with  a  show  of  strong  feeling,  the 
cross  was  planted  in  memory  of  those  who  sleep  on  unknown 
fields.  The  color-bearers  gathered  in  a  circle,  and  Rev.  Mr. 
Clark  read  from  an  eloquent  address,  delivered  at  the  Gettys- 
burgh  dedication,  suitable  words,  closing  with  a  prayer.  The 
band  played  a  dirge  after  the  setting  up  of  the  cross  and  at  the 
conclusion  of  the  prayer,  when  the  line  was  again  formed,  and 
marched  to  the  Green. 

After  arriving  upon  the  Green,  the  columns  formed  in  a  hol- 
low square,  with  the  flags  in  the  centre.  The  band  then  played 
"  The  Star-Spangled  Banner,"  and  the  men  afterwards  sang,  in 
a  most  stirnng  manner,  "  Rally  Round  the  Flag,  Boys." 
Cheers  were  given  for  the  flags,  for  the  army,  for  the  veterans, 
the  Wooster  Guard,  and  others,  after  which  the  procession  dis- 
persed, at  about  1.30  p.  M.  Thus  the  entire  programme  was 
most  rally  and  successfully  carried  out. 

MEMORIAL  POEM. 

BY  REV.   8.   DRYDEK  FHELPS,   D.  D. 

Tis  a  beauiful  scene — -'tis  a  joy-hallowed  meeting, 
'Mid  the  emblems  and  symbols  adorning  the  Hall ; 

The  starry  bright  banners  our  glad  vision  greeting, 
Awakening  response  in  the  bosoms  of  all. 

Sweet  evergreen  vines  and  bouquets  of  fair  flowers 
Enliven  the  view  and  pour  fragrance  around, 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.         93 

While  melodies  flow  as  if  fresh  from  the  bowers 
Where  angels  and  harpers  their  music  resound. 

The  orator's  spell,  through  rich  language  of  beauty, 
Shall  steal  o'er  our  souls  with  mysterious  power ; 

And  from  suffering  and  tears,  the  behests  of  high  duty 
Inspire  with  a  grandeur  that  chimes  with  the  hour. 

How  fitting  the  moment ! — the  eve  ere  the  morning, 

Immortal  in  memories  through  ages  of  time ; 
Linked  firm  to  the  past  as  its  brightest  adorning, 

And  forecasting  the  Future  in  promise  sublime. 

O  birth-day  of  Freedom  I    New  star  that  has  guided 
To  the  Bethlehem-gift  for  the  land  of  the  West; 

Thy  radiance  afar  through  the  nations  has  glided, 
And  millions  have  hailed  thee  and  hoped  to  be  blest. 

We  welcome"  and  love  thee,  bright  day  of  our  glory ! 

We   love  the  grand  history  linked  with  thy  rise ; 
Forever  thou  tellest  the  struggle  and  story 

Of  the  fathers  who  reared  the  Republic  we  prize. 

Let  the  bells  at  clear  sunrise  ring  clangorous  pealing ; 

Let  loud-booming  cannon  shake  land  and  shake  sea ; 
Let  the  heart  overflow  with  its  deluge  of  feeling, 

As  it  throbs  in  the  thought  and  the  joy  of  the  Free  ! 

Not  the  common  observance,  or  old  celebration, 
A  long-hallowed  custom  and  still  well  approved ; 

We  give  to  this  birth-day  a  new  coronation — 
A  memorial  of  flowers  for  our  heroes  beloved. 

The  Grand  Army  moves  in  procession  to-morrow, 
Its  drum-beat  ing  muffled,  and  solemn  its  tread  ; 

With  a  pall  on  its  banners,  with  heart-throbs  of  sorrow, 
As  it  winds  to  the  graves  of  our  patriot  dead. 

Ah  !  think  ye,  survivors  of  war-waste  and  battle, 
Though  worn  in  the  trenches  or  scarred  in  the  strife, 

Of  your  comrades  unflinching  in  shot-etorm  and  rattle, 
As  they  sacrificed  all  for  the  National  life  ! 

Aye,  ye  see  them  again  in  a  beautiful  vision, 

As  farewells  were  spoken,  as  partings  were  o'er, 
And  together  went  forward,  so  grand  in  decision, 

Your  Country  to  save,  and  its  Flag  to  restore. 

At  the  close  of  the  contest,  your  high  task  completing, 
In  Rebellion  subdued,  and  its  cause  overthrown, 

You  were  welcomed  at  home  in  a  rapturous  greeting, 
With  glad  music  of  bells,  and  love's  heartiest  toue. 

How  ye  missed  your  dear  comrades,  ne'er  homeward  returning ; 

How  ye  thought  of  their  valor,  their  fall,  and  the  spot 
Where  each  brave  form  was  sleeping ;  and  tears  of  your  mourning 

Dropped  over  a  scene  that  can  ne'er  be  forgot ! 


94  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Well  may  ye  recall  them,  those  heroes  immortal, 
That  fell  for  the  Flag,  and  were  wrapped  in  its  folds, 

And  in  broken  ranks  march  to  the  grave's  hallowed  portal, 
And  garland  the  urn  which  their  precious  dust  holds. 

Let  us  all  gather  there,  and  with  beautiful  roses, 

With  loveliest  lilies  of  varying  hue, 
Spread  them  over  each  mound  where  a  soldier  reposes, 

Our  tears  falling  on  them  like  heaven's  sweet  dew. 

Hang  wreaths  on  the  marble,  lay  crowns  on  the  granite, 
Place  crosses  and  anchors  o'er  the  slumbering  breast, 

Find  the  humblest  of  graves,  and  then  gratefully  span  it 
With  these  beautiful  symbols  of  glory  and  rest. 

Nor  pass  that  lone  hillock  where  a  rebel  is  lying — 
Ft>r  the  prisoner  and  wounded  had  tenderest  care  ; 

We  pitied  his  treason,  we  soothed  him  when  dying  ; 
In  our  fair  floral  gifts  let  his  resting-place  share. 

And  think  of  the  tombs,  though  we  never  may  know  them, 
Where  some  of  our  bravest  in  quietude  sleep  ; 

And  pray  that  kind  hands  with  sweet  garlands  may  strew  them, 
While  the  ne'er-closing  Eye  shall  the  dust-treasures  keep. 

O  beautiful  task  !  this  bestrewing  with  flowers 
The  graves  of  the  heroes  who  died  for  their  land  ! 

Sweet  angels  might  come  from  their  heavenly  bowers, 
And  smile  as  they  aid  with  invisible  hand. 

From  the  banks  of  Potomac  to  the  Father  of.  Waters, 
By  hillside  and  vale  in  the  South  and  the  West, 

Where  army  met  army  in  battles  and  slaughters, 
Our  brave  ones  fought  nobly,  and  sank  to  their  rest. 

The  Peninsular  raid,  thy  sharp  strife,  Cedar  Mountain, 
The  fierce  field  of  Antietam,  where  Fredericksburg  lies, 

The  siege  of  Port  Hudson,  by  Gettysburg's  fountain, 
Where  through  Shenandoah  host' after  host  flies  : 

In  the  Wildernests  charnel,  in  prisons  terrific, 

The  grand  march  to  the  sea,  and  the  Petersburg  strife, 

They  struggled  and  fell— and  their  rest  how  pacific, 

While  the  country  they  saved  has  sprang  forth  to  new  life. 

Some  sleep  on  the  fields  that  had  witnessed  their  valor, 
Some  in  sepulchre-gardens  the  nation  reveres,- 

And  others  returned,  but  in  silence  and  pallor, 
To  be  borne  to  their  graves  'mid  our  sorrows  and  tears. 

To  honor  each  hero  by  name  were  a  pleasure — 
The  name  that  henceforth  bears  the  star-sign  of  death— 

His  virtues  unfold  and  his  patriot-fame  treasure, 
As  we  give  to  his  toinb  the  memorial  wreath. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  95 

As  memory  recalls  them,  they  rise  up  before  us, 

In  manliest  form,  and  with  lore-beaming  eye, 
And  their  brave,  noble  spirits  seem  hovering  o'er  us, 

To  revisit  these  scenes  from  their  home  in  the  sky. 

There  is  Foote,  grand  in  soul,  who  on  History's  pages, 

Shall  live  in  a  glory  untarnished  by  time  ; 
A  hero,  so  Christly,  with  the  great  of  all  ;r_r»'>. 

His  name  is  enrolled — his  reward  is  sublime. 

There  is  Winthrop,  whose  genius  unfolded  so  brightly ; 

There  are  Merwin,  and  Farnam,  and  Peck, 
Who- led  forth  their  regiments  so  bravely  and  knightly, 

When  called  by  their  country  at  Liberty's  beck. 

There  are  Osborn,  and  Rockwood,  true,  noble,  and  loving — 
What  treasures  for  service,  what  prizes  for  death  ! 

There  are  Linsley,  and  Taylor,  and  Button,  forth  moving, 
The  choicest  young  heroes,  their  swords  to  unsheath. 

There  are  Chapman,  and  Cornwall,  and  Blake — gallant  leaders — 

And  Bishop,  and  Fowler,  and  Barrett  beside ; 
How  they  rushed  to  the  front  to  repel  the  seceders  ! 

How  true  to  the  Flag  for  which  nobly  they  died  ! 

There  is  Walker  the  Chaplain,  who  brought  to  his  station 

The  rich  acquisitions  that  Learning  bestowed, 
Whose  teaching  and  prayers  were  a  blest  ministration, 

As  for  wounded  and  sick  his  deep  sympathies  flowed. 

They  sleep  in  their  graves  that  we  brighten  with  flowers, 
Their  memories  hallowed  by  affection  and  tears  ; 

While  in  lone  hearts  and  homes  shall  the  sorrowing  hours 
Still  linger  and  brood  as  a  pall  on  the  years. 

Oh,  well  may  ye  mourn  them,  heroic  and  spendid, 
Early  joy  of  your  hearts,  and  oft  pressed  to  your  lips  ; 

For  great  was  your  grief  when  dear  life-hopes  were  ended,  . 
And  the  orb  of  your  being  went  into  eclipse  ! 

Sad,  sad  was  the  burden  of  Death's  dread  achievement ; 

The  mother,  the  widow,  henceforth  in  their  weeds  : 
Our  tears  have  oft  flowed  o'er  young  groups  in  bereavement, 

For  heavier  their  loss  as  time  slowly  recedes. 

In  God's  glorious  purpose,  it  was  not  untimely, 

The  sacrifice  precious,  the  boon  of  dear  life ; 
The  cause  that  they  died  for  has  triumphed  sublimely ; 

A  bright  era  of  peace  has  risen  out  of  dark  strife. 

What  benefits  rich,  in  the  vast  generations 

That  the  years  of  the  future  shall  grandly  disclose, 

Will  flow  to  our  land,  and  the  long-struggling  nations, 
From  these  patriot  deaths,  from  our  sorrows  and  woes  ! 


96  MEMORIAL   CEREMONIES 

Now  the  Stars  and  the  Stripes,  in  more  radiant  glory, 
As  the  symbol  of  Freedom  so  proudly  it  waves, 

The  world's  homage  attracts,  and  repeats  the  grand  story 
Of  a  nation  enfranchising  millions  of  slaves  1 

God  bless  the  old  Flag  I    May  it  evermore  flying 

Its  glorious  heritage  triumphantly  claim, 
And  ne'er  'neath  the  foot  of  a  traitor  be  lying, 

Nor  shelter  a  dastard  to  tarnish  its  fame  1 

While  it  floats  in  the  breeze,  o'er  the  land,  o'er  the  billow, 

The  joy  of  the  myriads  that  under  it  dwell, 
The  deeds  of  our  warriors  who  made  it  their  pillow, . 

It  shall,  through  the  ages,  victoriously  tell ! 

We  strew  the  green  mounds  that  rise  over  their  bosoms 
With  the  beautiful  flowers  of  bright  summer  time ; 

But  as  long  as  plants  thrive,  till  the  latest  rose  blossoms, 
Their  memorial  lives  in  a  freshness  sublime  ! 

"Tis  said  that  the  flowers  are  the  letters  of  angels, 

The  alphabet  sweet  of  a  language  divine  ; 
Then,  to  those  who  can  read  them,  they're  blessed  evangels 

From  books  of  high  deeds  that  immortally  shine  ! 

With  an  eloquence  deep,  each  fair  coronet  floral 
Sweeps  the  chords  of  our  love  to  the  depths  of  the  heart ; 

Though  the  voices  are  hushed,  without  utterance  oral, 
They  thrill  the  moved  soul,  and  they  bid  the  tear  start. 

While  patriots  shall  live,  and  the  Republic  so  ample, 

Your  work  and  your  memory  never  shall  die, 
O  glorious  dead  !    In  our  Liberty's  temple 

Your  fame  is  engraved  on  its  arches  so  high  ! 

There  is  sacredness  here — and  remembrance  long  lingers 
Around  the  enchantment  and  rapture  to-night — 

This  fair  floral  display — as  if  seraphs'  soft  fingers 
Had  touched  it  with  beauty  celestially  bright. 

Let  the  scene  be  repeated,  an  annual  story  ; 

Let  pure  lilies  cluster  o'er  patriots'  sod, 
While  the  years  pass  away,  and  to  loftier  glory 

Our  country  ascends  with  the  favor  of  God  I 

AT  HARTFORD,  CONNECTICUT. 
COLONEL  DEMING'S  ADDRESS. 

MR.  COMMANDER  AND  COMRADES  :  We  are  here  to  inaugurate 
no  novel  ceremony,  but  to  revive  an  ancient  one,  which,  trans- 
mitted from  the  earliest  ages  by  Roman,  Grecian,  Teutonic,  and 
English  example,  has  descended,  not  entirely  obsolete,  even  to 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  97 

our  own  times  and  our  own  country.  No  one  can  be  more  con- 
scious than  myself  of  the  powerlessness  of  mere  words  to  awak- 
en the  sensibilities. befitting  this  floral  offering  to  the  memories 
of  our  heroic  dead ;  such  sensibilities  must  be  evoked  by  the 
spontaneous  suggestions  of  your  own  hearts. 

Flowers  are  natural  tributes  of  sorrow,  emblems  of  affection, 
testimonials  of  remembrance.  We  deck  with  them  the  altars 
of  our  religion  ;  we  garland  with  them  the  bride  of  our  choice  ; 
we  encircle  with  them  the  cradle  of  our  latest  born  ;  we  garnish 
with  them  the  sanctuaries  of  home  —  why  should  we  not  scatter 
them  on  the  graves  of  the  loved  and  lost,  and  invest  even  the 
cold  sepulchre  with  faithful  symbols  of  hope  and  immortality  ? 

To  the  living  warriors  who  return  to  us,  scathed  or  unscath- 
ed, from  the  perilous  edge  of  battle,  we  have  ten  thousand  ways 
of  manifesting  our  affection  and  gratitude  :  we  may  grasp  them 
by  the  hand  ;  we  may  embrace  them  in  our  arms  ;  we  may  en- 
fold them  to  our  bosoms ;  we  may  enrich  and  adorn  their  lives 
with  our  munificence ;  we  may  rear  for  them  palaces  and  hos- 
pitals; we  may  decorate  them  with  honors  and  office  ;  we  may 
elevate  them  to  a  position  so  exalted  that  they  will  command 
the  respect  and  veneration  of  all  mankind.  All  this  and  more, 
with  fervid  hearts,  with  generous  hands,  we  may  do  for  the  liv- 
ing ;  but  what  for  the  dead !  what  for  the  dead  !  what  for  these 
youthful  martyrs  so  recently  filled  to  overflowing  with  vigorous 
and  sanguine  life,  with  affections,  aspirations,  hopes,  yearnings, 
infinite  capacities,  heaven-soaring  thoughts  and  fancies,  instant- 
ly sent 

"To  lie  in  cold  obstruction  and  to  rot, 
This  sensible  warm  motion  to  become 
A  kneaded  clod—" 

What  for  them  !  O  what  for  them !  In  behalf  of  these  depart- 
ed comrades,  how  impotent,  how  insignificant  are  all  the  re- 
sources of  affection  and  gratitude !  Next  to  that  immortality 
which  conveys  to  us  a  conscious  personal  existence  in  the  assem- 
bly of  the  just  made  perfect,  no  boon  is  more  coveted  by  the* 
thoughtful  mind  than  that  which  insures  us  an  everlasting  ex- 
istence  in  the  memory  of  our  fellow-men. 

To  those  of  our  comrades  who  have  been  stationed  around 
these  holy  acres — our  advance  guard,  here  to  await  the  reveille 
which  shall  call  them  and  us  to  the  last  review,  we  can  offer 
nothing  but  this  remembrance.  If  my  voice  could  summon  one 
of  them  visibly  into  your  presence,  and  with  tears  in  my  eyes 
and  heart  upon  my  lips,  I  should  ask  him  in  your  name.  What, 
what,  O  faithful  soldier,  can  we  do  for  thee  ?  How  could  he  re- 
spond to  my  invocation  but  by  murmuring,  "  Kemember  me." 
7 


98  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

"What  was  the  parting  injunction  of  divine  wisdom  and  forecast 
incarnated  in  Mary's  Son,  but  "  This  do  in  remembrance  of  Me." 
And  ever  since  He  has  ascended  to  the  bosom  of  His  Father, 
and  been  crowned  with  the  unalloyed  fruition  of  that  blessed  and 
glorious  realm,  He  has  constantly  ratified  by  His  benediction 
the  memorial  of  Himself  which  he  instituted  upon  earth,  thus 
suggesting  to  us  the  comforting  assurance  that  a  permanent 
place  in  the  memory  of  mortals  may  not  be  unacceptable  to  that 
expanded  intelligence  which  our  immortal  martyrs  may  have 
attained  in  heaven. 

Since,  then,  my  comrades,  we  can  tender  to  these  departed 
benefactors,  who  have  immolated  themselves  that  we  may  live, 
and  thrive,  and  exult  and  glorify,  nothing  but  remembrance, 
let  us  give  them  that  in  magnificent  setting.  Let  us  raise  to 
their  names  and  memories  monuments,  statues,  mausoleums ; 
let  us  not  entrust  this  sacred  duty  of  remembrance  to  enduring 
marble,  to  imperishable  bronze  alone,  but  let  us  inaugurate  a 
holiday,  which,  with  every  returning  spring,  when  the  earth  it- 
self is  reawakening  into  life,  when  these  flowers  whose  roots  were 
buried  in  dishonor  are  rising  again  in  glory,  shall  withdraw  us 
from  the  haunts  of  busy  men  to  meditation  with  these  silent 
companions ;  to  scatter  with'  prodigal  hand  upon  their  graves 
these  significant  mementoes  of  sorrow,  affection,  remembrance  ; 
to  reflect  upon  our  speedy  exit  to 

"  The  undiscovered  country  from  whose  bourne 
No  traveler  returns ;" 

to  anticipate  our  speedy  reunion  with  these  file-leaders  who  have 
but  marched  on  before,  when,  with  them,  we  shall  again  fall 
into  the  ranks  around  the  great  white  throne,  and  await  the 
final  order  of  the  Great  Commander. 

AT  NOBWALK,  CONNECTICUT. 

In  this  place  the  ceremonies  under  the  local  Post  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  were  conducted  quietly  and  unos- 
tentatiously, but  with  evidently  deep  feeling  and  respect  for 
their  fallen  comrades.  The  society  there  is  small,  and  owing  to 
adverse  circumstances,  they  were  unable  to  perfect  their  arrange- 
ments in  time  for  any  extended  notices  to  be  given.  It  was, 
however,  announced  in  the  various  churches  on  Thursday  even- 
ing, that  they  would  decorate  the  graves,  and  an  invitation  ex- 
tended to  citizens  to  join  them  in  this  tribute  to  the  noble  dead. 

Therefore,  at  1£  o'clock  on   Saturday  afternoon,  notwith- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  99 

standing  the  rain  still  falling,  a  delegation  of  the  society  bear- 
ing a  profusion  of  flowers,  woven  by  fair  hands  into  handsome 
wreaths,  crosses,  bouquets,  &c.,  proceeded  with  the  old  Starry 
Flao;  at  their  head  to  St.  Paul's  churchyard,  and  left  their  floral 
offerings  upon  the  graves  of  Lieut.-Col.  Albert  Wilcoxson.  of 
the  17th  Conn.  Vols.,  and  Oliver  S.  Bishop,  Hospital  Steward 
of  the  27th  Conn.  Yols.  From  thence  the  delegation  marched 
to  the  cemetery,  where  a  number  of  our  citizens  had  gathered 
to  unite  with  them  in  their  commemorating  services.  The  ex- 
ercises here  were  in  reading  the  order  of  Maj.-Gen.  Logan  by 
the  Post  Adjutant,  Lieut.  R.  L.  Ellis ;  prayer  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Breckenridge ;  singing  of  the  hymn  America ;  a  short  but 
eloquent  address  by  the  Rev.  O.  W.  Gates ;  a  touching  and 
feeling  tribute  to  the  soldiers  by  Dr.  Asa  Hill ;  benediction  by 
the  Rev.  G.  Haulenbeek.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  services  they 
passed  around  in  procession  to  the  different  soldiers'  graves,  and 
the  Post  Commandant,  Lieut.  Joseph  P.  Crossmon,  announcing 
the  name,  company,  and  regiment  of  the  deceased,  each  grave 
was  in  turn  decorated.  In  this  cemetery  were  the  following : 

Capt.  Gould  J.  Jennings,  Co.  G,  59th  N.  Y.  Yols. ;  Capt 
Theodore  L.  Beckwith,  28th  C.  Y.  ;  Private  George  Marvin, 
28th  C.  Y. ;  Maj.  Asbury  Hill,  of  Maj.-Gen.  Butler's  Staff;  W. 
L.  Bodwell,  Co.  C,  27th  C.  Y.,  killed  at  Gettysburg  ;  Sergt.  J. 
L.  Allen,  7th  C.  Y.,  mortally  wounded  before  Petersburg ; 
Sergt.  Henry  M.  Prowitt,  12th  C.  Y. ;  Owen  Murphy,  5th 
Regt.  C.  Y.,  mortalty  wounded  at  Cedar  Mountain  ;  John  Hoyt, 
Co.  B,  28th  C.  Y. ;  Capt.  Henry  A.  Wetmore ;  George  Taylor, 
2d  Ct.  Heavy  Artillery  ;  Joshua  Lounsbury.  Co.  F,  17th  C.  Y. ; 
Ed.  Holly,  5th  C.  Y. ;  Holly, . 

Leaving  the  cemetery  the  Society  next  proceeded  to  Pine 
Island  cemetery,  where  another  concourse  of  our  people  had  as- 
sembled. Here  the  exercises  opened  with  the  reading  by  the 
Post  Adjutant  of  Gen.  Logan's  Order,  followed  by  prayer  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Simonson ;  singing  of  America ;  an  address  by 
Rev.  Mr.  Woodruff,  Chaplain  of  the  6th  C.  Y. ;  remarks  by  Rev. 
Messrs.  Dunning  and  Breckenridge ;  and  benediction  by  Dr.  A. 
Hill.  Captain  Woodruff's  address  was  very  eloquent  and 
finished.  The  following  graves  were  decorated : 


100  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

T.  B.  Benedict,  Co.  H,  8th  C.  V. ;  H.  H.  Benedict,  U.  S. 
Cavalry  ;  Wilbur  Nash,  Co.  C,  27th  C.  V. ;  William  W.  West- 
lake,  Co.  A,  17th  C.  Y. ;  Charles  Merrills,  Co.  H,  8th  C.  V. 

A  committee  was  also  sent  to  deposit  flowers  on  two  graves 
in  the  old  burial-ground  down  town,  and  on  three  in  St.  Mary's 
churchyard. 

There  being  still  another  cemetery  to  visit,  and  the  time 
and  flowers  both  being  short,  it  was  decided  to  postpone  until 
the  next  day  their  visit  to  the  Union  Cemetery  at  Five  Mile  River. 
Notice  was  accordingly  given  in  the  churches  of  the  district  on 
Sunday  morning  that  the  exercises  would  be  held  at  the  ceme- 
tery at  4:  o'clock,  at  which  hour  a  very  large  concourse  of  people 
were  gathered,  and  the  services  opened  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dun- 
ning, of  South  Norwalk,  reading  Gen.  Logan's  Order,  followed 
with  prayer  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Alvord  of  Darien,  and  remarks 
from  Rev.  Messrs.  Raymond,  Dunning,  Platt,  and  Alvord,  sing- 
ing of  America,  and  benediction  by  Rev.  Mr.  Raymond,  the 
G.  A.  R.  then  proceeded  to  garland  their  comrades'  last  resting 
places,  as  follows : 

George  Dingee,  Co.  C,  28th  C.  Y. ;  George  A.  Hoyt,  Co. 
H,  8th  C.  Y. ;  Stephen  Ferris,  Co.  H,  8th  C.  Y. ;  Wm.  H. 
Ferris,  Co.  F,  6th  C.  Y. ;  C.  W.  Ives,  16th  N.  Y.  Yol. ;  Charles 
Clock,  Co.  G,  10th  C.  Y. ;  Henry  Johnson,  Navy ;  Elias  John- 
son, Co.  B,  17th  C.  Y. 

Give  flowers!  bring  flowers!  of  every  hue, 

From  garden-bed  and  field, 
To  deck  the  green  above  the  breasts 

That  made  the  Northern  Shield. 
Pluck  off  the  sweetest  orange  blooms 

And  roses  while  and  rare — 
But  not  for  marriage  altars  now, 

Nor  for  the  young  bride's  hair. 
Ask  lilies  for  their  palest  buds, 

And  violets  for  their  blue — 
Ask  wood  and  dell  for  greenest  leaves 

For  those  who  died  for  you. 
And  lay  above  the  bosoms  cold 

"Where  brave  hearts  now  repose, 
The  lilies  pale  nnd  violets  blue 

And  orange  bloom  and  rose. 
And  when  the  other  Junes  shall  bloom 

Through  all  the  years  to  be, 
Bring  flowers  as  sweet  and" fair  as  these 

For  those  who  died  for  thee. 


GRAVES.  101 

AT  CHARLESTON,  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 
MR.  A.  j.  WILLABD'S  ADDRESS. 

FELLOW-SOLDIERS  :  This  day  has  been  appointed  for  the  pay- 
ing of  honors  to  the  memory  of  our  comrades  who  fell  in  the 
armed  defence  of  our  country,  in  the  great  Rebellion.  The  re- 
moval to  the  National  Cemetery  at  Beaufort  of  the  bodies  of 
chose  of  our  comrades  who  fell  in  the  vicinity  of  Charleston 
precludes  us  from  compliance  with  the  instructions  we  have  re- 
ceived, to  decorate  their  graves  ;  but  we  fulfill  the  spirit  of  these 
instructions  in  gathering  around  our  camp-fires  to-night,  and 
repeating  the  story  of  their  martyrdom  and  glory,  and  of  the 
ends  for  which  they  fought,  and  which  have  been  achieved 
through  them. 

The  tomb,  with  its  solemn  symbols  and  affecting  influences, 
ha?  a  deeper  import  than  sentiment  ascribes  to  it.  It  is  there, 
in  the  midst  of  silence  and  repose,  that  the  voice  of  the  mighty 
dead  is  heard,  the  dead  that  yet  live,  the  undying  dead,  immor- 
tals, clothed  with  elements  too  real  to  be  classed  with  the  appa- 
ritions that  are  discerned  by  sense. 

Costly  decorations  add  nothing  to  the  interest  of  the  soldier's 
grave.  The  turf  a  little  raised,  a  plain  tablet,  a  few  memorial 
inscriptions,  are  all  that  is  needed  to  waken  the  melodies  that 
flow  dirge-like  from  the  stricken  heart,  like  music  from  hidden 
harps.  The  soldier's  story  is  simple.  Privations  and  fatigues, 
long  marches,  watches  and  waitings,  fill  out  the  intervals  be- 
tween struggles  that  compel  the  utmost  concentration  of  effort 
and  endurance,  to  wrest  life  and  victory  from  the  grasp  of  death 
and  despair.  This  web  of  life,  hard  and  actual,  is  bossed  with 
many  thrills  of  pain  and  pleasure ;  good  news  from  home,  start- 
ling and  exciting  rumors  of  battles  lost  and  won,  surprises,  routs, 
rallies  and  recaptures,  comrades  recognized,  well  and  hearty, 
after  a  tight,  others  borne  to  the  rear  on  stretchers,  and  some  to 
be  spoken  of  hereafter  only  in  connection  with  that  dismal  term 
of  record  "missing;"  to  these  are  added  the  endless  humors 
engendered  by  toil  and  a  stout  heart.  He  dies  as  he  lived,  in 
the  midst  of  offices  hurried,  though  kind  and  considerate,  but 
sadly  devoid  of  personal  tenderness. 

In  war,  lives  are  valued  at  their  worth  to  the  State ;  peace 
brings  back  the  estimation  that  partiality  recognizes,  and  the 
heart  weighs  out. 

Already  the  lesser  memories,  the  train  of  mere  personal  in- 
terest connected  with  our  fallen  comrades,  begin  to  fade  from 
our  minds.  Faces,  of  which  every  expressive  line  was  once 
vividly  pictured  in  the  memory,  grow  dim  and  vague,  as  if 


102  MEMORIAL   CEREMONIES 

viewed  through  some  wide  space  of  the  inner  world  of  spirit; 
•  lutes  and  events  become  obscure  and  uncertain,  and  soon  mor- 
tality and  change  will  have  erased  much  that  is  still  left  to  be 
treasured  of  that  which  appertained  to  them. 

T.  .-night  we  are  in  council  as  to  how  these  effacings  may  be 
arrested,  and  a  monument  erected  that  shall  eternally  perpetu- 
ate the  memorial  of  their  labors  and  sacrifice,  their  virtues  and 
martyrdom.  You  have  honored  me  by  choosing  me  to  lead 
your  thought  and  effort  in  this  labor  of  love,  and  I  shall  en- 
ik'uvor,  not  to  fidfill  your  expectations,  but  to  assist  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  worthy  end  you  propose. 

Our  comrades,  whose  memories  we  recall  and  whose  spirits 
we  invoke  this  night,  live  in  their  works,  and  those  works  are 
revealed  in  the  strength,  value,  and  beauty,  and  in  the  exhaust- 
less  power  of  endurance  of  those  tried  and  cherished  institutions 
that  establish  and  elevate  our  country  and  nation,  in  the  esti- 
mation of  civilized  men,  beyond  the  praise  accorded  or  due  to 
the  institutions  of  any  former  age,  or  other  race  of  men. 

They  labored  and  suffered  to  erect  the  stately  temple  within 
which  we  to-day  adore  the  God  who  has  wrought  their  lives 
into  so  glorious  and  admirable  an  edifice.  Their  manly  virtues, 
expressive  of  lofty  strength,  are  moulded  and  traced  with  beauty 
for  us  in  buttress,  arch,  and  pillar ;  their  goodness,  grace,  and 
excellence,  shining  with  the  lustre  of  gold  and  silver,  decorate 
chancel,  vault,  and  flaming  window,  and  their  truth  lights  our 
work  and  reveals  the  hidden  wisdom  of  the  mysteries  we  love 
to  contemplate. 

Let  us,  then,  turn  from  the  shrine  that  encases  the  mere 
dross  of  their  outer  lives,  and  look  upward  and  around,  to  dis- 
cover their  work  in  its  amplitude  arid  immortality,  perpetua- 
ting a  glory  that  not  only  lives,  but  has  power  within  itself  to 
create  and  sustain  life.  If,  in  contemplating  this  grand  result, 
we  seem  to  lose  sight  of  personal  memories  and  lives,  remember 
that  the  builder  forgets  the  familiar  stone  that  he  has  looked 
upon  day  after  day,  and  wrought  and  shaped  with  earnest  en- 
deavor and  often  repeated  effort,  when  finished  and  fitted,  it  is 
at  last  bound  with  its  fellows  in  the  groined  and  vaulted  canopy 
which  figures  to  the  imagination  the  wisdom  and  protective 
love,  that  shields  and  fosters  with  congenial  shadows  the  tender 
life  of  man. 

The  political  institutions  of  our  country  have  been  developed 
mainly  under  the  influence  of  two  marked  public  events,  hav- 
ing many  points  in  common,  and  yet  clearly  distinguishable  from 
each  other  by  points  of  striking  contrast.  'Both  were  periods  of 
revolution,  both  culminated  in  war ;  both  involved  as  a  cardinal 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  103 

feature  the  contending  ideas  of  loyalty  and  rebellion,  and  both 
terminated  favorably  for  the  development  of  our  national  exist- 
ence. The  war  that  commenced  with  the  Declaration  of  Amer- 
ican Independence  was  a  justitiable  rebellion,  for  it  involved 
the  undoubted  right  of  a  people  to  independent  national  exist- 
ence, whose  geographical  position,  social  tendencies,  and  indus- 
trial pur-nits,  necessarily  rendered  union  with  the  parent  coun- 
try, from  which  they  sprung,  impossible,  except  with  the  loss  of 
that  which  was  essential  to  national  life  and  growth,  and  the 
accomplishment  of  the  true  ends  of  national  existence. 

Grievances  they  had,  indeed,  sore  and  abundant  to  found  a 
just  complaint  of  being  practically  abandoned  by  the  parent 
nation  to  unaided  self-support ;  but  grievances  they  did  not  need 
to  establish  their  clear  right  to  the  necessary  means  of  attaining 
that  which  it  was  incumbent  upon  them  to  do  and  to  become  in 
their  national  character.  It  was  not  the  success  of  the  revolu- 
tion that  justified  it,  but  it  was  justice  that  secured  success. 

The  war  that  was  precipitated  by  the  ordinance  of  secession 
was  unjustifiable,  because  it  sought  to  defeat  the  very  end  that 
justified  the  revolution  of  1776,  namely,  the  unity,  growth,  and 
destiny  of  the  nation.  The  ground  upon  which  secession  has 
been  defended,  in  argument  condemns  it,  namely,  that  it  was  a 
necessity  springing  from  the  clashing  of  contending  local  inter- 
Ihe  very  idea  of  secession  thus  presented,  involves  the 
full  conception,  historic  and  philosophical,  of  anarchy,  and 
would  justify,  under  circumstances  that  may  be  readily  con- 
ceived, the  work  of  the  demon,  who  should  split  apart  the  two 
hemispheres  of  our  earth,  upon  the  plea  of  an  irreconcilable 
peculiarity  of  institutions  and  tastes. 

These  two  events  were  alike  in  the  further  respect,  that  one 
of  the  contending  parties,  in  each  case,  fought  in  the  interest  of 
the  right  of  man  to  good  and  free  self-go veru in ent,  and  under 
the  inspiration  of  the  right  spirit  of  the  age;  and  the  other 
fought  in  the  interest  of  self-love,  couched  in  the  dogmas  of  the 
twin  spirits,  monarchy  and  oligarchy,  and  stultified  by  prece- 
dents that  derived  their  force  from  the  weakness  of  the  people 
in  early  times,  and  their  inability  to  assert  their  rights  as  against 
their  masters. 

These  great  events  differed  widely  in  another  respect ;  in  the 
former,  the  first  blow  was  struck  for  freedom,  while  in  the  latter 
it  was  struck  for  the  enslaving  of  a  portion  of  the  human  family. 

To  finish  this  general  view  of  the  subject,  neither  struggle 
terminated  in  compromise ;  but,  in  both,  the  tide  of  war  rolled 
on  until  victory  was  complete  and  acknowledged  by  both  com- 
batants. 


104  MEMORIAL  CEREMONIES 

The  immediate  object  of  referring  to  this  striking  parallel,  is 

that  v.v  m:iy  trace  two  steps  of  progress  in  our  national  life,  cor- 

>n  ding  to  and  growing  out  of  these  wars,  and,  like  the 

.••••11  which  they  sprung,  characteristic,  decisive,  and  irre- 

Me. 

The  revolution  of  1776  gave  existence,  name  and  promise 
to  the  nation.  It  did  not  and  could  not  do  all  that  was  requir- 
ed to  be  done,  in  order  to  put  the  nation  in  possession  of  the 
entire  means  of  fulfilling  its  destiny ;  for,  if  it  had,  it  would. 
have  been  at  variance  with  all  the  analogies  of  nature  in  kin- 
dred operations;  for  nature,  in  implanting  the  principles  of  life 
and  cherishing  its  early  developments,  always  reserves  to  a 
later  effort  the  distinctive  unfolding  of  the  principle  of  fecunda- 
tion, by  means  of  which  that  life  is  destined  to  be  indefinitely 
amplified  and  imparted. 

We  became,  as  a  people,  a  political  individual,  by  the  suc- 
cessful act  of  severance  from  Great  Britain,  but  had  yet  to  look 
forward  to  a  future  crisis  for  that  individualization,  broad  and 
positive,  that  should  add  rank  and  power  to  position,  and  which 
could  only  arrive  when  purpose  and  will,  ripened  and  concen- 
trated, should  bring  forth  ideas  commensurate  with  their  ends 
and  subservient  to  their  forces. 

What  we  got  from  England,  and  became  our  own  in  our 
contest  with  her,  was  a  rugged  Saxon  Constitution  and  an  in- 
stinct of  independence  and  thrift.  That  is  all  that  the  mother 
country  could  do  for  us.  Our  political  ideas  were  destiTied  to 
come  from  the  fatherland,  in  the  most  comprehensive  sense  of 
that  term — the  continent  of  Europe. 

Our  field  of  action  was  a  continent,  our  mission  to  mankind 
unlimited  by  geographical  lines,  and  our  civilization  could  not 
be  less  than  continental,  nor  derived  except  from  the  broadest 
paternity. 

In  our  contest  with  Great  Britain  we  received  aid,  though 
only  partial,  from  the  great  underlying  principle  of  popular 
sovereignty  and  popular  right,  for  at  that  early  day  we  recog- 
nized that  principle  in  an  imperfect  degree,  and  stripped  of  much 
of  its  force,  under  the  English  idea  of  no  taxation  without  rep- 
resentation, a  mere  dollar  and  cent  version  of  the  great  truth, 
and  put  forth  without  vigor,  rather  as  a  ground  for  escaping 
laxation  than  as  a  cardinal  doctrine  of  popular  right. 

No  sooner,  however,  had  our  success  begun  to  strengthen 
popular  movements,  than  France,  the  crater  of  Europe,  began 
to  seethe  with  ideas  of  popular  liberty,  afterwards  almost  lost 
again  through  the  ungoverned  excesses  of  her  great  revolution. 

These  ideas  were  caught  by  leading  minds  in  our  own  land, 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  105 

and  in  spite  of  the  dishonor  that  had  been  cast  upon  them 
through  the  failure  of  France  to  discern  their  proper  limita- 
tions, silently  worked  their  way  into  popular  favor.  While  the 
nation  was  quietly  and  successfully  unfolding  the  results  of  the 
revolutionary  war  in  a  closer  union  between  the  States,  and  in 
expanding  commerce  and  industry,  and  ripening  the  constitu- 
tional functions  of  the  Government,  under  the  leadership  of,  in 
earlier  times,  Washington,  Hamilton,  Marshall  and  other  kin- 
dred minds,  and,  at  a  later  time,  under  the  leadership  of  Web- 
ster and  Clay,  the  ideas  that  had  convulsed  Europe  were 
organizing  themselves  under  the  influence  of  such  minds  as  that 
of  Jefferson,  and  were  gradually  preparing  the  public  mind  to 
demand  concessions  of  larger  political  powers  to  the  masses  of 
the  people.  The  Democratic  party  of  the  country  gained,  for 
many  years,  political  ascendency  through  their  advocacy  of  these 
ideas,  but,  owing  to  its  alliance  with  the  South,  where  such  doc- 
trines had  little  hold,  being  regarded  as  hostile  to  the  institution 
of  slavery,  no  important  results,  in  their  practical  application, 
were  attained  by  it. 

Public  events  foreshadowed  a  contest  that  should  decide 
whether  the  general  distribution  of  power  among  the  people 
was  to  take  place,  while  the  growing  manifestation  of  a  military 
spirit  among  the  people,  shadowed  forth  at  first  dimly  in  the 
election  of  General  Harrison,  in  1840,  and  more  distinctly  in 
the  zeal  with  which  the  nation  abetted  the  prosecution  of  the 
Mexican  war,  and  afterwards  elevated  one  of  its  heroes,  General 
Taylor,  to  the  Presidency,  indicated  the  means  by  which  this 
ominous  contest  should  be  terminated. 

In  order  to  reach  the  point  at  which  the  nation  could  regard 
itself  as  clothed  with  the  visible  symbols  of  that  power  it  was 
destined  to  exercise  in  the  future,  two  steps  of  advance  in  the 
leadership  of  political  ideas  were  to  be  attained  by  her ;  the 
h'rst  was  the  enfranchisement  of  the  whole  people  with  civil 
rights,  and  the  next,  the  necessary  consequence  of  the  first,  their 
admission  to  equal  political  privileges.  Slavery  at  the  South 
stood  in  the  way  of  both,  and  becoming  con  scions  of  its  relations 
to  the  political  changes  through  which  the  country  was  advanc- 
ing, its  champions  struck  a  blow  intended  to  sever  a  Union 
fraught  with  the  means  of  its  overthrow. 

Thus  commenced  the  rebellion  of  1860,  on  the  ground  on 
which  we  now  stand.  The  first  effect  of  the  war  was  to  arouse 
in  the  nation  that  strong  instinct  of  nationality  derived  so  forci- 
bly through  the  war  of  Independence,  and  to  concentrate  it 
upon  the  armed  assertion  of  the  national  integrity.  This  feel- 
ing absorbed  all  others,  and  even  cherished  ideas  of  civil  and 


106  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

political  liberty  were,  for  the  time  being,  almost  lost  si^ht  of. 
feut  tin's  ground  was  not  broad  enough  or  firm  enough  for  the 
nation  to  stand  upon,  in  a  crisis  that  demanded  more  than  the 
repetition  of  the  past,  and  could  be  satisfied  with  nothing  short 
nl'  a  principle  of  action  commensurate  with  the  objects  that  were 
to  be  secured  by  the  contest.  Hence  it  was  that  the  arms  of  the 
nation  were  paralyzed  until  we  affirmed  the  broad  doctrine  of 
universal  civi!  liberty,  and  entered  the  field  under  standards 
that  identified  our  hosts  with  the  armies  of  liberty  in  all  lands 
and  ages. 

Under  this  sign  we  conquered,  and  drove  human  slavery 
from  the  Continent.  Civil  rights  were  decreed  by  the  nation  to 
all  men  and  women  within  its  borders,  and  thus  was  the  first 
great  step  of  advance  secured,  and  a  foundation  laid  for  the  next 
step,  that  of  conferring  political  enfranchisement  where  civil 
ri^ht  had  already  been  recognized. 

It  may  seem  that,  in  its  relation  to  the  present  occasion,  this 
sketch  of  progress  should  here  close,  for  we  have  reached,  in  the 
statement  of  events,  the  end  of  the  active  stage  of  that  vast  con- 
test that  demanded  so  many  victims ;  but  such  is  not  the  fact. 
Wars,  fortunately  for  mankind,  accomplish  more  than  blood- 
shed, and  than  even  the  immediate  political  results  flowing 
from  them.  The  work  of  the  Soldier  is  not  yet  fully  described. 
A  still  greater  sacrifice  was  demanded  of  the  nation,  for  it  had 
not  yet  comprehended  fully  the  exactions  and  the  eventualities 
of  the  crisis  in  which  it  stood.  It  was  not  yet  prepared  to  set 
its  feet  upon  the  firm  ground  that  offered  security  and  rest.  That 
sacrifice  was  no  less  than  the  head  of  the  nation  itself. 

The  appalling  news  thrilled  the  land,  that  Abraham  Lincoln 
had  fallen  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin,  in  the  heart  of  the  capital 
of  the  nation,  in  the  public  presence,  surrounded  by  his  friends. 
Love  for  the  man,  admiration  for  his  firmness  and  disinterested- 
ness, opened  the  hearts  of  all  loyal  men  to  receive  the  full  meas- 
ure of  the  shock.  A  depth  was  touched,  a  chord  was  thrilled 
that  revealed  a  consciousness  more  profound  than  had  ever  be- 
fore inspired  public  action  in  this  country.  The  nation  gathered 
around  the  asnes  of  its  beloved  President,  not  alone  to  weep, 
but  to  resolve,  and  carried  from  that  mournful  scene  a  purpose, 
inspired  by  justice,  which  only  awaited  a  fitting  moment  for 
the  accomplishment  of  an  act  that  should  place  the  nation  firm- 
ly upon  the  broad  ground  of  equal  right,  affirmed  by  its  foun- 
ders, not,  as  has  been  said,  in  order  to  grace  a  declaration  of 
national  faith  with  glittering  generalities,  as  delusive  as  glitter- 
ing, but  as  solemn  axioms  from  which  life  and  action  were  to 
spring. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.         107 

A  train  of  causes  was  set  in  motion  which  resulted  in  the 
memorable  year  1867,  in  the  conferring  of  full  political  rights 
upon  4.000,000  citizens  of  this  Republic  to  whom  they  had  been 
unjustly  denied. 

The  work  that  was  thus  begun  by  the  Democratic  party, 
and  during  the  late  rebellion  was  transferred  from  its  hands  to 
the  Republican  party,  leaving  in  the  possession  of  those  from 
whom  it  was  taken  but  the  name,  without  the  reality,  is  not  yet 
fully  complete,  for  there  are  yet  found  in  many  of  the  Northern 
States  enough  of  those  who,  under  the  narfte  of  Democrats, 
array  themselves  against  impartial  popular  rights,  to  find  the 
means  of  still  depriving  a  handfull  of  colored  people  of  equal 
political  privileges  with  the  latest  importation  of  European  im- 
migrants. But  so  little  is  to  be  done,  comparatively,  to  realize 
the  ascendency  of  the  great  principle  for  which  we  have  paid 
so  dearly,  that  we  may  disregard  the  little  that  is  lacking,  and 
congratulate  each  other  on  the  great  work  as  accomplished. 

Wi-  have  thus  hastily  traced  the  recent  history  of  our  coun- 
try down  to  what  appears  manifestly  to  be  the  beginning  of  a 
new  and  distinctive  political  era.  We  can  readily  see  the  rela- 
tion that  this  new  age  bears  to  that  which  went  before  it,,  and 
thence  predcit  some  of  its  leading  characteristics.  We  observe 
that  while  our  first  historic  period  founded,  unfolded  and 
strengthened  our  nationality,  and  prepared  us  to  enter  upon  a 
state  in  which  more  enlarged  uses  were  to  be  assigned  us,  the 
latter  period  is  inaugurated  with  the  acquisition  of  those  forces 
that  are  essential  to  the  leadership  of  the  ideas  that  are  de- 
termining the  course  of  European  politics  and  events.  We  per- 
ceive that  we  are  to  assume  hereafter  a  larger  and  more  positive 
influence  in  public  events  on  both  continents,  and  that  such 
influence  will  be  exerted  in  the  interest  of  the  rights  of  mankind, 
as  against  all  that  depresses  healthful  development  and  stifles 
laudable  ambition. 

We  are  not  unconscious  that  the  point  of  equilibrium  in  our 
political  institutions  is  somewhat  changed,  and  that,  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  we  are  liable  to  irregularities  in  the  working  of  the 
system  ;  but  we  do  not  fear  these  things  if  we  possess  a  healthy 
courage  equal  to  the  emergencies  that  must,  necessarily,  arise  in 
the  course  of  an  active  and  progressive  life.  There  is  danger 
every  time  you  mount  a  horse  or  step  into  a  boat,  but  such. 
Ganger  as  a  man  of  courage  treats  lightly,  and  never  deters  him 
from  the  discharge  of  a  duty. 

We  have  the  confidence  that  springs  from  the  consciousness 
that  our  government  rests  upon  the  principle  of  justice,  and 
such  a  foundation,  by  the  grace  of  God,  and  a  due  exercise  of 


108  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

prudence,  is  sure  and  enduring.  In  addition  to  this,  we  have 
the  confidence  that  springs  from  the  recognition  of  the  fact,  that 
•we  are  moving  in  harmony  with  that  great  current  in  human 
affairs  that  >i-ts  in  all  lands,  in  the  direction  of  an  enlarged 
diffusion  of  political  powers,  in  conjunction  with  the  repre- 
sentative principle  of  government,  and  that  being  in  the  current, 
we  are  farthest  removed  from  the  rocks  that  forbode  ship- 
wreck. And  that  if,  as  we  believe,  there  is  a  law  in  the 
progress  of  political  events  like  that  which  pervades  all  the 
forces  of  miture,»tending  to  the  highest  good  and  the  largest 
diffusion  of  that  good,  we  are  in  harmony  with  the  workings 
of  that  law  and  enjoy  its  protection,  and  will  reap  its  bene- 
fits. 

Taking  our  stand  upon  the  summit  of  this  lofty  elevation, 
and  casting  our  eyes  over  the  valleys,  where  the  smoke  of  battle 
lately  enveloped  the  combatants  in  darkness  and  donbt,  and 
where  now  the  graves  of  our  comrades  appear  mingled  with 
ripening  harvests,  surrounded  by  life  and  hope,  and,  cheered 
with  the  reaper's  song,  we  gather  a  new  inspiration  from  these 
fruitful  hillocks.  It  calls  to  us  from  the  silent  depths  of  our 
hearts,  to  move  onward  and  upward,  fearlessly  as  they  moved 
amiclst  the  uncertainties  of  battle,  trusting  the  God  into  whose 
hands  they  fell,  sweetly  trusting  and  sleeping. 

Comrades,  our  country  has  drawn  a  prize  —  a  glorious  prize 
in  the  lottery  of  war — 300,000  graves !  They  stand  in  line  of 
battle,  the  right  resting  on  Donelson,  the  left  stretched  out 
to  Gettysburg.  Around  that  vast  circle  that  sweeps  down  the 
Mfcaiasippi,  across  to  the  Atlantic,  and  thence  beyond  Richmond 
to  the  quiet  vallies  of  Pennsylvania,  stand  these  veteran  senti- 
nels of  liberty.  Their  challenges  are  heard  and  answered  from 
hillock  to  hillock.  Should  tyranny  or  anarchy  enter  the  land, 
and  set  foot  upon  the  sacred  soil  they  guard,  the  voice  that  shall 
demand  "  Who  comes  there !"  will  speak  from  their  graves  with 
the  authority  of  the  embattled  hosts  of  the  heroic  dead.  Before 
that  line  the  advance  of  evil  will  be  stayed,  and  our  country,  de- 
livered from  her  fear,  will  sit  in  peace  and  comfort. 

While  we  honor  the  dead  who  fought  the  battles  of  liberty, 
let  us  not  forget  to  treat  with  tenderness  those  other  graves 
that  were  tilled  by  the  war.  Magnanimity  is  the  soldier's  life 
blood.  Many  a  man  fought  against  us  with  as  tirm  a  conviction 
of  right  as  that  which  animated  the  breasts  of  the  comrades  we 
honor.  We  hold  them  to  have  fallen  in  an  unjust  and  unholy 
cause.  The  future  will  confirm  this  judgment :  but  let  us  re- 
member that  our  conceptioiis  of  right  and  wrong  are  for  the 
most  part  derived  from  the  judgment  of  the  community  of 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  109 

which  we  are  members.  Few  men  act  and  think  independent- 
ly of  the  state  of  opinion  that  surrounds  them.  Let  this  con- 
templation moderate  the  force  of  self-approbation,  and  the 
judgment  of  condemnation  to  be  bestowed  on  men  as  individ- 
uals ;  for  while  the  rectitude  of  our  opinions  and  purposes  are 
mainly  due  to  the  character  of  the  institutions  imder  which  we 
have  been  nurtured,  so  the  errors  of  judgment  of  those  we  would 
most  loudly  condemn  are  due  to  the  same  cause.  Then,  as  good 
soldiers,  while  we  vow  eternal  vengeance  against  evil  as  it  is 
found  incarnate  in  perverted  institutions,  let  us  tenderly  con- 
sider the  helplessness  of  men  under  the  influence  of  such  in- 
stitutions before  we  visit  too  severe  a  judgment  upon  personal 
character  and  motive. 

Our  solemn  ceremonies  are  finished.  To-day  the  golden  sun 
has  painted  with  radiant,  but  evanescent  colors,  a  firmament  of 
garlands  laid  by  loving  hands  upon  the  multitude  of  soldiers' 
graves  that  consecrate  our  land.  In  every  part  of  this  broad 
country,  in  every  valley  and  shaded  nook  that  holds  a  hero's 
resting  place  ;  in  stately  cemeteries  and  in  modest  church-yards ; 
in  the  distant  field,  beneath  its  clump  of  elms,  to  the  road-side 
cross,  a  train  has  come  and  gone,  and  left  behind  some  tender 
memorial  of  the  love  they  bore  the  dead.  The  gifts  of  sturdy 
comrades,  of  wives,  with  hearts  in  ashes ;  of  stricken  parents, 
and  weeping  and  wondering  children,  lie  strewn  together,  wet 
with  the  dew  of  night,  and  the  tears  of  loving  ones.  What 
wealth  of  sorrow!  what  treasures  of  tears!  what  majesty  of 
woe !  That  golden  sun  has  sunk  to  rest,  and  the  shadows  that 
shake  from  their  folds  sad  musings,  have  fallen  upon  the  homes 
from  which  these  mir.sing  ones  followed  the  stirring  drum  and 
fife.  Who  can  penetrate  even  in  imagination  these  broken 
circles,  that  with  emotions  newly  aroused  by  the  offices  per- 
formed this  day,  recount  the  sorrows  of  heart  and  stern  priva- 
tions that  have  followed  each  peculiar  bereavement,  without 
realizing  that  the  living  soldier  owes  to  the  dead  soldier  a  duty, 
in  shielding  from  want  and  suffering  those  he  has  left  to  bear 
his  burdens  with  their  own  sorrows. 

Sleep  on  ye  fallen  ones !  beneath  the  watchful  beams  of  the 
sentinel  moon  that  paces  her  silent  beat  above  you,  no  alarms 
nor  rattling  fire  from  startled  picket  lines  can  reach  your  ears, 
or  call  you  from  your  rest.  No  wily  foe  can  burst  upon  your 
camping  ground  where  your  flowery  tents  are  pitched  and 
lighted  by  the  fire-fly,  to  drive  you  from  your  lonely  bivouac. 
To-morrow's  light  will  break — the  bugle  will  call  to  duty — the 
drums  will  proclaim  the  advent  of  another  sun,  but  you  will  not 
come  forth,  nor  make  report  for  duty  again  among  men.  Sun 


110  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

after  sun  will  warm  the  turf  above  you;  year  after  rear  will 
bring  <>nr  floral  offerings,  such  as  we  make  to-day.  Age  after 
age  will  ripen  human  things,  but  you  will  come  no  more  to  roll- 
cull.  I'.ut  still  a  day  will  come  when  a  bugle-call  will  rever- 
U-nttc  through  the  morning  air,  and  an  assembly  will  be  sound- 
ed th:«t  shall  wake  you,  and  call  you  forth  to  answer  to  your 
names  upon  the  rolls  of  the  grand  army  of  the  Great  Com- 
mander of  Heaven  and  Earth,  to  form  upon  the  standards  em- 
blazoned with  the  golden  martyr  cross,  and  hold,  eternally,  the 
lines  that  sever  justice,  truth  and  fortitute  from  hatred,  vice, 
and  fear. 

CHARLESTON,  S.  C.,  May  30, 1868. 


CEREMONIES  IN  MASSACHUSETTS. 

[OFFICIAL  CIRCITLAK.] 

BOSTON,  Maij  23,  1868. 

The  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  a  society  of  veterans, 
formed  for  the  purpose  of  extending  systematic  charity  to  dis- 
abled soldiers  and  sailors,  and  of  cherishing  the  patriotic  spirit 
which  animated  our  armies  in  the  late  war,  have  appointed 
Saturday,  the  30th  inst.,  for  the  floral  decoration  of  the  graves 
of  their  deceased  comrades  throughout  the  country.  In  this 
tribute  of  respect  for  the  memory  ot  the  men  whose  martyrdom 
secured  to  us  victory  and  peace,  they  earnestly  invite  the  co- 
operation of  the  public.  The  large  cemeteries  will  be  visited 
by  the  Posts  of  the  Order,  and  smaller  graveyards  by  delega- 
tions, and  it  is  suggested  that  the  friends  and  relatives  of  sol- 
diers buried  near  Boston,  visit  their  graves  on  the  day  thus  set 
aside,  and  adorn  them  with  flowers,  or  designate  them  for  deco- 
ration by  the  visiting  societies.  In  towns  where  there  are  no 
Posts  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  the  town  authorities 
and  citizens  are  requested  to  provide  for  the  decoration  of  sol- 
diers' graves  with  suitable  ceremonies. 

Contributions  of  flowers,  or  money  to  be  expended  in  the 
purchase  of  flowers,  are  solicited,  to  be  sent  to  such  places  as 
may  hereafter  be  announced  through  the  daily  papers. 

The  clergy  are  respectfully  requested  to  read  this  notice 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  Ill 

from  their  pulpits  on  Sunday,  May  2-i,  with  such  remarks  as 

they  may  deem  appropriate. 

L.  "W.  OSGOOD,  Post  7,  Boston, 

HENRY  R.  SIBLEY,  Post  11,  Charlestown, 

C.  H.  HOVEY,  Post  15,  Boston, 

WM.  II.  LAWRENCE,  Post  23,  East  Boston, 

C.  C.  EMERY,  Post  26,  Boston  Highlands, 

A.  C.  WELLINGTON,  Post  30,  Cambridge, 

GEO.  H.  JOHNSTON,  Post  32,  South  Boston. 

F.  O.  BARNES,  Post  35,  Chelsea, 

Committee. 

AT  FOREST  HILLS  CEMETERY,  ROXBURY. 

The  occasion  of  strewing  the  graves  of  deceased  .  soldiers 
with  flowers  at  Forest  Hills  Cemetery  was  adopted  as  a  favor-r 
able  one  for  the  inauguration  of  the  beautiful  bronze  statue  by 
the  eminent  sculptor,  Milmore,  recently  erected  in  the  Soldiers' 
Burial  Lot.  Post  26  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and 
the  members  of  the  late  city  government  of  Roxbtiry,  managed 
this  act  of  duty  and  respect,  and  very  many  were  present  to 
witness  it,  although  the  lowering  aspect  of  the  heavens  un- 
doubtedly hindered  a  large  number  of  those  from  being  present 
who  would  have  greatly  desired  the  privilege. 

The  monument  represents  a  soldier  leaning  on  his  musket, 
and  pensively  gazing  on  the  graves  of  his  dead  comrades. 
Many  thousands  .of  our  citizens  have  had  opportunity  to  see  the 
statue,  which  stood  for  several  days  in  front  of  the  City  Hall 
of  Boston,  and  was  universally  acknowledged  to  be  one  of  the 
very  finest  specimens  of  the  sculptor's  art  to  be  found  in  Boston 
or  its  neighborhood.  At  Forest  Hills  it  had  been  raised  on  a 
finely  designed  granite  pedestal,  bearing  on  the 'front  the  fol- 
lowing inscription  in  raised  letters  : 

ERECTED  BY  THE  CITY  OF  ROXBURY  IN  HONOR  OF  HER  SOLDIERS 
WHO  DIED  FOR  THE  COUNTRY  IN  THE  REBELLION,  1861-1865. 

On  the  back  of  the  pedestal  is  the  following : 

"  From  these  honored  dead  we  take  increased  devotion  to 
the  cause  for  which  they  gave  their  last  full  measure  of  devo- 
tion."— Abraham  Lincoln  at  Gettysburg,  Nov.  1863. 


112  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

On  Saturday,  the  monument  was  beautifully  decorated  with 
living  flower*,  j-hu-i-d  BO  as  almost  to  hide  the  pedestal  among 
their  lovuline.-s.  The  granite  wall  around  the  lot  was  also 
finely  ornamented  wirh  bouquets  and  wreaths — mostly  the 
marks  of  family  and  friendly  affection  on  the  part  of  the  rela- 
tives and  friends  of  the  soldiers  buried  in  the  lot.  Eight  and 
left  of  the  entrance,  platforms  were  erected — the  former  for  the 
band  and  choir,  and  the  latter  for  those  who  were  to  conduct 
and  share  more  directly  in  the  dedicatory  services.  The  instru- 
mental music  was  furnished  by  Chickering's  Band,  and  the 
vocal  portion  by  a  double  quartette  of  remarkably  skilful  sing- 
ers. 

Shortly  previous  to  noon  on  Saturday,  the  Warren  Eifles  of 
Eoxbury,  under  command  of  Capt.  William  H.  Hutchinson, 
forty-five  muskets,  marched  from  their  armory  to  the  headquar- 
ters of  Post  26,  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Eepublic,  Maj.  C.  C. 
Emory,  Commander,  to  whom  they  acted  as  escort,  and  thence 
to  the  City  Hall,  where  the  old  city  government  was  received, 
and  thence  to  the  depot  on  the  Providence  road,  where  they 
took  the  care  for  Forest  Hills  station  at  12.30  o'clock.  Several 
hundreds  from  Boston  -went  out  by  the  same,  preceding,  and 
following  trains.  From  the  depot,  the  escort  and  procession 
marched  to  the  Cemetery,  every  member  bearing  flowers  in  his 
hands,  where  the  late  city  government  of  Eoxbury  and  the 
members  of  the  G.  A.  E.  proceeded,  the  band  playing  a  slow 
and  solemn  march,  to  the  Soldiers'  Lot,  in  front  of  which  the 
veterans  of  the  Grand  Army  were  drawn  up  in  double  column, 
and  the  inauguration  services  proceeded. 

Order  was  called  by  Commander  Emery,  of  Post  26,  G.  A. 
E.,  who  afterward  presided.  He  said,  in  introducing  the  cere- 
monies of  inauguration  and  of  the  day  : 

COMRADES  :  We  have  assembled  here  to-day,  in  accordance 
with  the  orders  of  our  Grand  Commander,  and  also  in  concur- 
rence with  the  dictates  of  our  own  hearts,  for  the  purpose  of 
strewing  the  graves  of  our  fallen  companions  with  flowers,  to 
keep  bright  and  green  their  memories  in  our  hearts.  We  have 
another  duty  to  perform — which  is,  to  dedicate  this  statue  to  the 
memory  of  those  of  our  companions  who  fell  by  our  sides  in 
battle,  and  who  now  lie  buried  within  these  hallowed  grounds : 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  113 

and  to  the  Hon.  Mayor  and  gentlemen  of  the  City  Council  of 
our  late  city  of  Roxbury,  allow  me,  in  behalf  of  this  Post,  to 
tender  to  you  our  most  sincere  and  heartfelt  thanks  for  the 
honor  which  you  have  conferred  upon  us,  by  placing  in  our 
hands  the  arrangements  for  the  dedication  of  this  noble  work 
of  art  to  the  memory  of  our  fallen  companions.  And  let  me 
assure  you  that,  should  our  services  be  again  required  in  the  de- 
fence of  our  country's  liberties,  (which  God  grant  may  never 
be !)  you  will  find  us  as  prompt  to  answer  the  call  as  we  were 
in  days  gone  by. 

The  weather  at  the  time  was  dull  and  damp,  threatening 
rain  ;  nevertheless,  a  great  many  more  were  on  the  ground  than 
could  get  within  earshot  of  the  speakers  during  the  exercises, 
which  commenced  with  a  dirge  by  the  band. 

Rev.  A.  J.  Paterson  read  select  and  appropriate  passages  of 
Scripture  with  impressive  emphasis,  and  Rev.  J.  O.  Means  fol- 
lowed in  prayer.  The  choir  then  sang,  in  the  most  feeling  man- 
ner, "  Rest,  Spirit,  Rest,"  which  has  very  rarely  been  better 
performed. 

Rev.  George  Putnam,  D.D.,  who  had  been  selected  to  de- 
liver the  oration,  was  introduced. 

DR.  PUTNAM'S  ORATION. 

SOLDIERS  AND  FRIENDS  :  I  am  warned  by  the  very  best  medi- 
cal authority  that  this  assembly  must  not  be  long  detained  in 
the  damp  which  now  pervades  the  soil  and  the  atmosphere  j 
and  I  will  respect  the  injunction,  not  from  disregard  for  the 
memories  of  the  dead,  but  from  a  proper  regard  for  the  welfare 
of  the  living.  We  have  come  together,  my  friends,  to  dedicate 
this  monument  to  our  fallen  heroes.  Let  that  figure  be  the  only 
orator  on  this  occasion.  What  human  lips  can  speak  to  us  witn 
such  eloquence  as  those  dumb  lips  of  brass  ?  Look  at  the 
figure!  It  is  the  impression  of  the  heroes  of  the  great  army 
that  went  forth  to  save  the  country — and  saved  it  was  !  He 
looks  weary  ;  well  he  may,  for  he  has  run  his  race,  and  well 
and  bravely  done  his  work.  He  looks  majestic,  for  he  bears  the 
majesty  of  the  country  upon  him.  He  looks  pensive  and 
thoughtful,  for  he  remembers  the  carnage,  the  hospital,  and  the 
prison.  He  has  pathos  in  his  expression,  for  he  looks  on  the 
graves  of  his  dead  comrades.  We  come  to  inaugurate  this 
monument,  but  it  needs  not  many  words  to  do  it.  Let  it  be 
done  by  grateful,  tender  memories  and  devout  thanksgiving  in 
8 


114  MKMORTAL    CEREMONIES 

all  our  hearts.  What  I  might  say  would  be  feeble,  and  soon 
forgotten ;  but  the  words  of  that  beautiful  statue  shall  never  be 
hu>hrd  so  long  as  there  are  American  hearts  to  beat  in  gratitude 
for  their  noble  and  patriotic  dead.  Let  me  be  silent ;  let  him 
sprak  ;  and  he  shall  speak,  not  only  to  us  of  the  present  day, 
but  to  our  children's  children  throughout  a  far  future,  and 
breathe  into  them  a  deeper  love  for  country,  a  purer  and  nobler 
inspiration.  Thousands  and  thousands  who  pass  this  spot  will 
gather  or  confirm  such  patriotic  feeling  here.  A  time  may 
come  when  another  arm  may  be  raised  against  the  country,  and 
there  be  found  brave  hearts  to  meet  its  requirements,  as  there 
has  been  in  the  past.  May  the  Almighty  Ruler  prevent  it ! 
But  if  such  a  time  should  come,  let  there  be  no  vestige  of  this 
monument  remaining,  but  let  brass  and  stone  both  be  crumbled 
in  the  dust ;  let  not  a  particle  of  either  be  left  to  mark  another 
degenerate  period  !  But  that  time  shall  never  come  :  that  elo- 
quent figure  shall  go  on  speaking,  pleading,  inspiring,  till  the 
last  syllable  of  recorded  time.  And  now,  friends  and  soldiers, 
go  forth  to  perform  your  most  pleasing,  beautiful,  touching 
office.  Strew  flowers  over  the  ashes  of  your  comrades ;  lay 
garlands  over  their  sacred  dust.  What  you  are  doing  here, 
your  fellow-soldiers  are  doing  everywhere  to  their  dead  heroes. 
And  shall  it  not  be  that  every  year  hereafter  this  sweet  offering 
shall  be  laid  on  the  graves  of  our  patriotic  soldiers  ;  and  shall 
not  your  children,  and  your  children's  children,  do  the  same? 
Go  ;  and  in  your  love  of  their  glorious  memories  lay  flowers  on 
their  graves,  and  we  all  will  follow  you  with  bur  best  wishes  ; 
everywhere  we  will  go  with  you,  accompanying  you  \vith  our 
sympathies  and  our  prayers. 

This  address,  which  could  not  have  been  more  impressive 
and  appropriate  had  it  been  clothed  with  the  wordiness  of  a 
volume,  evidently  had  a  powerful  eftect.  Its  simplicity  and 
aptitude  to  the  subject  touched  the  heart  of  every  heaver,  old 
and  young;  and  men  present,  who  had  listened  to  the  greatest 
orators,  living  and  dead,  declared  they  had  never  heard  any 
thing  more  applicable  to  circumstances  and  occasion. 

After  music  from  the  band,  the  following  ode,  written  by 
Mrs.  P.  A.  Hannaford,  was  sung  by  the  choir  and  the  audience, 
to  the  tune  of  "  Floyd's  Hymn."  It  was  previously  read  by 
Rev.  Charles  J .  Bo  wen : 

Strew  the  blossoms  o'er  our  dead, 
Lowly  lies  each  conqueror's  head  ; 
Spread  the  flow'rets  sweet  around — 
Where  they  sleep  is  hallowed  ground. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  115 

Yet  their  dust  alone  is  here — 
They  are  in  the  spirit-sphere ; 
They  are  with  the  crowned  and  blest, 
Evermore  they  are  at  rest. 

There  no  sound  of  war  shall  come, 
Never  beat  of  battle-drum, 
Nevermore  the  whistling  ball, 
Nevermore  the  bugle  call. 

Strew  the  blossoms  !  soft  they  rest 
Low  beneath  the  earth's  green  breast — 
Forms  we  loved  and  faces  dear, 
Nevermore  to  street  us  here. 

Strew  the  flowers,  and  though  they  fade 

Over  each  beloved  head, 

Yet  their  memory  shall  remain, 

Like  their  banner,  free  from  stain. 

While  the  Stars  and  Stripes  shall  wave, 
Honored  be  the  soldier's  grave  ; 
For  the  noble,  patriot  baud, 
Saved  our  broad,  beloved  land. 

While  the  ode  was  being  sung,  a  number  of  ladies  (the 
wives,  daughters,  and  friends  of  the  soldiers  buried  on  the  spot) 
literally  covered  their  graves  with  flowers,  while  floral  marks 
of  affection,  such  as  crosses  and  wreaths,  were  placed  at  the 
heads  of  each.  On  either  side  of  the  several  graves  were  placed 
miniature  American  flags. 

Thereafter  a  section  of  Post  26  was  detailed  by  the  Com- 
mander to  the  duty,  and  they  placed  many  lovely  bouquets 
upon  the  graves  of  their  deceased  comrades.  There  were  fifteen 
men  of  this  detachment — designed  to  represent  the  same  num- 
ber of  Eoxbury  men  belonging  to  Col.  W.  S.  King's  Company 
(K,  Massachusetts  35th  Volunteers)  who  fell  at  Antietam,  ten 
of  whom  are  buried  at  Forest  Hills.  The  ceremony  was  a  very 
interesting  and  affecting  one. 

A  prayer  of  dedication  and  benediction  by  Rev.  A.  J. 
Paterson,  and  a  solemn  dirge  by  the  band,  closed  the  ceremo- 
nies at  the  Soldiers'  Lot ;  and  the  people  thereafter  thronged 
into  the  area,  and  gazed  on  the  scene  where  honor  had  just  been 
so  beautifully  and  appropriately  conferred  on  the  heroic  dead. 

Preceded  by  the  band,  the  members  of  Post  26,  accompa- 


116  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

nied  by  several  beautiful  young  ladies,  bearing  baskets  of  flow- 
ers, proceeded  to  the  graves  of  the  Union  dead — scattered  all 
over  the  Cemetery— which  they  liberally  decorated,  while  the 
band  played  strains  of  solemn  music.  The  duty  of  decoration, 
in  all  but  one  or  two  instances,  had  been  left  to  the  comrades 
of  the  heroic  dead.  One  of  the  monuments  in  Vine  Path,  how- 
ever, was  peculiarly  noticeable  for  its  simple  but  expressive 
decorations.  It  was  that  of  Capt.  John  K.  Lloyd,  who  com- 
manded Company  H,  of  the  17th  Massachusetts  Volunteers,  who 
fell  a  victim  to  rebel  cruelty  after  being  thirteen  months  in 
Southern  prisons.  On  the  top  of  the  obelisk  which  is  placed  at 
his  head  was  a  wreath  of  evergreen,  and  on  the  wreath,  just 
above  the  inscription,  was  another  wreath  of  immortelles,  \vith 
rosettes  of  red,  white,  and  blue  ribbons.  In  the  centre  of  the 
latter,  between  certain  Masonic  insignia,  were  the  lines : 

"  Cold  in  the  dust  his  perished  heart  may  lie, 
But  that  which  warmed  it  once  shall  never  die." 

A  very  elegant  and  liberal  tribute  of  flowers  was  laid  upon  the 
grave  of  Captain  Lloyd  by  the  ladies  and  the  G.  A.  R.,  some 
of  the  latter  having  been  by  his  side  in  "  times  which  tried 
men's  souls." 

Besides  the  graves  in  the  Soldiers'  Lot,  some  fifty-five  others 
in  the  Cemetery  were  vi&ited,  and  honors  paid  at  them  all, 
equal  in  character  and  spirit,  irrespective  of  condition  in  life 
and  rank  in  the  army. 

This  duty  occupied  the  time  till  about  6  o'clock,  when  the 
party  was  received  at  the  Cemetery  gate  by  the  escort,  marched 
to  the  depot,  and  from  that  at  Roxbnry  to  City  Hall  in  that 
section,  and  disbanded. 

IN  DORCHESTER,  MASS. 

The  beautiful  monument  on  Meeting-House  Hill  was  deco- 
rated in  an  elegant  and  tasteful  manner.  Colonel  Fox,  of  Post 
15,  had  charge  of  the  decoration,  assisted  by  the  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen of  the  town.  There  being  no  organization  present,  the. 
exercises  were  brief  and  simple.  Mr.  R.  C.  Humphreys  deliv- 
ered a  short  introductory  address,  in  which  he  alluded  to  the 
peculiarly  appropriate  time  that  had  been  selected  for  the  trib- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  117 

utc — the  time  when  all  nature  was  blooming  into  a  new  life  and 
beauty.  He  exhorted  those  present  to  acknowledge  their  obliga- 
tions to  the  departed  heroes,  by  being  more  kind  and  charitable 
to  their  widows  and  orphans.  The  audience  joined  in  singing 
"  America,"  and  after  a  fervent  and  impressive  prayer  by  Eev. 
Mr.  Humphreys,  of  Springfield,  Rev.  T.  B.  Fox,  ot  Dorchester, 
made  a  few  remarks,  paying  a  fitting  tribute  to  the  young  men 
who,  in  the  prime  of  lite  and  hope,  had  offered  themselves  sacri- 
fices that  the  country  might  live.  The  living  heroes — the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic — had  inaugurated  the  beautiful 
but  solemn  festival  which  had  called  them  together  to-day,  and 
he  hoped  it  would  be  of  annual  occurrence.  The  services  were 
then  closed  by  the  singing  of  the  Doxology  and  by  the  bene- 
diction. 

AT  MOUNT  HOPE  CEMETERY. 

Mount  Hope  Cemetery  was  visited  by  Posts  7  and  32  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  accompanied  by  a  large  repre- 
sentation of  the  c"ity  government  of  Boston,  and  escorted  by 
Company  E  of  the  7th  Regiment,  and  Companies  E  and  K  of 
the  1st  Regiment,  with  the  Metropolitan  Band.  At  2  P.M.  these 
bodies  assembled  in  front  of  the  City  Hall  on  School  street,  and 
under  the  marshalship  of  Col.  George  H.  Johnson,  Commander 
of  Post  32,  a  procession  was  formed  in  the  following  order: 

Detachment  of  Police,  under  Lieutenant  Porter  of  Station  4. 

Metropolitan  Band. 

Company  E,  7th  Regiment,  Captain  Hallgreen,  45  men. 
Post  7,  G.  A.  R.,  L.  "W.  Osgood,  Commander,  75  men. 

Members  of  the  City  Government. 

Post  32,  G.  A.  R.,  Frank  Choate,  Commander,  35  men. 

Company  E,  1st  Regiment,  Captain  Foss,  25  men. 

Company  K,  1st  Regiment,  Captain  King,  35  men. 

The  procession  marched  through  School,  Beacon,  Arlington, 
Boylston,  and  Pleasant  streets,  to  the  Providence  Railroad  sta- 
tion, all  the  members  of  the  Grand  Army  bearing  flowers  in 
their  hands.  A  large  number  of  cars  were  provided  for  the 
conveyance  of  the  soldiers  and  their  many  friends  who  had 


118  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

gathered  at  the  station.  Disembarking  at  Forest  Hills,  the 
ladies  and  citizens  were  taken  to  the  Cemetery  in  coaches,  while 
the  Posts  and  the  military  marched. 

The  scene  of  the  ceremony  was  the  soldiers'  and  sailors' 
monument.  At  each  corner  of  the  lot  was  a  flag  at  three-quar- 
ters mast.  The  inscriptions  and  designs  on  the  die  of  the  monu- 
ment were  enclosed  in  very  handsome  wreaths  of  evergreen  and 
f:v-li  flowers,  which  imparted  a  striking  beauty  to  the  memorial. 
The  soldiers  surrounded  the  lot,  the  Grand  Army  being  at  the 
front  of  the  monument.  Here  they  were  joined  by  about  forty 
inmates  of  the  Soldiers'  Home  on  Springfield  street,  some  of 
•whom,  too  weak  or  lame  to  stand,  remained  in  one  of  the 
coaches  provided  for  them.  The  opening  of  the  ceremony  was 
the  reading,  by  Colonel  Johnston,  of  General  Order  No.  11 
from  General  Logan,  directing  the  decoration.  Prayer  was 
offered  by  the  Rev.  G.  S.  Abbott,  of  South  Boston,  after  which 
the  members  of  the  Grand  Army,  and  the  disabled  soldiers, 
while  the  band  performed  a  dirge,  slowly  ranged  themselves  at 
the  graves.  Then  the  music  ceased,  and  another  dirge  was  be- 
gun, during  which  the  low,  narrow  mounds,  received  the  trib- 
utes to  the  brave  buried  beneath  them.  This  having  been  done, 
the  members  resumed  their  places  in  line,  and  an  oration  was 
delivered  by  the  Eev.  W.  F.  Mallalieu,  of  the  Bromfield  street 
church. 

ADDRESS  BY  EEV.  W.  F.  MALLALIEU. 

The  occasion  which  calls  us  together  is  one  of  peculiar  and 
exceeding  interest.  We  are  here  to  do  honor  to  the  brave  who 
have  diea  in  the  defence  of  their  country  and  the  rights  of  man. 
We  are  not  alone.  From  the  rising  of  the  sun  even  to  the  going 
down  thereof,  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  our  land, 
processions  are  assembling  in  the  tasteful  cemeteries  of  our 
populous  cities,  and  in  the'qmet  graveyards  of  the  rural  towns. 
With  sober,  thoughtful  mien,  they  bear  the  choicest  floral  deco- 
rations that  the  most  skilful  hands  can  produce  and  the  most 
tender  love  can  collect,  for  the  embellishment  of  the  graves  of 
the  honored  ^ead.  In  many  places,  comrades,  parents,  sisters, 
brothers^  widowed  wives,  orphaned  children,  and  grateful  coun- 
trymen, join  in -this  sad  but  pleasing  tribute  to  the  memory  of 
those  who  lived  so  well  and  died  so  nobly.  Meanwhile,  through- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  119 

out  the  South  land  may  be  8een  to-day  the  dusky  forms  of  stal- 
wart men,  with  their  wives  and  children,  bearing  yet,  as  many 
of  them  do,  the  sears  of  the  lash,  the  chain,  and  all  the  im- 
naim-d  tortures  of  slavery,  gathering  about  the  silent  resting- 
places  of  the  Northmen,  whom  they  recognize  as  martyrs  in 
their  behalf,  and  the  saviours  of  their  race.  With  throbbing 
hearts,  in  whispers,  they  rehearse  the  story  of  the  past,  and 
hopefully  look  forward  to  the  future  ;  and,  kneeling  by  the 
gr.-ives  of  those  who  died  for  them,  their  falling  tears  bedew  the 
ground,  and  their  grateful  thanksgivings  go  up  to  God. 

We  doubt  not  that  the  brave  men  whose  deeds  we  commem- 
orate went  forth  at  the  summons  of  duty  with  a  heart  lor  any 
fate;  so  ardent  was  their  patriotism,  "and  so  great  was  their 
desire  to  defend  the  common  safety  of  our  country,  that  its  in- 
herent force  constantly  overcame  all  the  allurements  of  pleasure 
and  repose."  But  could  they  have  known  and  felt  that  the  time 
was  near  at  hand,  when,  with  liberty  preserved,  our  institutions 
purih'ed  and  consolidated,  and  peace  and  prosperity  restored,  ten 
thousand  willing  hands  and  hearts  would  join  to  do  honor  to 
their  memory,  they  would  have  been  ready,  whether  standing 
in  battle  array,  or  rushing  to  the  deadly  breach,  or  pressing  for- 
ward in  the  tumultuous  charge,  to  exclaim,  with  that  most  illus- 
trious patriot  of  the  Revolution,  Dulce  ct  decorum  est  pro 
patria  mori.  Indeed,  it  may  be  truly  said  of  them,  that, 
whether  they  fell  in  the  hours  of  the  nation's  discouragement, 
or  in  the  days  when  light  began  to  dawn,  their  heroism  and 
valor  are  alike  unparalleled  in  the  annals  of  time — the  glory  of 
their  fame  is  rendered  none  the  less  resplendent  by  comparison 
with  that  of  the  most  celebrated  heroes  of  ancient  or  modern 
days. 

It  is  not  an  improper  question  for  us  to  ask,  at  the  present 
time,  Why  are  there,  at  this  moment,  more  than  three  hundred 
thousand  graves  filled  with  the  best  and  bravest  of  the  nation? 
The  answer  to  the  question  carries  us  back  to  the  earliest  settle- 
ment of  the  country.  Even  then  were  sown  the  seeds  of  two 
antagonistic  forces.  For  two  centuries  the  inevitable  contest 
went  on  between  truth  and  error,  despotism  and  freedom,  the 
Bible  taught  and  Christ  exampled,  doctrines  of  equality  and 
fraternity,  and  the  wicked  dogmas  of  the  worst  conceivable 
form  of  sin  and  barbarism. 

The  conflict  culminated  when  the  white-haired  traitor  of 
South  Carolina  reached  forth  that  accursed  right  hand  which 
now  moulders  in  the  grave  of  the  suicide,  to  send,  hurling  forth 
from  the  belching  batteries  of  Charleston,  the  messenger  of  de- 
struction against  the  gallant  Anderson  and  his  devoted  baud  of 


120  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

patriot  soldiers  placed  for  the  defence  of  the  nation's  flag  in  the 
beleaguered  fortress  of  Minuter.  As  the  sound  of  that  cannon- 
shot  went  echoing  round  the  earth,  what  different  emotions  were 
kindled  in  the  minds  of  men  !  The  aristocrats,  the  pope,  the 
kings  and  the  emperors  of  the  Old  World,  with  ill-suppressed 
delight  hailed  it  as  the  harbinger  of  hope  to  themselves,  and 
IP  .m  it  gathered  assurance  of  the  long  continuance  of  their 
power  and  prerogatives.  The  oppressed,  and  those  aspiring, 
and  those  laboring  for  the  rights  of  men,  trembled  as  they 
feared  that  the  last  hope  of  an  expecting  world  was  about  to 
pass  away  amid  the  storm  of  battle  and  the  smoke  of  deadly 
conflict.  But  good  and  true  men,  all  through  this  land  of  ours, 
were  roused  as  by  the  shock  of  an  earthquake ;  many  a  cheek 
was  blanched  to  utter  paleness,  but  not  with  fear ;  many  a  voice 
was  tremulous,  but  only  on  account  of  indignant  grief;  many 
a  heart  was  almost  pulseless,  but  only  for  the  love  it  bore  for 
the  dishonored  flag  of  the  Republic.  Then  came  the  over- 
whelming tide,  the  flood,  the  grandest  outburst  of  enhusiastie 
loyalty  and  patriotic  devotion  which  the  world  has  ever  known  ; 
and  the  great  oath  was  sworn  by  an  outraged  people,  that  the 
nation's  wrongs  should  be  avenged,  and  liberty  established 
throughout  all  our  borders.  To  fulfil  this  vow,  the  loyal  masses 
of  the  land  offered  all  they  had  of  strength,  and  wealth,  and 
lite.  To  fulfil  this  vow,  from  the  battle-fields  of  Lexington,  and 
Concord,  and  Bunker  Hill,  from  Plymouth  Rock,  from  the  hills 
and  valleys  of  the  East,  and  from  the  broad  prairies  of  the 
West,  thousands  of  men  at  their  country's  call,  "  with  silent 
tongue,  and  clenched  teeth,  and  steady  eye,  and  well-poised 
bayonet,"  went  hurrying  to  the  fields  of  conflict.  To  fulfil  this 
vow,  three  hundred  thousand  and  more  of  the  bravest  hearts 
that  ever  beat  in  sympathy  with  the  down-trodden  and  enslaved 
now  silent  rest,  "  a  fearless  host  in  glory's  brightest  bed."  To 
fulfil  this  vow,  these  men  were  ready  to  do,  to  endure,  and  to 
die,  if  need  be,  upon  the  battle-field,  where  it  is  comparatively 
easy  for  the  soldier  to  meet  his  fate,  or  in  the  hospital  by  swift 
or  lingering  disease,  or  of  starvation  and  torture  inflicted  at  the 
instigation  of  the  infamous  wretches  who  managed  the  affairs 
of  the  Rebellion.  Thus  heroic  in  life  and  in  death  were  these 
defenders  of  the  Republic. 

"  On  fame's  eternal  camping-ground 

Their  martial  tents  are  spread, 
While  glory  guards  with  solemn  round 
The  bivouac  of  the  dead." 

It  is  becoming  in  the  highest  degree,  that  with  affectionate 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS  GRAVES.  121 

gratitude  we  should  strew  these  graves  with  flowers,  while  we 
m-all  the  matchless  heroism  of  their  lives  and  the  spotless  valor 
of  their  deaths. 

The  hour  demands  that  we  should  remember  that  the  war  in 
which  these  men  perished,  was  eminently  just  in  itself,  and  car- 
ried on  fur  the  best  good  of  the  human  race.  History  will  be 
sought  in  vain  to  find  instances  where  war  has  been  more  right- 
( oiii-ly  waged  than  by  us  in  the  war  of  our  revolution  or  this 
through  which  we  have  just  passed.  It  was  said  by  Cicero  that 
no  war  can  be  undertaken  by  a  just  and  wise  State  unless  for 
iaith  or  self-defence.  This  self-detence  of  the  State  is  necessary 
to  secure  its  perpetuity,  and  this  perpetuity  is  what  all  patriots 
desire.  Those  afflictions  which  the  hardiest  spirits  smart  under, 
poverty,  exile,  prison,  and  torment,  private  individuals  seek  to 
escape  from  by  an  instantaneous  death.  But  for  States,  the 
greatest  calamity  of  all  is  death,  which  to  individuals  appears  a 
refuge.  A  State  should  be  so  constituted  as  to  live  forever. 
The  war  of  the  rebellion  was  on  our  part  unqualifiedly  begun 
and  carried  on  in  self-defence.  The  simple,  primary  question 
was  whether  the  State  should  live  or  die,  whether  our  nation 
should  remain  one  and  inseparable,  or  be  shattered*  into  belliger- 
ent factions.  In  answer  to  this  question  the  soldiers  of  our  ar- 
mies, whether  officers  or  privates,  as  they  entered  upon  the  con- 
test, were  ready  to  adopt  the  language  of  President  John  Adams, 
of  blessed  revolutionary  memory,  and  say,  "  We  are  with  all 
onr  strength  opposed  to  any  division  of  the  Union,  by  the  North 
River,  or  by  the  Delaware  River,  or  by  the  Potomac,  or  any  oth- 
er river,  or  any  chain  of  mountains."  And  to  the  world  they 
witnessed  the  sincerity  of  their  faith  and  purpose  by  indissola- 
bly  cementing  with  their  hearts'  best  blood  the  foundations  upon 
which  rests  the  superstructure  of  our  revered  institutions.  But 
not  only  did  the  loyal  soldiers  of  the  land  strive  to  preserve  the 
life  of  the  nation  ;  they  were  animated  by  even  higher  and  ho- 
lier motives.  It  was  not  an  unmeaning  combination  of  words 
which  they  used,  when  in  the  camps,  and  on  the  march  and 
on  the  field  of  battle,  as  well  as  in  the  hospitals,  and  in  the  hor- 
rible prison-pens  of  the  South,  they  sung  with  cheerful,  constant 
souls,  the  Battle  Hymn  of  the  Republic,  ending  as  you  well  re- 
member, with  the  words, 

"  In  the  beauty  of  the  nation,  Christ  was  horn  beyond  the  sea, 
With  a  glory  in  his  boson;  which  transfigures  you  and  me  ; 
As  he  died  to  make  men  holy,  let  us  die  to  make  men  free — 
For  God  is  marching  on." 

They  understood  the  magnitude  and  the  far-reaching  signifi- 
cance of  the  work  they  were  carrying  forward.  And  if  it  could 


122  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

l>r  truthfully  said  by  Patrick  Henry,  of  the  men  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, tiiat  they  had  just  formed  a  system  of  government,  wisely 
calculated  to  secure  equal  liberty 'to  all,  iuvolving^the  lasting 
happiness  of  a  large  proportion  of  the  human  family  ;  it  may 
with  as  great  propriety,  be  said  of  these  of  whom  I  am  speak- 
ing, that,  they  knew  that  they  were  not  only  contending  for  the 
security  and  continuance  of  their  own  rights,  but  that  they  were 
workers  together  with  God  for  the  enslaved  of  the  South  ;  they 
knew  that  the  blows  they  struck  would  eventually  bring  to  the 
earth  the  thrones  of  despots,  and  lead  to  the  joyful  sunlight  of 
liberty  the  waiting  millions  of  the  earth. 

l"b  honor  such  men  as  these,  who  gave  their  lives  for  the 
cause  they  had  espoused,  we  have  to-day  assembled  in  this  con- 
secrated place.  Pointing  to  their  graves  before  us,  we  say,  in 
the  language  of  the  epitaph  inscribed  to  the  fallen  heroes  of 
Chaeronea,  to  whom,  unlike  our  own,  defeat  instead  of  victory 
was  decreed  : 

"These  are  the  patriot  brave,  who  side  by  side, 
Stood  to  their  arms,  and  dashed  the  foeman's  pride  ; 
Firm  in  their  valor,  prodigal  of  life, 
They  welcomed  death,  the  arbiter  of  strife, 
That  we  might  ne'er  to  haughty  victors  bow, 
Xor  thraldom's  yoke,  nor  dire  oppression  know. 
They  fought,  they  bled,  and  on  their  country's  breast, — 
(Such  was  the  will  of  Heaven) — these  warriors  rest." 

Surely  we  owe  them  a  debt  of  gratitude  which  words  are  all 
too  feeble  to  express,  and  yet  whether  they  have  been  gathered 
to  the  silence  of  the  grave  or  are  now  lying  where  they  fell  in 
their  long  and  weary  marches,  in  the  thickets  of  the  mountains, 
or  the  dense  and  tangled  swamps,  to-day,  with  heartfelt  emo- 
tions and  sincerest  words  of  praise,  we  will  record  their  virtues, 
and  thank  God  that  the  land  of  onr  fondest  love  found  such 
sons  and  defenders  in  the  time  of  her  greatest  need.  And  more 
than  this,  their  precious  graves  wherever  known,  we  will  mois- 
ten with,  the  tears  we  shed  ;  above  their  sleeping  dust,  we  will, 
as  the  years  return,  scatter  these  fragrant  products  of  the 
spring  time  and  the  sunshine.  These  wreaths  and  garlands  of 
beauty,  tit  for  the  adornment  of  a  marriage  festival,  shall  signify 
the  coronation  of  which  these  friends  and  brothers  are  so  emi- 
nently worthy.  The  names  of  the  heroic  dead,  we  will  teach 
our  children  and  our  children's  children, — yes,  these  blessed 
names  shall  be  spoken  by  every  purling  brook  of  our  many  hills, 
— by  the  sounding  waves  of  the  near  Atlantic,  and  the  gentle 
murmurs  of  the  far-off  Pacific.  They  shall  be  written  upon  every 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS    GRAVES. 

hill-side,  on  every  mountain  crag  and  summit,  on  our  broad 
prairie.-, — yes,  in  our  heart's  heart,  these  names  shall  be  inscribed, 
so  that  they  shall  never  be  obliterated  or  forgotten. 

AT  CAMBRIDGK,  MASSACHUSETTS. 

Post  30.  of  Cambridge,  had  charge  of  the  exercises  at  Mount 
Auburn  and  Cambridge  Cemeteries,  and  by  their  invitation 
Post  15  of  Boston,  and  Post  11  of  Charlestown,  and  the  Union 
Navy  Association  of  Boston,  participated.  Contributions  of 
flowers  were  sent  to  the  City  Hall,  and  the  citizens  of  Cam- 
bridge displayed  great  liberality.  Flags  were  displayed  on 
public  and  private  buildings  at  half-mast,  and  the  exterior  of 
the  City  Hall  was  neatly  adorned  with  flags  and  streamers,  as 
\v:ts  also  the  interior.  The  procession  was  formed  at  half-past 
two  o'clock.  The  children  of  the  public  schools  assembled  at 
the  schoolhouses,  and  marched  to  Harvard  above  Lee  Street,, 
and  awaited  the  passing  of  the  procession,  which  marched  in  the 
following  order : 

Platoon  of  Eleven  Policemen  ;  Chief  Marshal ;  Brig.-Gen. 
S.  E.  Chamberlain  ;  Aids  ;  Brig.-Gen.  C.  F.  Walcott ;  Major  S. 
K.  Williams,  Jr.  ;  Bond's  Cornet  Band;  Walcott  Guard,  Capt. 
K.  L.  B.  Fox ;  Post  30,  G.  A.  R.,  J.  W.  Cotton,  Commander ; 
Returned  Soldiers  and  Sailors  of  Cambridge,  not  of  Post  30 ; 
City  Government  in  carriages  ;  Seventh  Regiment  Drum  Corps ; 
Fire  Department ;  Brown's  Brigade  Band ;  Charlestown  Cadets ; 
Charlestown  City  Guards ;  Post  No.  11  of  Charlestown ;  Gil- 
more's  Band ;  Post  15,  Boston ;  Union  Navy  Association ; 
Orator  and  Department  Chaplain ;  Wounded  Soldiers  and 
Sailors  in  carriages ;  Citizens  generally. 

The  procession  passed  through  Main  to  Clinton  Streets, 
through  the  open  ranks  of  the  school  children  on  Harvard  Street, 
and  from  thence  to  Harvard  Square,  through  Garden,  Cragie, 
Battle  and  Mount  Auburn  Streets  to  the  cemetery.  Upon 
reaching  the  cemetery  the  fire  department  was  drawn  up  in  line 
in  front  of  the  gate,  and  allowed  the  procession  to  pass  in,  re- 
turning immediately  to  their  respective  fire  stations.  In  the 
cemetery  the  posts  and  the  military  were  formed  near  the 
tower.  The  number  of  spectators  was  very  large,  and  it  is 


124  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

estimated  that  Mount  Auburn  never  contained  so  many  people 
Hiu-e  it  was  founded.  The  ceremonies  opened  with  an  impres- 
sive prayer  by  Rev.  Noah  M.  Gaylord,  the  chaplain.  Richard 
H.  Dana,  Jr.,  Esq.,  then  delivered  the  following  address : 

BJCHARD   H.    DANA,   JB.'8   ADDRESS. 

SOLDIERS,  CITIZENS, — all  who  have  come  up  here  to  this 
solemn  festival— companions  in  arms  of  the  dead — youth,  man- 
hood, age,  maidenhood,  childhpod,— let  me  say  to  each  of  you, 
that  alfis  over.  Whatever  this  day  can  do  has  been  done:  all 
that  this  hour  can  utter  has  been  spoken  !  The  solemn  proces- 
sion, the  timely  music,  the  slow  step,  the  bared  head  bosved 
upon  the  breast,  the  flowers  strewn  from  the  tender  hand  of 
woman,  and  the  strong  hand  of  the  comrade  in  arms,  unclasped 
from  the  sabre-hilt  or  the  firelock, — all  this  is  done,  and  its 
mute  eloquence  has  gone  to  every  heart.  It  has  banished  grief 
and  forbidden  eulogy.  I  need  to  call  earnestly  for  inspiration  ; 
'not  in  hope  of  repeating  in  worthy  terms,  that  which  cannot 
be  said  twice,  bat,  that  I  may  not  break  in  with  discord  upon 
the  dving  notes  of  this  exquisite  harmony,  or  lower  the  tone  to 
which  it  has  been  exalted.  These  moments  assigned  to  me 
might  well  have  been  devoted  to  poetry,  to  music,  or.  peril aps, 
better  than  all,  to  silence.  When  the  duty  of  this  hour  was  as- 
signed to  me  by  the  brothers-in-arms  of  these  heroes  we  honor, 
I  feared  it  might  be  a  superfluous,  I  knew  it  would  be  a  hazard- 
ous duty.  But  they  were  determined  to  leave  undone  nothing 
that  any  one  would  think  might  be  appropriate,  and  I  could  not 
refuse  their  call.  For  what  have  I  to  render,  but  the  breath  of 
my  lips  ? 

Brethren  and  friends,  it  is  not  to  mere  fancy  that  we  owe 
this  feeling,  in  our  best  hours,  that  there  is  something  in  com- 
mon, something  of  sympathy,  between  man  and  mother  earth, 
between  inanimate  matter  and  humanity.  It  is  of  the  earth 
that  we  are.  and  unto  her  that  we  return.  The  common  creator 
of  all  did  not  make  them  without  correspondencies  and  sym- 
pathies. The  earth  bestows  on  man  all  those  gifts  necessary  to 
his  animal  life,  and  these  her  choicest  gifts,  to  renew  in  his 
nature  and  keep  from  death  the  sentiments  of  beauty,  love,  and 
tenderness.  Hay,  more  than  that,  by  these  beautiful  flowers, 
she  gives  him  a  language  for  every  finer  and  nobler  occasion  of 
life. 

We  hear  much  of  the  language  of  flowers.  With  them  we 
crown  the  head  of  childhood,  and  deck  the  brow  of  beauty. 
They  bring  to  the  sick  chamber  the  cheering  remembrance  of 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  125 

the  grand  expanse  of  strength  and  loveliness  that  is  spread 
abroad  without.  They  grace  the  festival.  They  soothe  the 
grief  of  the  funeral.  They  tell  the  deepest  secrets  of  love,  and 
pass  into  the  cells  of  memory,  never  to  be  forgotten.  But  where 
have  flowers  ever  been  applied  by  man  to  a  nobler,  titter  pur- 
pose than  by  us  to-day?  Have  we  not  done  well  to  give  the 
sweetest  products  of  our  native  land,  to  the  memory  of  those 
who  died  to  defend  it  ?  May  not  these  flowers  best  spend  the 
brief  hour  of  their  unassuming  lives  in  doing  honor  to  heroes, 
and  wither  and  meet  death  on  the  graves  of  the  truest  hearts 
that  ever  bled?  Our  heroes  died  that  there  should  not  be 
sunken  in  the  soil  of  this  land  the  corner  stone  of  an  empire  of 
slavery.  They  gave  their  lives  to  secure  the  soil  of  this  con- 
tinent to  the  freedom  and  the  utmost  elevation  of  all  human  be- 
ings who  are  to  live  upon  it.  Well,  then,  may  we  devote  to 
their  memory  this  annual  offering  the  earth  pours  into  our 
hands,  in  the  infinite  prodigality  of  nature  ! 

How  soothingly  has  the  hand  of  Time  fallen  upon  all  that  this 
day  recalls !  Hero,  soldier,  wherever  in  these  consecrated 
grounds  you  sleep,  our  earth  has  made  its  circuit  but  a  few 
times  round  the  sun  since  you  poured  out  your  life  in  the  din 
and  carnage  of  battle,  or  at  the  crack  of  the  stealthy  rifle  on  the 
detached  march,  on  picket  duty,  or  felt  it  ebbing,  ebbing  away  in 
the  hospital.  It  is  not  long  ago — that  day,  that  doleful  day — when 
there  came  to  your  home  the  fear-striking  rumor,  the  suspense, 
the  deathly  confirmation.  It  is  not  long  ago  that  there  were 
breaking  hearts  for  }rou, — 

»*    *    *    *    The  tear, 
The  groan,  the  knell,  the  pall,  the  bier, 
And  all  \ve  know  or  dreain  or  fear 
Of  agony  were  thine." 

But,  now,  tears  have  given  place  to  joy,  to  pride,  to  honor. 
Your  memory  is  an  heritage  to  your  family.  Memorials  of  you 
are  gathered  and  kept  by  the  hand  of  affection  and  pride. 
Your  name  is  on  the  monument,  or  the  mural  tablet.  Your 
picture  is  on  the  wall  of  the  mansion,  or  in  the  humble  home  is 
your  simple  photograph,  perhaps  the  more  dear,  as  a  youth  in 
civic  dress,  and  as  you  last  crossed  the  threshold  of  your  home — 
a  soldier.  Already,  they  who  have  sown  in  tears  have  reaped 
in  joy ;  and  they  wrho,  a  few  days,  as  it  were,  ago,  came  up 
hither  weeping,  bearing  precious  seed,  have  to-dav  returned 
hither  again  with  rejoicing,  bringing  their  sheaves  with  them. 

But  let  us  not  forget  those  who  sleep  in  the  remote'and  still 
unreconciled  portions  of  our  land,  on  whose  graves  no  flowers 
are  strewn  to-day.  To  them,  too,  the  hour  of  recognition  will 


120  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

come.  As  they  died,  not  for  conquest  or  power,  but  for  peace, 
for  humanity,  we  can  rest  our  faith  in  assurances  that  their 
grave*  will  yet  be  visited,  as  proudly  and  tenderly  as  these  to- 
i»v  a  grateful  generation.  Some  have  strewn  flowers  to- 
day, to  whom  the  early  portion  of  our  war  is  matter  not  of 
memorv,  but  of  tradition.  Already  it  is  passing  into  history. 
Let  us  liold  the  more  strongly  to  its  commemorations.  When 
our  children's  children  shalfask,  "  What  mean  ye,  by  this  cere- 
mony V  our  answer  will  keep  alive  and  warm  in  the  hearts  of 
another  generation  the  gratitude  we  express  to-day. 

We  will  not  separate  without  exchanging  one  more  hope 
and  wish.  It  is  the  faith  of  our  people  that  our  heroes  gave 
their  lives  to  a  sacred  cause.  Let  us  then  cherish  the  humble 
but  confident  hope  that  it  has  met  the  approval  of  Him  in  whose 
hands  are  all  our  beings,  and  that  this,  our  pious  work  of  to-day, 
may  find  acceptance  in  His  sight,  without  whom  no  drop  of 
man's  blood  falleth  to  the  ground,  and  without  whom  no  flower 
springeth  from  the  earth. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  address,  Post  15  sang  one  verse 
from  the  hymn  "  America,"  accompanied  by  Gilmore's  band, 
and  also  u  Old  Hundred,"  after  which  the  members  of  the  dif- 
ferent Posts  separated  into  squads,  to  seek  the  graves  of  their 
deceased  comrades,  and  to  bestrew  them  with  flowers.  Post  30, 
with  engine  companies  Nos.  5  and  7,  and  the  Walcott  Guard, 
visited  the  Cambridge  cemetery — the  city  government  following 
in  carriages — where  the  graves  of  all  deceased  soldiers  known 
to  be  buried  there  were  strewn  with  flowers.  In  the  soldiers' 
lot  nineteen  heroes  lie  buried,  without  even  a  simple  stone  to 
mark  their  resting-place,  and  with  no  official  knowledge  of  the 
exact  grave  of  either — the  cemetery  records  having  been  de- 
stroyed by  fire  in  1866.  Within  this  enclosure  the  military  and 
the  Post  passed  around  the  graves,  and  prayer  was  ofiered  by 
Eev.  J.  A.  Smith,  Post  Chaplain. 

Commander  Cotton,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  prayer,  intro- 
duced His  Honor,  Mayor  Saunders,  who,  in  brief  language,  re- 
verted to  the  death  of  the  brave  men  whose  memory  is  this  day 
being  revered.  He  also  spoke  of  the  inauguration  of  the  beau- 
tiful and  solemn  service  of  testifying  with  floral  honors,  the 
appreciation  we  feel  for  the  services  of  all  of  those  men  whose 
lives  were  sacrificed  at  the  altar  of  freedom.  A  monument,  he 
thought,  should  be  erected,  upon  which  the  name  of  each  soldier 
or  sailor  hero  should  be  deeply  cut,  that  generations  yet  to  come 
may  honof  the  names  and  memory  of  the  country's  defenders. 

The  company  then  separated,  visiting  the  graves  of  those 
outside  the  enclosure,  and  decorating  them  with  flowers,  after 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  127 

first  attending  to  that  duty  to  the  nineteen  graves  in  the  soldiers' 
lot.  Kngine  companies  5  and  7  strewed  the  graves  of  John  H. 
and  George  T.  Tucker,  soldier  members  of  engine  companv  No.  1, 
and  of  B.  F.  Garland  of  the  same  company,  and  Nathan  W.  Wil- 
son of  No.  5,  with  a  profusion  of  flowers.  Fifty-six  graves  were 
visited  in  the  Cambridge  Cemetery,  and  one  hundred  and  fit'ty- 
n've  within  Alt.  Auburn  Cemetery.  Delegations  from  the  seve- 
ral Posts  also  visited  the  Catholic  burying-ground  at  Mt. 
Auburn,  and  that  in  the  5th  Ward.  At  a  late  hour  in  the  after- 
noon the  ceremonies  of  the  day  were  concluded;  every  grave, 
so  far  as  was  known,  having  received  the  floral  tribute  designa- 
ted in  Order  11. 

The  Somerville  Light  Infantry,  Co.  B,  5th  Regiment  M.  Y. 
M.,  Capt.  G.  W.  Daniels,  40  guns,  accompanied  by  Edmunds' 
Band,  proceeded  from  Somerville,  after  the  ceremonies  in  that 
town,  to  the  Cambridge  Cemetery,  where  the  grave  of  Capt. 
Willard  C.  Kinsley  was  visited,  and  three  vollies  were  fired  by 
the  company. 

The  ladies  of  Cambridge  and  vicinity  were  really  generous 
in  their  floral  gifts — large  contributions  of  most  choice  flowers 
being  sent  in  to  the  City  Hall,  where  other  ladies  were  in  wait- 
ing to  receive  them,  and  fabricate  them  into  benutiful  bouquets, 
to  be  distributed  to  members  of  the  posts,  military,  and  fire 
department.  Alany  gentlemen,  friends  of  the  movement,  also 
sent  in  valuable  selections  of  flowers. 

AT  BROOKLINE,  MASSACHUSETTS. 

The  citizens  of  Brookline  assembled  at  the  Town  Hall,  agree- 
ably to  previous  notice,  at  two  o'clock  in  the  aiternoon,  and 
formed  in  procession  under  the  marshaiship  of  Col.  William  L. 
Candler,  assisted  by  several  gentlemen  who  had  served  in  the 
war,  the  whole  being  under  the  escort  of  the  returned  soldiers 
and  sailors  of  the  town,  headed  by  the  Brookline  Brass  Band. 

A  large  quantity  of  flowers  had  been  provided  hy  the  ladies 
and  gentlemen  of  the  town,  and  were  woven  with  great  taste 
and  skill  into  beautiful  wreaths,  crosses,  and  bouquets ;  these 
were  distributed  among  those  who  marched  in  the  profession,  and 
it  was  a  beautiful  and  touching  sight  to  see  so  many  bearing 
each  his  floral  offering  to  lay  on  the  last  resting-place  of  our 
country's  defenders.  A  spirit  of  kind  feeling  pervaded  the 
assembled  hundreds,  and  each  seemed  to  feel  that  the  work  was 
one  of  love  and  good  will. 

At  the  Brookline  Cemetery,  on  Walnut  street,  the  services 
were  opened  by  the  band  playing  a  dirge ;  after  which  the  Rev. 


128  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Dr.  Lamson,  in  heartfelt,  fervent  prayer,  addressed  tlie  Throne 
of  Grace,  in  which  he  returned  thanks  for  the  mercy  by  which 
God  had  kept  and  preserved  to  us  our  nationality  and  the  free- 
dom of  our  institutions,  in  which  the  blessings  of  liberty  had 
been  established  and  peace  restored,  and  besought  the  blessings 
of  heaven  upon  the  future  of  our  country,  that  its  virtues  might 
be  manifested,  its  prosperity  increased,  and  that  the  Divine  favor 
un'irht  be  bestowed  upon  all  who  had  been  called  upon  to  mourn 
for  loved  ones  who  had  fallen  in  the  strife.  The  prayer  was  a 
beautiful  expression  of  an  humble,  faithful  heart,  which  recog- 
nized and  relied  upon  the  hand  of  the  Almighty  in  all  the  affairs 
of  life. 

The  Eev.  Dr.  Hedge,  then,  in  a  few  brief  remarks,  recalled 
vividly  to  our  minds  the  stirring  scenes  of  the  early  days  of  the 
Rebellion,  and  the  great  events  growing  out  of  them,  and 
pointed  out  the  fact  that  on  securing  or  establishing  great  ideas 
and  principles,  great  sacrifices  had  to  be  made  and  conflicts  en- 
dured. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Silver  spoke  of  the  comforting  assurances  that 
we  have,  that  although  our  friends  are  resting  beneath  the  clods 
of  the  valley,  yet  that  in  spirit  they  take  an  interest  in  those 
who  are  left  behind,  and  feel  for  our  joys  and  sorrows  as  we 
move  on  to  meet  them  on  the  other  side.  Mr.  Silver  concluded 
his  remarks  by  reciting  the  following  lines,  written  by  his  wife : 

Hang  wreaths  on  the  tombs  at  eternity's  door, 

Though  the  soldiers  and  sailors  have  passed  on  before. 

The^e  flowers  will  fade ;  but  pt-renn.i;il  glows 

The  heart's  warm  and  grateful  affection  for  those 

Who  life  at  the  altar  of  Liberty  gave : 

Hence  these  votive  gifts  at  the  early  grave. 

Hence  the  anguish  of  mother?,  the-sister's  pain; 

And  tears  gush  forth  like  the  falling  rain. 

Does  Nature  weep  that  the  br;ive  were  slain, 

Never  to  march  to  the  field  again? 

But  the  sun's  bright  beams  will  disperse  this  gloom, 

And  Heaven  has  raised  our  thoughts  from  the  tomb. 

O,  the  glorious  band,  who  have  given  their  all, 

To  save  our  country  from  ruin  and  thrall. 

Ethiopia  stretches  her  hands  to  thee, 

O  Lord,  that  her  children  are  thus  made  free  ; 

And  our  adorations  should  never  cense, 

That  our  eagle  still  soars  with  the  emblem  of  peace. 

The  party  detailed  then  proceeded  to  strew  flowers  upon  the 
graves  of  the  soldiers  who  were  there  interred,  the  band  play- 
ing patriotic  airs. 

The  entrance  to  this  cemetery  was  under  an  arch,  festooned 
with  our  national  flag,  decorated  at  the  apex  with  a  wreath  of 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  129 

red,  white,  and  blue  flowers,  and  on  either  side  with  wreaths  of 
evergreens,  bound  with  red,  white,  and  blue  ribbons,  and  on 
each  side  the  touching  inscription,  "  To  the  Memory  of  our  Sol- 
diers who  Rest  in  Unknown  Graves." 

From  the  cemetery  on  Walnut  street  they  then  proceeded  to 
"  Holyrood  Cemetery,"  on  Heath  street,  passing  through  AV Hi- 
nut,  Warren,  and  Heath  streets,  to  the  cemetery,  where  after  a 
dirge  by  the  band,  the  opening  exercises  were  conducted  by  the 
Rev.  J.  M.  Finotti,  who  stated  his  utter  inability,  in  any  words 
of  his  own,  or  of  man's  choosing,  to  do  justice  to  the  subject 
suggested  by  the  occasion. 

He  alluded  feelingly  to  the  great  struggle  to  keep  and  main- 
tain one  of  the  best  of  governments,  and  the  great  sacrifice 
made  therefor,  and  said  that  he  could  only  give  expression  to 
his  feelings  by  reading  that  grand  epic  poem,  the  song  of  Moses 
for  the  great  deliverance  of  the  children  of  Israel  after  passing 
through  the  Red  Sea. 

-  The  reverend  gentleman  then  read  to  those  who  were  there 
assembled,  in  an  eloquent  and  impressive  manner,  that  beautiful 
and  inspired  canticle  of  the  great  leader  of  the  Israelitish  hosts ; 
and  truly  nothing  could  be  more  appropriate  for  the  occasion. 
He  also  feelingly  alluded  to  the  beautiful  service  of  placing 
flowers  on  the  graves  of  those  we  loved  or  esteemed. 

Short  addresses  were  then  made  by  Messrs.  John  W.  Cand- 
ler,  G.  F.  Homer,  and  Willard  T.  Gross.  Mr.  Candler  stirred 
the  hearts  of  those  who  heard  him  with  his  fervid  and  glowing 
words.  He  spoke  of  the  great  blessings  secured  to  the  nation 
by  the  suppression  of  the  Rebellion,  the  ready  and  efficient  aid 
always  afforded  the  loyal  cause  by  the  reverend  gentleman  who 
had  preceded  him,  of  the  devotion  and  gallantry  of  our  adopted 
citizens  in  sustaining  the  nation's  honor  and  glory,  and  with 
touching  sympathy  referred  to  "  the  memory  of  our  soldiers 
who  sleep  in  unknown  graves" — that,  although  we  could  not 
visit  them  at  this  time  with  the  tokens  of  our  love  and  respect, 
kind  nature  would  plant  the  turf  above  them  with  brilliant 
green,  and  strew  it  with  lovely  flowers,  and 

"  Pale  autumn  spreads  o'er  them  the  leaves  of  the  forest, 
And  the  songs  of  the  birds  chunt  the  dirge  of  their  rest." 

Mr.  Homer  paid  a  high  tribute  to  the  gallantry  and  services 
of  the  soldiers  and  sailors  of  the  Union,  to  their  self-devotion  to 
their  country's  cause,  and  called  up  the  ancient  custom  of  the 
Romans  of  crowning  with  flowers  the  graves  of  her  soldiers  who 
had  performed  or  achieved  some  successful  undertaking,  but  that 
the  graves  of  all  our  soldiers  deserve  to  be  crowned  with  flowers. 
9 


130  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Mr.  Gross,  in  behalf  of  the  committee,  returned  their  thanks 
to  the  ladies  for  their  acceptable  donations  of  flowers^  and  sym- 
pathy with  the  undertaking,  and  also  for  all  their  kindness  to 
while  in  the  h'eld.  The  same  service  of  placing  flowers 
the  irnfvrs  was  performed  here  as  at  the  other  cemetery. 

The  services  throughout  were  impressive ;  the  heartfelt  words 
of  the  speakers,  the  clouds  dropping  their  silent  tears  upon  the 
irmves  of  the  gallant  dead  who  slept  in  earth's  bosom — all 
'brought  forcibly  to  mind  the  lines  of  Scotland's  bard,  when  he 
makes  his  minstrel  sing : 

"  Soldier,  rest ;  thy  warfare  o'er, 

Sleep  the  sleep  that  knows  no  breaking ; 
Dream  of  battle-fields  no  more, 

Days  of  danger,  nights  of  waking. 
No  rude  sounds  shall  reach  thine  ear, 

Armor's  clang  nor  war-steed's  champing. 
Trump  nor  pibroch  summons  here, 

Mustering  clan  nor  squadrons  tramping ; 
Yet  the  lark's  shrill  fife  may  come 

At  the  daybreak  from  the  fallow, 
And  the  bittern  sound  his  drum, 

Booming  from  the  sedgy  sallow 
Kuder  sounds  shall  none  be  near, 
Guards  nor  wardens  challenge  here  ; 
Here's  no  war-steed's  neigh  and  champing, 
Shouting  clans  or  squadrons  stamping." 

AT  CHELSEA,  MASS. 

The  rain,  which  had  fallen  in  torrents  during  the  night  and 
morning,  ceased  as  the  hour  of  service  approached  ;  the  proces- 
sion formed  at  City  Hall  at  2  P.M.,  and  marched  to  the  Garden 
Cemetery,  full  500  strong.  The  graves  were  already  decorated 
by  friendly  hands  ere  the  official  services  commenced,  and  sub- 
sequent favors  of  wreaths  and  flowers  were  a  confirmatory  ex- 
pression of  the  general  faith  and  love.  All  eyes  were  dim  with 
tears.  The  singing  of  the  young  ladies  of  the  public  schools, 
the  dirge,  the  prayer  by  Rev.  Mr.  Cud  worth,  contributed  to  the 
solemnity  of  the  scene  in  a  remarkable  manner.  The  address 
by  Hon.  Frank  B.  Fay  was  listened  to  with  profound  attention. 

MB.   FAY'S   ADDRESS. 

SoLDIEKS  AND  SAILORS  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY,  FELLOW-CITI- 
ZENS, FRIENDS  :  We  scatter  flowers  to-day  upon  the  graves  of 
the  fallen  of  our  country's  defenders.  Not  alone  because  they 
rest  here,  but  in  token  of  what  the  whole  army  of  patriots,  liv- 
ing and  dead,  achieved,  that  we  and  they,  and  their  and  our 
descendants,  might  have  peaceful  homes  and  a  united  country. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  131 

It  is  the  idea,  the  devotion  to  duty,  that  we  honor.  The 
dead  martyr  seems  more  honored  by  these  testimonial  and  me- 
morial services  ;  but  when  we  remember  that  the  bullet  which 
providentially  passed  one  man,  pierced  the  heart  of  his  comrade, 
we  may  believe  that  the  motive,  the  courage,  the  risk,  were  to 
each  the  same,  and  to  each  like  honor  is  due. 

It  is  fitting  that  you  do  not  surround  this  ceremony  with  the 
emblems  of  sadness,  but  rather  with  the  cheerful  voices  of  the 
young,  and  the  beauty  of  bright  flowers.  For  well  do  we  know 
how  cheerfully  these  men  suffered,  and  risked  and  gave  up  their 
lives.  They  would  say  to-day,  as  they  often  said  upon  the  field, 
"  Shed  no  tears  for  us,  for  in  no  better  cause  could  we  have 
died." 

It  is  fitting,  too,  that  the  tribute  of  to-day  should  be  a  floral 
one,  typical  of  the  fragrant  and  beautiful  memory  of  the  volun- 
teers, who,  all  along  the  line  of  battle-fields,  were  mustered  out 
of  earth's  service  to  join  the  "  noble  army  of  martyrs."  They 
often  said,  "  Bury  me  in  the  field  when  I  die,  I  am  not  anxious 
where  my  bones  shall  lie ;  I  am  content  to  live  only  in  the 
memory  of  my  friends."  But  they  could  not  realize  how  pre- 
cious to  those  at  home  was  the  clay  in  which  once  beat  the  heart 
of  love,  and  hence  the  effort,  so  often  made,  to  recover  their 
bodies  and  "  tenderly  "  send  them  home  for  burial. 

But  many  found  their  graves  where  they  fell,  some  buried 
by  comrades,  many  by  the  enemy,  some  in  camp  at  the  front, 
and  some  at  hospital  in  the  rear.  Some  came  home  to  die,  at 
once,  with  kindred,  some  lingered  for  months,  and  some  are 
suffering  to-day,  but  still  live.  Some  are  recorded  among  the 
"  unknown,''  and  no  trace  of  them  has  been  found. 

And  so  our  Chelsea  men  were  scattered  from  Blackburn's 
Ford  through  all  the  fields  in  Virginia,  at  Gettysburg  and  An- 
tietam,  and  other  fields  in  Maryland ;  in  North  Carolina,  and 
on  the  sandy  shores  of  South  Carolina ;  at  Andersonville,  and 
in  other  parts  of  Georgia  ;  in  Louisiana,  MissigBippi,  Kentucky, 
and  Tennessee,  and  at  the  hospitals  in  Ohio,  Illinois,  Rhode 
Island,  Baltimore,  Alexandria,  and  Washington ;  and  here 
around  this  monument,  and  in  other  parts  of  this  cemetery,  at 
Woodlawn,  and  in  other  parts  of  New  England,  are  the  known 
and  unknown  graves. 

And  if,  to-day,  we  cannot  strew  living  flowers  upon  all  their 
resting-places,  we  may  bedew  them  with  the  moisture  of  our 
gratitude,  and  surround  their  names  and  their  deeds  with  a 
wreath  of  affectionate  remembrance.  "We  have  been  and  are 
grateful  to  all  these  for  what  they  have  done  and  suffered  and 
sacrificed  for  us ;  and  if  spirits  are  permitted  to  revisit  the 


132  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

earth,  we  may  believe  theirs  are  hovering  about  us  to-day, 
grateful  f»r  this  reiueml trance. 

We  know  this  tribute  cannot  restore  them  to  us,  nor  are 
monmnerfte  needed  to  keep  alive  their  memories  or  their  deeds ; 
but  thev  .-how  to  each  succeeding  generation  how  much  we  re- 

•  the  spirit  which  animated  these  men,  and  how  much  we 
value  the  blessings  they  have  conferred  upon  us. 

This  monument,  erected  by  the  city  government,  marks  the 
spot  where  the  ashes  of  some  of  our  soldiers  are  laid,  and  is 
appropriate  for  the  purpose.  Another,  erected  by  the  people, 
more  elaborate  and  more  central,  awaits  the  statue  of  the  sol- 
dier, and  ere  long  will  be  complete.  And  when  succeeding  city 
governments  appreciate  the  situation,  and  with  a  wise  economy 
make  the  surroundings  fitting  and  ornamental,  we  shall  have  a 
resort,  attractive  to  the  eye  and  useful  to  the  people,  so  that,  on 
future  anniversaries  of  this  day,  wreaths  may  be  hung  on  that 
monument,  to  recognize  it  as  a  memorial  of  the  gratitude  of  the 
people,  as  this  is  of  the  municipality.  "  And  may  this  genera- 
tion not  pass  away  till  all  these  things  be  fulfilled. 

But  besides  the  marble  and  the  granite,  we  have  the  "  bruised 
arms  hung  up  for  monuments,"  the  maimed  bodies,  the  shat- 
tered constitutions,  the  widows  and  the  orphans ;  all  these  tell 
us  of  their  sufferings  and  our  duty. 

I  think  I  may  be  pardoned  if  I  use,  for  a  moment,  the  first 
person,  at  a  time  like  this,  when  so  many  personal  recollections 
crowd  upon  me — of  my  personal  relations  with  nearly  all  of 
these  men — recollections  of  their  enlistment  and  their  service — 
of  their  being  wounded  or  dead,  which  I  had  the  opportunity 
of  sending  to  their  friends — of  last  messages  carried  to  them  in 
the  field  and  brought  from  them  to  dear  ones  at  home — of  their 
courage  and  patience  under  suffering — of  their  thoughtful  ness 
of  others  and  neglect  of  self — and  of  the  burials  in  the  field. 
We  had  no  casket  there,  no  flowers  to  strew  upon  the  grave. 
We  had  little  time  for  the  dead  ;  too  little  for  the  living. 

These  remembrances  cluster  as  well  about  the  men  before 
me,  some  of  whom,  with  severe  wounds,  I  long  since  expected 
to  follow  to  their  graves.  I  remember  kindnesses  bestowed  upon 
me,  kind  words  spoken,  and  I  could  not  forbear  this  allusion  to 
a  grateful  experience,  which  is  every  day  becoming  more  so  by 
reviving  memories. 

And  this  gives  me  an  opportunity  to  recognize  the  members 
jf  another  Post,  from  the  Island  Ward,  who  were  so  much  asso- 
ciated with  Chelsea  soldiers  during  the  war.  They  were  our 
nearest  neighbors,  and  we  came  to  know  each  other  in  the  field 
as  neighbors  ought  to  be  known.  They  are  welcome  here  to- 
day, and  will  ever  be  when  brave  men  are  to  be  honored. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  133 

And  I  am  glad  to  allude  to  our  chaplain,  who,  to  use  his 
own  words,  "  volunteered  his  services  from  no  love  of  warfare 
but  simply  because,  with  all  his  heart,  he  believed  in  Liberty 
and  the  Union."  For  three  years,  with  but  one  week's  absence, 
he  "  showed  his  faith  by  his  works,"  in  all  the  fields  of  the 
Army  of  the  Potomac,  stood  by  the  soldiers  in  their  hours  of 
joy  and  sorrow,  death  and  burial ;  and  many  of  our  own  men, 
and  hundreds  more,  are  indebted  to  him  for  his  anxiety  to  pro- 
mote their  moral,  spiritual,  and  physical  well-being.  It  is  fit- 
ting that  he  should  participate  in  the  services  of  to-day. 

But,  soldiers,  with  all  your  Buffering,  you  would  not  barter 
your  service  or  your  wounds  for  bars  of  gold.  You  sometimes 
thought  you  would  be  forgotten  after  the  war.  But  there  was 
too  much  good  faith  and  honor  in  this  people,  and  you  have 
already  been  assured  to  the  contrary. 

That  there  will  be  individual  instances  of  forgetfulness  and 
neglect,  is  doubtless  true ;  but  you  do  not  forget  the  reception 
of  the  dead  and  living,  the  National  and  State  laws  that  have 
sought  the  comfort  of  your  families,  the  recognition  of  preferred 
claims  to  employment — and  this,  too,  when  prosperity  in  busi- 
ness has  not  been  the  rule,  but  the  exception.  Let  us  have  no 
fear  that  the  country,  the  State,  or  the  city,  will  ever  be  less 
mindful  of  their  obligations  or  less  expressive  of  their  gratitude. 

And  if  it  should  ever  again  be  said,  that  the  men  of  our 
army  had  other  incentives  to  enter  the  service  beside  their 
patriotism,  it  may  be  replied,  "  Go,  find  the  lowest,  most  reck- 
less, most  worthless  man  in  the  community,  who  has  not  been 
in  the  service,  and  ask  him  to  name  a  price  for  which  he  would 
now  risk  a  like  exposure,  of  life  and  limb."  Rest  assured,  no 
price  can  be  found  high  enough  for  an  inducement ;  and  thus 
every  man  ought  to  Be  convinced  that  there  was  a  higher  than 
any  mercenary  motive  that  impelled  these  men  to  enter  the  ser- 
vice. 

And  when  we  remember,  that  of  the  three  companies  espe- 
cially enlisted  in  Chelsea,  nearly  one  half  were  killed,  wounded, 
or  died  by  reason  of  their  service,  we  shall  more  fully  appre- 
ciate the  danger  to  which  all  soldiers  were  exposed,  and  the  de- 
votion to  their  country  which  they  exhibited. 

Of  the  150  men  who  entered  the  navy  from  Chelsea,  very 
few  were  either  wounded  or  killed  ;  but  there  was  among  them 
equal  love  of  country,  equal  courage,  equal  devotion  to  the  ser- 
vice, and,  living  or  dead,  they  should  have  equal  honor. 

But  we  remember,  on  all  these  memorial  days,  the  dear  ones 
whom  the  departed  left,  the  widows  and  orphans,  fathers  and 
mothers ;  and  they,  too,  appreciate  our  remembrance. 


134  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

But  do  we  realize  the  noble  sacrifice  of  the  wives  who  cheer- 
fully parted  with  their  husbands,  mothers  with  their  sons,  sisters 
with  their  brothers  ?— how  with  their  own  hands  they  girded 
upon  them  the  sword  or  the  knapsack,  and  bid  them  God-speed, 
when  they' could  almost  as  easily  have  severed  their  heart- 
strings. I  had  constant  opportunity  to  know  the  cheerfulness 
with  which  they  made  the  sacrifice,  and  how  anxious  they  were 
that  the  name  of  their  dear  one  should  be  untarnished,  and 
would  say,  "  Better  dead  than  dishonored." 

And  we  remember,  too,  those  earnest  women,  who,  upon  the 
faith  that  all  men  are  brothers,  and  all  soldiers  patriots,  during 
the  whole  war  kept  up  a  constant  supply  of  those  comforts  but 
for  which  more  ot  you  might  be  resting  under  this  monument. 
I  have  a  thousand  reasons  for  being  grateful  to  them  ;  I  know 
you  have. 

And  so  you  remember  with  gratitude  those  other  women 
•who  went  to  the  field,  and  accepted  hardship  and  sacrifice  to 
care  for  you  and  your  associates. 

And,  at  this  hour,  we  cannot  but  recall  the  recent  transla- 
tion of  one  of  those  dear  to  you,  to  me,  and  to  thousands  be- 
i-iik-s — one  who  sought  to  do  her  work  with  patriotic  devotion 
to  the  cause  and  an  earnest  love  of  the  flag,  and  who  found  in 
her  ministry  to  her  country's  defenders  a  constant  joy.*  The 
grief  at  her  loss,  which  wrings  ray  heart  to-day,  must  find  its 
only  balm  in  the  faith  that  all  must  be  well  which  is  ordered 
from  on  high.  And  if  she  never  more  smile  upon  TIS  on  earth, 
we  have  always  with  us  the  memory  of  a  beautiful  life. 

I  am  grateful  that  she  had  one  opportunity  to  participate  in 
a  ceremony  like  this,  when,  in  1866,  a  few  of  us,  men  and 
women  of  Massachusetts,  visited  Bell  Isle,  and  decorated  with 
flowers  the  graves  of  the  Union  soldiers  who  died  there  while 
prisoners.  That  service  was  a  sad  one  compared  with  this,  for 
it  recalled  a  thousand  painful  memories. 

SOLDIERS  OF  POSTS  35  AND  23  :  To-day,  all  over  this  land,  in 
every  hamlet,  in  every  city,  upon  lonely  graves,  in  national, 
public,  and  private  cemeteries,  you  and  your  associates  make 
this  floral  fraternal  tribute.  In  doing  it,  you  express  your  own 
affection  and  a  nation's  gratitude.  1  ou  awake  anew  the  memo- 
ries of  the  lost — the  war — the  victory. 

And  if  our  human  hearts  will  sometimes  make  us  grieve  for 
those  who,  too  soon,  have  "  gone  before,"  we  must  remember 
that  men 

"  Live  in  deeds,  not  years ;  in  thoughts,  not  breaths ; 
In  feelings,  not  in  figures  on  a  dial ;  " 

*  Helen  L.  Gilson  (Osgood). 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  135 

and  that 

"  He  most  lives 
Who  thinks  most,  feels  the  noblest,  acts  the  best." 

At  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Fay's  address,  Mayor  Frost  made 
the  following  brief  remarks  : 

SOLDIERS  AND  SAILORS  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE  REPUB- 
LIC :  The  eloquent  sentiments  expressed  in  the  address  and 
prayer  leave  but  little  for  me  to  say. 

The  civil  authorities  of  our  city  have  gladly  responded  to 
your  invitation,  and  are  here  present  to  join  with  you  in  this 
pleasant,  duty  of  scattering  flowers — those  beautiful  emblems  of 
God's  smiles — upon  the  graves  of  those  who  gave  their  lives  for 
our  beloved  country. 

"While  we  thus  honor  their  memory,  we  also  honor  the  sur- 
viving heroes  of  those  battles  which  saved  us  in  the  days  of 
peril.  And  we  trust  that  generation  after  generation  may  con- 
tinue this  practice  of  decorating  the  graves  of  these  patriots ; 
thus  teaching  their  descendants,  through  all  future  time,  that 
whenever  our  country  is  in  danger,  those  men  who  spring  to 
her  defence  shall  never  be  forgotten. 

After  the  decoration  services  in  the  Garden  Cemetery,  the 
procession  re-formed  and  visited  Woodlawn,  where  the  graves 
of  our  buried  soldiers  were  also  decorated.  There  also  the 
grave  of  Mrs.  Helen  Gilson  Osgood  was  decorated  in  a  like 
manner — flowers  in  great  variety  and  profusion. 

AT  CHARLESTOWN,  MASSACHUSETTS. 

At  noon  of  the  30th  of  May,  Post  11,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Charles- 
town,  formed  in  front  of  the  City  Hall,  and,  headed  by  Brown's 
Brigade  Band,  marched  through  Harvard,  Washington,  and 
Main  streets  to  the  old  buryimj-ground.  About  sixty  members 
turned  out,  and  each  carried  a  handsome  bouquet.  At  the 
ground,  prayer  was  offered  by  Chaplain  Charles  G.  Pease,  a  few 
remarks  were  made  by  Commander  H.  R.  Sihley,  two  original 
odes,  written  by  Miss  S.  E.  Perkins  and  Edmund  Bradford,  were 
sung  by  the  members  of  the  Post,  and  the  flowers  were  then 
strewn  upon  the  graves.  They  proceeded  to  the  Bunker  Hill 
and  Catholic  burying-grounds,  on  Bunker  Hill  street,  where 
the  ceremonies  were  repeated.  They  then  marched  to  Cause- 
way street,  Boston,  escorted  by  the  Charlestown  Cadets  and 
City  Guard,  where  they  embarked  in  horse-cars  for  Cambridge, 
to  participate  in  the  exercises  at  Mount  Auburn. 

MB.  BRADFORD'S  ODB. 
The  battle  storms  of  war  are  still, 
The  clash  of  arms  is  o'er, 


136  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

And  silenced  now  on  plain  nnd  bill 
The  deep-mouthed  caution's  roar. 

Our  heroes  saw  the  coining  strife, 

And  girt  them  for  the  fray ; 
In  Freedom's  cause  they  gave  up  life 

And  all  its  dear  array. 

The  Starry  Flag  above  them  waved, 

And  Freedom  led  them  on, 
And  Treason's  brazen  hosts  they  braved, 

Till  victory  they  won. 

The  cause  for  which  their  blood  was  shed 

Has  triumphed,  though  they  fell ; 
Strew  flowers  upon  their  earthly  bed 

As  tolls  the  funeral  knell. 

No  silent,  deep  Lethean  stream 

Holds  them  in  its  embrace ; 
Their  memories  on  earth  are  green, 

And  live  to  bless  our  race. 

IN   SOMEEVILLE,   MASSACHUSETTS. 

In  this  town  the  military,  citizens,  and  school-children 
united  with  the  G.  A.  R.  The  Somerville  Light  Infantry, 
Lieutenant  Tufts,  commanding,  left  their  armory  at  about  two 
o'clock  and  marched  to  the  Town  Hall,  accompanied  by  Ed- 
munds' Brass  Band.  Here  delegations  of  citizens  and  school 
children  were  received,  and  the  enlarged  procession  proceeded 
through  Highland  Avenue,  Central,  Summer,  Howard,  and 
Milk  streets  to  the  cemetery.  The  soldiers'  monument,  erected 
by  the  town  two  or  three  years  ago,  was  decked  with  flowers  at 
every  available  place.  Two  large  bouquets  crowned  its  top, 
and  beneath,  a  picture  of  our  martyred  President  was  placed. 
Tablets  on  either  side  of  the  monument  bore  the  names  of  sixty- 
four  soldiers  who  had  given  their  life  for  the  country.  Tri-colors 
extended  from  each  tablet  to  the  top  of  the  monument,  and  in 
the  rear  a  flagstatf  had  been  erected,  from  which  the  national 
colors  floated  at  three-quarters  mast,  and  streamers  reached  to 
the  ground  on  either  side. 

The  military  entered  the  cemetery  and  marched  around  it 
with  arms  reversed,  the  band  playing  a  solemn  dirge,  after 
which  each  deposited  at  the  foot  of  the  monument  a  floral  offer- 
ing. Many  of  the  children  and  citizens  also  paid  a  floral 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  fallen. 

The  remaining  services  consisted  of  prayer  by  Rev.  Henry 
H.  Barber,  of  the  Unitarian  Church,  a  dirge  by  the  band,  and 
appropriate  remarks  by  M.  Lebbeus  Stetson,  (the  chief  marshal,) 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  13*7 

Hon.  George  O.  Brastow,  chairman  of  the  committee  of  ar« 
rangements,  Mr.  John  M.  Tobiu,  formerly  of  the  9th  Regi- 
ment, and  A.  H.  Bailey,  of  Somerville. 

At  the  suggestion  of  Hon.  G.  O.  Brastow,  he  and  Capt. 
Tobin  were  delegated  to  visit  Mount  Auburn  and  decorate  the 
umves  of  Somerville  soldiers  there,  and  the  military  visited  the 
Cambridge  Cemetery,  where  three  volleys  were  fired  over  the 
grave  of  Capt.  Willard  C.  Kingsley. 

REMARKS  BY  LEBBEUS  STETSON. 

FELLOW- CITIZENS  :  We  have  assembled  together  to-day,  in 
this  beautiful  "  garden  of  the  dead,"  for  the  high  and  holy  pur- 
poses of  doing  honor  to  the  illustrious  men  who  fell  fighting 
valiantly  in  the  great  cause  of  human  liberty.  It  is  most  fit 
ting,  on  this  solemn  occasion,  that  we  should  offer  our  prayers 
to  the  God  of  the  living  and  the  dead. 

Prayer  by  Rev.  Henry  H.  Barber. 

SPEECH   BY   MR.    L.    STETSON. 

FELLOW-CITIZENS  OF  SoMEKviLLE :  The  occasion  which  has 
called  us  together  to-day  is  one  which  comes  home  to  the  hearts 
of  every  loyal  citizen  in  our  land.  The  history  of  the  last  seven 
years  is  still  fresh  in  our  remembrance.  The  heroes  who  fell  in 
the  five  hundred  battles  lie  buried  in  every  portion  of  our  na- 
tion's soil — 

Their  bones  are  on  the  Southern  hills, 

And  on  the  Southern  plain, 
By  brook  and  river,  lake  and  rill, 

And  by  the  roaring  main. 

We  come  to-day,  both  old  and  young,  with  flowers  and  garlands 
to  decorate  the  graves  of  these  our  sons  and  brothers,  who  laid 
down  their  lives  in  this  most  holy  cause.  We  honor  ourselves 
by  honoring  them,  because  we  redeem  the  pledges  we  made 
them  when  they  rushed  into  the  contest,  leaving  home  and  all 
they  held  dear,  to  defend  their  country  in  the  hour  of  her  great- 
est peril.  We  told  them  that  we  would  care  for  them  and  their 
families,  and  as  they  went  forth  all  hearts  and  voices  hailed 
them  as  our  only  hope ;  but,  alas !  how  many  of  them  were  des- 
tined never  to  return.  According  to  the  report  of  the  Adjutant- 
General  three  hundred  and  nxty  thousand  have  been  removed 
from  the  different  battle-fields,  and  buried  in  the  National 
Cemeteries.  How  can  we  express  our  admiration  of  the  heroic 
valor  of  these  champions  of  liberty.  The  poet  has  said,  that — 


138  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

They  who  for  their  country  die, 

Shall  fill  an  honored  grave, 
For  glory  guards  the  soldier's  tomb, 

And  beauty  weeps  the  brave. 

How  readily  they  adapted  themselves  to  the  stern  realities  of 
war.  The  toilsome  marches  through  an  unknown  country  had 
no  terrors  for  them,  "  onward  to  meet  the  foe "  was  their  only 
hope,  and  when  night  came,  and  the  "bivouac  "  was  their  rest- 
ing-place, then  they  showed  the  true  qualities  of  the  soldier. 

Give  him  a  blanket,  and  at  Night's  falling 
He'll  think  of  the  Land  for  steel  and  blood  calling ; 

He'll  ne'er  close  his  eye  with  a  home  sigh  or  sorrow, 
But  a  vow  to  strike  home,  wooing  death  on  the  morrow. 

By  an  order  issued  at  Washington  by  General  Logan  to  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  this  30th  day  of  May  was  set 
apart  for  this  holy  purpose;  that  in  every  city  and  town,  wher- 
ever a  soldier's  grave  should  be  found,  it  should  be  decorated 
with  flowers,  as  a  memorial  of  the  services  they  had  performed 
in  the  cause  of  their  country. 

The  citizens  of  Somerville  have  erected  this  splendid  monu- 
ment, to  the  memory  of  eighty-live  soldiers  of  their  quota  who 
fell  on  the  battle-fields,  or  died  in  hospitals,  or  in  the  prison- 
pens  at  the  South.  To-day,  with  sorrowing  hearts,  we  perform 
this  loving  tribute,  and  renew  the  pledges  made  to  them,  that 
we  will  always  hold  them  in  kind  remembrance,  and  care  for 
the  widows  and  orphans — and  as  each  year  rolls  on  in  its  course, 
we  will  renew  our  vows  of  fidelity  to  the  great  cause  which  cost 
us  so  much  blood  and  treasure.  As  we  stand  by  the  graves  of 
these  heroes,  our  minds  revert  back  to  the  dark  days  of  1865, 
when  the  land  was  in  mourning  and  in  tears,  at  the  news  of  the 
sudden  death  of  Abraham  Lincoln  by  the  assassin's  hand.  As 
we  gaze  on  the  face  of  this  greatest  of  martyrs  and  heroes, 
which  hangs  on  yonder  monument,  we  feel  that  he  alone  is 
worthy  to  lead  that  host  of  martyrs,  who  died  that  we  as  a 
nation  might  live. 

Bat,  thank  God  !  a  better  day  has  dawned  upon  our  beloved 
country.  Peace  has  been  proclaimed.  The  opposing  armies 
have  returned  to  their  former  occupations,  and  we  have  every 
reason  to  hope  that  the  noise  of  war  shall  never  again  be  heard 
in  our  land  ;  and  may  the  days  to  come  be  verified,  as  described 
by  the  poet  "  Longfellow : " 

"Were  half  the  power  that  fills  the  world  with  terror — 
Were  half  the  wealth  bestowed  on  camps  and  courts 

Given  to  redeem  the  human  rnind  from  error — 
There  were  no  need  of  ar&enals,  nor  forts. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        139 

The  "Warrior's  name,  would  be  a  name  abhorred, 

And  every  nation  that  should  lift  again 
Its  hand  against  its  brother,  should  on  it's  forehead, 

Wear  evermore  the  curse  of  Cain. 

Down  the  dark  future,  through  long  generations, 

The  echoing  cry  of  violence  shall  cease  ; 
And  like  ;i  "  Bell  "  in  solemn  sweet  vibrations, 

I  hear  once  more  the  voice  of  Christ  say  "  Peace.'1'' 

"  Peace !  "  And  no  longer  from  th<  se  brizen  portals, 
The  blast  of  war's  dread  organs  rends  the  skies, 

But  beautiful  as  sons  of  the  immortals — 
The  holy  melodies  of  love  .*hall  rise. 

"  Give  me  Liberty,  or  give  me  Death ! "  was  the  immortal 
exclamation  of  Patrick  Henry.  Our  brothers,  the  heroes  to 
whose  memory  yonder  monument  was  raised  by  their  grateful 
townsmen,  did  their  full  share  in  the  patriotic  work  of  securing 
and  perpetuating  the  glorious  boon  of  National  Liberty,  though 
at  the  sad  sacrifice  of  their  valuable  lives — 

"  But  'tis  sweet,  O  'tis  sweet  for  one's  country  to  die  I  — 
From  Fame's  glittering  ladder  they've  stepped  to  the  sky!  " 

It  is  most  fitting  that  now,  in  this  period  of  peace,  after  the 
stern  alarums  of  war  have  been  stilled  and  the  shocks  of  battle 
have  ceased,  we  here  meet  to  strew  flowers  upon  the  graves  of 
our  martyrs— now  in  the  spring  time,  when  the  bright  blossoms 
are  falling  around  us,  presaging  the  ripe  fruits  ere  long  to  be 
scattered,  with  an  equally  wide  diffusion,  over  the  land. 

So  the  heroic  deeds  of  our  fallen  braves,  in  connection  with 
those  of  their  surviving  compatriots,  have  already  commenced 
to  yield  the  fruits  of  their  labors — a  country  saved  from  dis- 
memberment, and  rapidly  recovering  from  the  wounds  of  war 
— a  nation  more  formidable  and  influential  than  ever  among  the 
powers  of  the  world — a  whole  race  of  men,  women  and  children 
emancipated  from  the  chains  and  evils  of  slavery — their  educa- 
tion and  adaptation  to  a  life  of  freedom,  in  good  progress — the 
civil,  political  and  religious  rights  and  privileges  of  all  men 
equally  protected  by  law,  and  in  process  of  universal  recogni- 
tion by  public  sentiment  throughout  the  different  States; — these 
great  and  good  results,  with  the  unnumbered  beneficent  influ- 
ences following  in  their  train  down  through  ages  to  come,  have 
all  been  achieved  in  consequence  of  the  individual  and  collective 
patriotism,  the  unflinching  courage,  the  devoted  fortitude,  the 
matchless  skill,  and  all-conquering  valor  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic ! 

This  army,  whether  in  service  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac 
or  the  James,  on  the  Cumberland  or  the  Mississippi,  on  the 


140  MKMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

"  historic  march  to  the  sea,"  or  on  the  decks  of  our  invincible 
navy,  was  ever  constantly  backed  and  sustained  by  a  people  at 
home,  whose  loyalty  knew  no  check  under  any  adverse  circum- 
stances— whose  liberality  was  unbounded — whose  steadfastness 
to  principle  was  the  highest  moral  heroism,  and  whose  force  of 
will  was  quenchless  and  irresistible.  Springing  from  such  a  con- 
stituency, inspired  by  the  same  elements,  and  having  the  holiest 
of  causes — the  defence  of  the  only  free  republic  on  earth  —  to 
support,  nothing  of  human  opposition  could  daunt  or  long  de- 
feat, and  nothing  but  the  continuous  frowns  of  heaven  could 
possibly  prevent  the  final  and  glorious  triumph  of  our  arms. 

All  this,  fellow-citizens,  must  have  been  in  accordance  with 
the  high  decrees  of  the  Supreme  Ruler  of  the  Universe  ;  and  as 
we  review  the  signal  favor  ever  shown  us  since  the  beginning 
of  our  national  existence,  we  can  but  believe  He  hath  fully  or- 
dained that 

u  The  star-flowering  banner  must  never  be  furled, 
For  its  blossoms  of  light  are  the  hope  of  the  world." 

Yes,  our  American  Union  is  gazed  upon  by  the  downtrod- 
den millions  elsewhere,  as  the  veritable  Kohinoor  of  Liberty, 
set  among  the  nations  of  the  earth  to  flash  light  upon  the  dark- 
ness of  despotism — to  irradiate  the  world  with  the  sublime  doc- 
trine of  the  divine  right  of  THE  PEOPLE  to  self-government,  rather 
than  subjection  to  kings  and  usurpers — and  to  give  a  practical 
illustration  of  a  constellation  of  independent  political  States 
acting  in  harmony  with  their  own  National  Government.  Like 
the  stars  of  the  planetary  system,  may  the  States  of  this  Union 
hereafter  differ  from  each  other  only  in  glory,  while  revolving 
around  a  common  centre,  all  glowing  res  pi  end  en  tly  with  the 
living  lights  of  FEEEDOM,  JUSTICE  AND  HUMANITY  ! 

AT  BBIGHTON,  MASSACHUSETTS. 

July  27,  1868. 

Evergreen  Cemetery  at  Brighton  was  the  scene  of  solemn  and 
deeply  impressive  ceremonies,  attendant  upon  the  observance  of 
the  second  anniversary  of  the  dedication  of  the  monument  erect- 
ed there  in  memory  of  the  brave  men  who  gave  their  lives  for 
the  salvation  of  their  country. 

Two  years  ago  the  monument  was  completed  and  appro- 
priately dedicated,  and  last  year  its  first  anniversary  was  ob- 
served by  a  gathering  of  the  surviving  comrades  of  the  deceased ; 
and  at  the  conclusion  of  the  services  they  mutually  agreed  that 
each  year,  so  long  as  they  lived,  that  day  should  be  set  apart  by 
them  for  a  testimonial  in  memory  of  the  departed.  This  year 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        141 

the  preparations  for  the  display  were  made  upon  a  more  exten- 
sive scale.  Invitations  were  extended  to  Post  15  of  Boston, 
G.  A.  R.,  and  also  to  the  same  organization  in  Cambridge, 
Post  30,  as  \vell  as  to  the  members  of  the  First  Massachusetts 
Battery  Association,  and  other  kindred  organizations,  to  unite 
with  the  returned  soldiers  of  Brighton  in  making  the  occasion 
one  of  interest. 

Post  15,  Or.  A.  R.,  fifty  men,  under  command  of  Lieut. -Col. 
G.  II.  Hovey,  in  company  with  a  detachment  of  thirty  men  from 
the  11th  Massachusetts  Battery  Association,  under  command  of 
Geo.  W.  Booth,  took  the  cars  at  the  Boston  and  Albany  depot 
at  1.15,  and-  on  arriving  at  Brighton  were  received  by  the 
Returned  Soldiers'  Club  of  Brighton,  under  command  of  the 
President,  John  L.  B.  Pratt,  and  headed  by  the  Cambridge 
Band,  marched  to  the  square,  where  the  procession  was  formed 
as  follows  :  Cambridge  Band ;  Returned  Soldiers'  Club  of  Brigh- 
ton ;  detachment  of  twenty-seven  men  from  the  Ordnance  De- 
partment of  Watertown  Arsenal,  under  command  of  Sergt. 
Eagleson  ;  Post  15,  G.  A.  R.,  Boston  ;  Post  30,  G.  A.  R.,  Cam- 
bridgeport;  thirty-five  men,  under  command  of  Senior  Vice- 
Coin  in  and  er,  W.  H.  Carey;  Nonantum  Lodge,  116,  of  Brighton, 
under  command  of  J.  G.  Davis,  N.  G.,  accompanied  by  delega- 
tions from  Friendship  Lodge,  No.  20,  Cambridgeport ;  N.  ^E. 
Lodge,  4,  of  East  Cambridge ;  and  Lafayette  Lodge,  51,  Water- 
town,  thirty  men. 

At  about  3  o'clock  the  procession  left  the  square,  and 
marched  to  Evergreen  Cemetery,  about  a  mile  distant.  At  the 
entrance  the  gateway  and  arches  were  profusely  draped  with 
the  Stars  and  Stripes  and  crape,  while  over  the  entrance,  in  the 
centre,  were  the  words :  "  While  Honoring  the  Living,  we 
Mourn  the  Fallen."  On  leaving  the  hall  of  the  Association,  in 
the  square,  each  person  in  the  procession  was  furnished  by  the 
ladies  with  beautiful  bouquets,  and  when  they  reached  the  mon- 
ument the  ranks  separated  and  each  man  placed  his  floral  tribute 
upon  the  base  of  the  monumental  shaft,  which  itself  from  base 
to  summit  was  entwined  with  evergreen  and  beautifully  draped 
with  the  nation's  iiag.  The  different  organizations  formed  in  a 
semicircle  around  the  monument  grounds,  while  hundreds  of 
spectators  were  sitting  or  standing  in  the  immediate  vicinity, 
and,  as  soon  as  the  order  was  restored,  a  dirge  was  performed  by 
the  band,  followed  by  the  reading  of  Scripture  lessons  and 
prayer  by  Rev.  S.  W.  McDaniel,  who  served  during  the  late 
war  as  chaplain  in  one  of  the  regiments.  The  choir  of  the  First 
Church,  of  which  Mr.  McDaniel  is  the  pastor,  united  with  the 
audience  in  singing  the  following  original  hymn,  written  by 
Augustus  Mason,  M.  D. : 


142  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Now  to  our  patriot  dead  we've  paid 

The  tribute  of  immortal  tame. 

While  gratefully  we  breathe  each  name 
On  this  memorial  shaft  displayed. 

On  many  a  Southern  field  they  fell, 

Battling  for  Freedom  and  the  Right; 

And  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight, 
They  bore  their  country's  standard  well ; 

Or  perished  in  the  traitor's  pen  ; 

Or  mid  the  hardships  of  the  field, 

Their  loyalty  with  life  they  sealed, 
And  died  like  brave,  true-hearted  men. 

To  all  who  sleep  a  soldier's  sleep, 

Wh  re'er  they  lie — in  hallowed  ground, 
Or  those  above  whose  grass-grown  mound 

Sad  stars  their  lonely  vigils  keep — 

To  all  our  brave,  heroic  band, 

Who  nobly  met  a  soldier's  tate, 

This  monument  we  consecrate, — 
God  bless  them  and  our  native  land  ! 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  hymn,  Maj.  Charles  Rice,  of 
Brighton,  in  a  few  appropriate  remarks,  introduced  as  the  ora- 
tor for  the  occasion  Mr.  J.  L.  B.  Pratt,  who,  on  coming  for- 
ward, said  that  the  occasion  was  one  on  which  he  felt  most 
keenly  his  inability  to  give  proper  expression  to  sentiments  wor- 
thy such  an  event.  The  gathering  of  veterans  who  had  served 
in  the  campaign  with  the  now  silent  dead,  whose  memory  they 
sought  to  keep  fresh  and  green  within  their  hearts,  together 
with  so  large  a  number  of  the  citizens  of  Brighton  and  adjacent 
towns,  gave  evidence  that  the  noble,  self-denying  heroism  of 
those  martyrs  had  not  been  forgotten,  and  that  the  principles  for 
which  they  so  generously  devoted  their  lives  were  still  valued 
by  the  people.  It  had  been  his  fortune  to  be  associated  in  the 
camp  and  in  the  battle-field  with  many  of  those  whose  death 
they  were  now  commemorating  ;  and  while  he  and  those  before 
him,  who  had  endured  the  privations  of  a  soldier's  life,  might 
forget  the  changing  scenes  of  to-day  and  to-morrow ;  while  they 
might  forget  the  impressive  scenes  of  this  occasion,  they  never 
would  forget  the  terrible  struggle  through  which  they  had  passed 
in  their  efforts  to  assist  in  maintaining  their  glorious  Govern- 
ment ;  and  while  they  might  mingle  their  tears  with  those  of 
thousands  of  others  for  the  loss  of  dear  friends,  companions, 
brothers,  they  still  could  feel  consolation  in  the  thought  that 
their  death  had  been  glorious,  and  that  they  had  gone  forth  de- 
termined to  conquer,  or  return  on  their  shields. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        143 

The  creation  was  eloquent,  and  commanded  the  closest  atten- 
tion throughout. 

A  dirge  by  the  band  concluded  the  exercises  in  the  imme- 
diate vicinity  of  the  monument,  and  the  company  adjourned  to 
the  beautiful  grove  in  the  cemetery,  a  few  rods  distant,  where 
had  collected  a  large  audience,  composed  principally  of  ladies, 
among  whom  were  several  widows  of  deceased  soldiers. 

A  .small  platform  had  been  erected,  and  seats  scattered  among 
the  trees  gave  those  present  a  good  opportunity  to  listen  to  the 
exercises.  Mr.  Pratt,  in  the  name  of  the  friends  of  the  deceased, 
and  the  Brighton  Association  of  Returned  Soldiers,  briefly 
thanked  those  from  out  of  town  for  their  kind  assistance  in  car- 
rying out  the  programme,  and  then  introduced  the  orator  of  the 
day,  Rev.  Mr.  Frederick  A.  Whitney,  who,  after  a  brief  intro- 
duction, read  the  order  of  General  llogan  relative  to  the  deco- 
ration of  soldiers'  graves,  and  stated  that,  while  the  friends  of 
the  movement  in  Brighton  countenanced  the  movement  most 
heartily,  they  thought  it  better  to  postpone  the  offering  of  their 
floral  tributes  until  this  occasion,  the  anniversary  of  the  dedica- 
tion of  the  monument.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  order,  the 
reverend  gentleman  spoke  as  follows  : 

ADDRESS   OF  KEV.   FREDERICK  A.   WHITNEY. 

I  need  not  remind  you  how  well  this  admirable  order  was 
obeyed  on  the  30th  of  May  last.  We  all  remember  how  gen- 
erally through  the  land,  with  what  grateful  and  tender  emotions, 
with  what  lavish  contributions  of  beautiful  flowers,  the  graves 
and  monuments  of  our  fallen  soldiers  were  visited  and  adorned. 
It  was  thought  best  that  for  this  year  the  citizens  of  this  town 
should  particularly  observe  the  anniversary  of  the  dedication  of 
this  beautiful  monument,  as,  on  the  last  July,  they  observed  its 
first  anniversary,  and  as  had  been  contemplated  before  General 
Logan's  order  was  issued,  instead  of  the  earlier  date  in  May. 
Hereafter  it  will  be  our  pleasure  to  join  with  our  countrymen 
in  deed,  as  well  as  in  spirit,  on  the  common  day  of  commemo- 
ration. 

Gratefully  and  reverently,  then,  we  come  here  to-day  to 
think  of  our  departed  heroes,  and,  with  them,  of  the  great  band 
of  co-patriots  who  died  to  save  our  land.  With  prayers  of 
thanksgiving  to  Almighty  God  "  who  was  on  our  side  when  men 
rose  up  against  us,"  we  honor  them  who,  under  God,  were  our 
defence.  With  words  of  eulogy  and  songs  of  praise  we  mani- 
fest our  remembrance.  With  sweet  flowers  and  evergreens  we 
wreath  this  massive  monument,  so  exquisitely  wrought,  that 
bears  the  name  of  our  native  or  adopted  dead,  and  bedeck  their 


144  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

graves.  That  great  body  of  brave  soldiers  who  went  from  all 
the  ranks  of  lite,  in  the  glow  and  promise  of  youth  and  in  the 
strength  and  maturity  of  manhood,  and  fell  by  thousands  in  the 
frtruu'iJe  with  armed  rebellion,  we  commemorate  them  anew. 

.  indeed,  of  this  numerous  host  sleep  around  us  in  these 
consecrated  grounds.  Not  all,  even  of  our  o\vn  brave  boys,  are 
here,  save  as  Christian  faith  permits  us  to  fancy  their  blessed 
spirits  may  hover  about  us  in  our  grateful  service.  Hearts 
among  us,  I  tell  you,  friends,  that  still  mourn  the  beloved  who 
came  not  back  from  the  batttle-fields,  send  to-day  their  tender- 
est  offerings  to  distant  burial  spots  where  such  repose.  To  sun- 
ny Carolina,  where  Barry  was  borne  from  the  sick  bed  in  hos- 
pital to  his  grave  at  Hilton  Head ;  to  Virginia,  where,  on  the 
disastrous  field  of  Bull  Hun,  Bennett  fell  and  sleeps,  and  to  the 
same  great  State,  where  the  rolling  Shenandoah,  at  Front  Royal, 
engulfed  the  youthful  form  of  Gushing,  as  he  sought,  by  swim- 
ming, to  join  his  regiment  on  the  other  side ;  to  Georgia,  where, 
at  Ackworth,  Dailey  was  wounded  and  died  ;  and  where,  at  the 
rebel  prison  at  Millen,  Day  met  death  by  starvation,  having  first 
tasted  the  horrors  of  Anderson ville,  at  the  recital  of  which  the 
heart  of  the  civilized  world  faints ;  to  Fredericksburg,  Ya., 
where  Frost  died  in  hospital  and  was  buried  ;  to  the  memorable 
battle-field  of  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  where  Golding  fell  and  lies  ;  to 
Kedysville,  Md.,  wnere  Grover  died  and  was  buried — wounded 
eight  days  before  at  the  battle  of  Antietatn  ;  to  Port  Royal, 
S.  C.,  where  Niles  died  suddenly  from  disease  and  was  laid  to 
rest ;  and  to  the  old  graveyard  at  Falmouth,  Va.,  where,  spared 
through  many  engagements,  but  stricken  with  paralysis,  Rice 
sleeps  ;  to  Bull  Run  again,  where  the  elder  Russell  fell ;  to  Ship 
Island,  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  where  Starkey  died  from  sick- 
ness and  was  interred ;  to  Boykin's  Mills,  in  South  Carolina, 
where  Stevens  was  instantly  killed  in  battle,  and  where  he  rests ; 
to  the  Florence  Stockade,  in  the  same  State,  where  Thompson 
died  a  prisoner ;  and  to  Alexandria,  Ya.,  where  Warren  the 
younger,  dying  in  hospital,  was  interred  ; — to  all  these  places 
fond  affection  prompts  some  among  us,  it  may  be,  especially  to 
turn  their  wishful  thoughts,  and  would  lay,  how  gladly  !  these 
sweet  floral  offerings  on  those  far-off  graves. 

I  have  recited  the  names  borne  on  our  monument  of  those 
who  came  not  back  from  the  war.  With  them  I  must  not  omit 
the  names  there  inscribed  of  Dudley,  and  Fowle,  and  Fuller, 
and  Howe,  and  Plummer,  and  Ring,  and  Russell  the  younger, 
and  Warren  the  elder,  part  of  whom  returned  enfeebled  by  dis- 
ease, but  to  be  kindly  ministered  to  and  nursed  by  home  and 
friends,  till  shortly  they  closed  their  eyes  amidst  familiar  scenes, 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  145 

and  were  interred  in  these  grounds ;  while  of  others  of  them, 
their  bodies  only  were,  by  a  merciful  Providence,  brought  ten- 
derly back  to  rest  likewise  here,  in  these  peaceful  shades. 

These  our  departed  ones  whom  we  specially  commemorate, 
this  spacious  and  beautiful  Cemetery  that  bears  the  appropriate 
and  touching  name  of  Evergreen,  this  monument  and  these 
graves  adorned,  represent  for  us  to-day  the  great  company  who 
laid  down  their  lives  in  the  late  war,  and  whose  bodies  lie  scat- 
tered through  the  land.  In  discharging  here  this  grateful  ser- 
vice of  commemoration,  we  would  embrace  in  our  loving  re- 
gards and  would  honor  them  all.  To  all,  and  to  no  few  alone, 
our  gratitude  is  due  for  our  nation  spared  and  our  Union  re- 
stored. Through  fortunes  how  various  they  fell !  The  forms 
of  many,  how  marred  in  war,  on  which  affection  even  could  not 
ask  to  gaze  !  On  the  features  of  others,  stilled  in  death,  were 
friends  permitted  to  look  in  all  their  native  freshness — 

"  Before  decay's  effacing  fingers 
Had  swept  the  lines  where  beauty  lingers." 

They  went  forth  with  you,  their  brave  comrades,  not  count- 
ing your  own  lives  dear,  so  victory  might  be  won  for  the  na- 
tion, encountering  danger,  suffering,  death,  while  we,  so  many, 
abode  peacefully  in  our  homes.  Can  we  become  ever  unmind- 
ful of  our  obligations  to  these  our  defenders  ?  Can  ever  affec- 
tion grow  cold,  or,  as  years  revolve,  can  the  spots  where  repose 
their  ashes,  or  the  monuments  reared  to  their  name,  be  neglect- 
ed j  Never,  it  would  seem,  could  this  dread  indifference  steal 
over  the  people's  heart,  would  each  one  take  up  the  burden  of 
the  gifted  poet,  who  sang  so  well  the  labors  and  sufferings  of 
our  martyr  hosts,  "  They  died  for  you  and  me." 

"  Four  hundred  thousand  men, 

The  brave,  the  good,  the  true, 
In  tangled  wood,  in  mountain  glen, 
On  battle  plain,  in  prison- pen, 

Lie  dead  for  me  and  you  I 
Four  hundred  thousand  of  the  brave 
Have  made  our  ransomed  soil  their  grave, 

For  me  and  you  1 

Good  friend,  for  me  and  you  ! 

Bring,  then,  the  beautiful  flowers  and  evergreens  of  the 
opening  Spring,  or  of  the  rich  and  fruitful  summer,  twine  their 
monuments,  and  adorn  their  graves.  Come,  comrades  of  the 
fallen,  who  marched  with  them,  and  suffered  with  them,  and 
stood  with  them  in  the  din  of  battle,  and  saw  them  fall.  Come, 
friends,  who  mourned  the  death  of  the  good  and  true,  and 
the  pleasant  lights  that  seemed  to  have  gone  out  in  your 
10 


146  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

homes.     They  are  not  dead,  but  live  more  trulv^  than  before 


father^  aiitl  mothers  and  old  men,  and  join  in  the  glad  services 
<>t'  commemoration  that  shall  keep  green  their  memories  and 
help  perpetuate  the  good  institutions  for  which  they  were  the 
sacrifice.  It  is  the  hour  and  the  place  most  fit  for  quickening 
the  sentiments  of  gratitude  for  the  past  and  resolution  for  the 
future.  Grateful  for  the  patriot  dead,  as  we  stand  by  this  elo- 
quent shaft  that  tells  fhe  whole  story  of  their  noble  deeds,  let 
all  pledge  themselves  anew  to  the  holy  cause  of  Freedom,  Pa- 
triotism, Loyalty.  "Welcome  the  flowers  !  As  the  sweet  Eng- 
lish poetess,  Mrs.  Hemans,  sung  so  tenderly  of  them,  as  most 
grateful  in  festal  hours,  on  the  conqueror's  homeward  way,  in 
the  captive's  prison-cell,  at  the  bridal,  at  the  altar,  at  the  burial, 
so  bring  them  now  !  And,  mingling  with  their  sweet  perfume, 
the  very  prayer  we  breathe  here,  the  good  purposes  we  cherish 
for  our  beloved  country,  the  dear  memories  we  call  up  of  the 
departed  shall  hallow  and  bless  us,  and  ascend  as  grateful  in- 
cense to  heaven. 

"  Bring  flowers  to  the  shrine  where  we  kneel  in  prayer — 
They  are  nature's  offering,  their  place  is  there ; 
They  speak  of  hope  to  the  fainting  heart ; 
With  a  voice  of  promise  they  come  and  part  ; 
They  sleep  in  dust  through  the  wintry  hours ; 
They  break  forth  in  glory — bring  flowers,  bright  flowers ! 

Bring  flowers,  fresh  flowers,  o'er  the  bier  to  shed, 

A  crown  for  the  brow  of  the  early  dead  ; 

For  this,  through  its  leaves,  hath  the  white  rose  burst ; 

For  this,  in  the  woods,  was  the  violet  nursed ; 

Though  they  smile  in  vain  for  what  once  was  ours. 

They  are  love's  last  gift  ; — bring  ye  flowers,  fresh  flowers  ! " 

A  beautiful  original  poem  was  read  by  Augustus  Mason, 
M.D.,  and  was  warmly  applauded.  A  brief  address  was  made 
by  Mr.  Is .  M.  Gaylord,  Department  Chaplain  of  the  G.  A.  E., 
and  the  exercises  were  concluded  by  singing  "  America,"  and 
the  Benediction  was  pronounced  by  Rev.  Mr.  McDaniel. 

The  Chief  Marshal  was  A.  T.  Brewer,  of  Brighton,  assisted 
by  Capt.  Thomas  Appleton,  Richard  Smart,  and  H.  P.  Milton. 

Among  the  color-bearers  was  Mr.  Wm.  Dudley,  more  than 
fifty  years  of  age,  who  was  with  Sherman  in  his  entire  campaign. 

AT  NEWTON,  MASS. 
The  day  was  unpropitious,  and  yet  this  circumstance  did  not 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  147 

prevent  a  large  number  of  the  patriotic  ladies  of  Newton  from 
gracing  the  occasion  with  their  presence,  while  others,  unable 
to  attend,  were  with  the  brave  soldiers  in  spirit,  in  their  mission 
of  affection  at  the  graves  of  departed  comrades.  The  Chief 
Marshal  of  the  day  was  Gen.  A.  B.  Underwood,  who  performed 
the  various  duties  of  his  position  with  ability  and  earnestness, 
indicating  that  his  heart  was  in  the  work. 

The  procession  at  Newton ville  was  formed  with  commend- 
able promptitude.  Escort  duty  was  performed  by  Triton  Fire 
Engine  Company,  of  West  Newton,  who  had  with  them  their 
fire  apparatus,  drawn  by  horses,  and  profusely  decorated  with 
flowers.  The  Company  numbered  forty,  dressed  in  a  uniform 
of  red  shirts  and  glared  caps.  It  is  officered  as  follows  :  Fore- 
man, David  Almon  ;  Second  Foreman,  Henry  Bixby ;  Third 
Foreman,  P.  J.  Monks ;  Clerk,  C.  H.  Stacy  ;  Steward,  G.  D. 
Merriam.  It  was  eminently  proper  that  this  Company  should 
take  part  in  the  proceedings,  for  a  number  of  its  members  were 
participants  in  the  struggle,  several  having  lost  their  lives  for 
the  cause.  Several  members  of  this  Company  marched  with 
the  soldiers. 

The  following  deceased  soldiers  were  members  of  this  Com- 
pany previous  to  their  enlistment : 

John  Forsythe,  Jr.,  Sergt.,  Co.  H,  16th ;  Eben  Buck,  Sergt., 
Co.  B,  44th  ;  Daniel  Sanger,  private,  Co.  K,  32d ;  John  Allen, 
do.,  Co.  G,  1st ;  Fred.  A.  Cutter,  do.,  Co.  K,  32d ;  William  N. 
Freeman,  do.,  Co.  1,  1st ;  Joseph  R.  Pratt,  Co.  K»,  32d. 

Next  in  order  came  five  hundred  school  children,  each  hav- 
ing a .  bouquet,  which — in  many  cases  with  some  labor — they 
had  gathered  the  previous  day  in  the  woods  of  the  town.  It 
was  a  pleasant  sight  to  witness  the  enthusiasm  of  these  little 
ones  on  this  occasion. 

About  two  hundred  of  the  citizens  of  the  town,  headed  by 
the  Board  of  Selectmen,  followed.  Then  came  sixty  of  the 
returned  soldiers  and  seamen  of  the  town,  headed  by  Martland's 
Band,  of  North  Bridgewater.  Among  the  soldiers  were  Gen. 
J.  C.  Edmands,  Major  Boyd,  Adjutant  Haviland,  of  the  12th 
Mass.  Regiment,  Captain  Clark  of  the  U.  S.  N. ;  and  Captains 
Benson  and  Kingsbury  and  Surgeon  Whitney  of  the  13th,  who 
constituted  a  delegation  from  Post  15  of  the  G.  A.  R.  There 
was  also  a  Youthful  Military  Company,  of  the  Bigelow  School, 
Newton  Corner,  the  members  of  which  appeared  to  have  ac- 
quired considerable  efficiency  in  the  drill  manual  for  this  espe- 
cial occasion. 

The  Mechanic  Fire  Company  of  Newton  Upper  Falls  joined 
in  the  procession,  and  the  rear  was  brought  up  by  about  two 
hundred  carriages,  filled  with  ladies  and  gentlemen. 


MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

The  procession,  as  it  moved  along  Walnut  street  to  the 
Cemetery,  a  distance  of  a  mile  and  a  quarter,  was  rather  im- 
posing in  size,  and  creditable  also  to  the  patriotism  of  the  people 
of  tin:  town.  Reaching  the  gates,  the  firemen,  citizens,  Arc., 
stood  at  each  side  with  uncovered  heads  as  the  soldiers  marched 
forward  and  formed  a  circle  about  the  monument,  which  had 
been  decorated  with  a  magnificent  evergreen  wreath,  a  beautiful 
floral  cross,  and  numerous  bouquets  of  flowers.  Behind  the 
soldiers  were  grouped  the  school-cbildren,  citizens,  and  firemen, 
the  whole  completely  covering  the  eminence  in  the  centre  of 
which  rises  up  the  graceful  granite  shaft  that  will  keep  the 
names  of  the  dead  soldiers  in  perpetual  remembrance. 

The  proceedings  at  this  point  commenced  with  the  perform- 
ance of  a  dirge  by  the  band,  followed  by  a  fervent  prayer  by 
Rev.  D.  L.  Furber,  of  Newton  Centre,  Chaplain  of  the  Day. 
A  circle  of  bouquets  was  then  placed  by  soldiers  and  citizens 
about  the  monument. 

The  following  hymn,  written  for  the  occasion  by  Rev.  S.  F. 
Smith,  was  then  sung  by  the  soldiers  and  audience  to  the  tune 
of  "  Peterborough." 


HYiTtf. 


Grateful,  the  pious  feast  we  keep 

In  memory  of  the  dead, 
And  where  the  valiant  soldiers,  sleep, 

Strew  honors  o'er  their  bed. 

As  Spring-flowers  deck  the  silent  earth, 

As  stars  the  skies  illume, 
These  loving  tributes,  lo  !  we  bring, 

To  grace  each  hallowed  tomb. 

The  land  they  saved  their  honor  keeps, 

While  dark  oppression  cowers, 
And  every  tear  affection  weeps 

Is  crystalled  into  flowers. 

The  deeds  they  wrought,  the  truths  they  sealed, 

Their  memory,  dear,  in  death 
Are  fragrant  as  the  blooming  field, 

Or  Summer's  perfumed  breath  ! 

God  of  the  living  and  the  dead, 

Like  am'ranths  on  their  tomb, 
The  trust  for  which  their  blood  was  shed, 

Keep  in  immortal  bloom. 

t  The  soldiers,  preceded  by  the  band,  and  accompanied  by  the 
citizens,  firemen,  and  school-children,  proceeded  to  the  graves 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  149 

of  the  soldiers  buried  in  the  ground,  which  they  decorated  pro- 
fusely with  tiowers.  In  many  cases  the  graves  had  been  pre- 
viously visited  by  relatives  and  friends  on  a  similar  errand  of 
love  and  devotion.  We  repeat  the  names  as  follows  : 

Win.  R.  Benson,  Theodore  L.  Brackett,  1st  Lieut.  Ebeu 
White,  Maj.  Henry  S.  Lawson,  John  B.  Rogers,  Leopold  H. 
Hawkes,  Edward  Lyman,  Henry  C.  Harrington,  Wm.  A.  Har- 
ris, Thos.  L.  Jackson,  Wm.  H.  Rice,  Lewis  Houghton,  Eben  R. 
Buck,  Lucius  F.  Trowbridge,  Charles  Ward,  Thomas  C.  Nor- 
cross,  M.  T.  II.  Roffe,  Lemuel  F.  Bassett,  Alfred  Washburn, 
Wm.  H.  Johnson,  Wm.  H.  Belcher,  George  E.  Huntress, 
George  Ivimball,  and  Stephen  L.  Nichols. 

Returning  to  the  monument,  one  verse  each  of  "America" 
and  "  Auld  Lang  Syne  "  were  sung,  after  which  the  soldiers 
marched  to  Newton  Corner,  where  detachments  were  designated 
to  visit  the  graves  of  Surgeon  Kendall,  John  L.  Flagg,  and 
Charles  F.  Hooker,  at  the  Lower  Falls  grounds,  and  of  William 
Fell  and  Charles  S.  Brown,  at  the  Upper  Falls. 

AT  NATICK,  MASSACHUSETTS. 

The  floral  tribute  on  the  30th  of  May  to  the  memory  of  the 
nation's  dead  was  paid  in  Natick,  in  a  most  fitting  manner,  by 
the  children  of  the  public  schools.  A  long  procession,  bearing 
the  early  flowers  01  the  season,  was  formed  at  the  appointed 
hour  in  the  public  square.  The  soldiers'  monument  recently 
erected,  bearing  the  names  of  eighty-six  deceased  soldiers,  was 
entwined  with  evergreens  and  decked  with  flowers.  As  the 
procession  passed  around  it,  the  children  flung  flowers  at  its  base. 
The  procession  then  moved  to  Dell  Park  Cemetery,  where  rest 
the  remains  of  most  of  those  whose  bodies  have  been  returned 
from  the  fields  where  they  perished.  Arriving  at  the  cemetery, 
this  procession  of  hundreds  of  children  encircled  the  grave  of 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Henry  Hamilton  Wilson,  the  only  son  of 
Senator  Henry  Wilson,  and  were  addressed  by  the  Rev.  Addison 
Parker. 

We  come,  he  said,  to  this  resting  place  of  the  dead  to  pay  a 
grateful  tribute.  We  come  to  scatter  fresh  flowers  upon  the 
graves  of  our  dead  heroes,  in  obedience  to  the  request  that  has 
gone  forth  through  the  land  that  this  simple  and  expressive 
tribute  shall  this  day  everywhere  be  paid.  WTierever  through- 
out this  broad  land  the  instincts  of  patriotism  find  utterance, 
the  martyrs  of  the  great  rebellion  shall  thus  receive  evidences  of 
the  remembrance  and  gratitude  of  their  countrymen.  While  we 
carve  in  enduring  marble  the  names  of  our  heroic  dead,  while 


150  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

monumental  shafts  and  memorial  tablets  are  rising  to  com- 
memorate their  devotion,  we  this  day  visit  the  places  where 
reposes  their  sacred  dust,  and  tenderly  bestrew  their  graves 
with  the  flowers  of  springtime.  As  the  jears  roll  on,  may  this 
national  tribute,  now  offered  for  the  nrst  time,  become  an 
annual  custom  by  which  the  unborn  generations  shall  keep 
umlimmed  the  remembrance  of  the  heroes  whose  lives  have 
been  the  price  of  our  restored  national  unity. 

We  may  esteem  it  to  be  a  rare  privilege  that  the  remains  of 
so  many  or  our  fallen  sons  have  been  gathered  from  the  distant 
places  where  they  perished.  Never  before,  in  a  war  of  great 
magnitude,  have  so  many  bereaved  ones  been  permitted  the 
solace  of  this  great  consolation. 

"  'Tis  little,  yet  it  looks,  in  truth, 
As  if  the  quiet  bones  were  blest 
Among  familiar  names  to  rest, 
And  in  the  places  of  their  youth." 

Most  of  those  who  fell  still  repose  on  distant  fields  of  conflict, 
by  the  roadside  where  they  perished,  near  the  hospitals  where 
tfiev  languished,  in  the  prison-pens,  where  privations  wrought 
their  fearfiil  tortures,  or  in  the  cemeteries  where  the  nation  has 
garnered  up  their  mortal  remains.  While  we  do  honor  to  the 
few  of  the  fallen  who  are  buried  here,  we  will  tenderly  remem- 
ber also  with  them  the  vast  sacramental  host  that  perished  in 
the  stern  strife  of  civil  war.  Sacred  be  the  spots  where  lie  the 
heroic  dead,  and  sanctified  by  their  burial  in  it  be  the  whole 
land  they  saved.  The  re-united  country  shall  be  the  perpetual 
and  proudest  monument  which  the  nation  can  dedicate  to  their 
names  and  memories.  Let  these  children,  bearing  flowers  to 
deck  the  graves  of  fallen  heroes,  remember  ever  that  the 
soldiers,  whose  graves  they  bestrew  with  the  flowers  of  spring, 
loved  their  country — that  they  fought  for  it,  suffered  for  it,  and 
died  for  it.  It  was  sweet  and  honorable  for  them  thus  to  die. 
It  was  for  them  sweeter  to  perish  for  their  country  rL  :i  to  have 
lived  to  ha.ve  seen  her  dismembered,  dishonored,  and  abased. 
Their  example  teaches  you  to  love  your  native  land.  Learn, 
then,  from  them  how  exalted  is  the  virture  of  patriotism ;  let 
childhood  and  youth  this  day,  as  they  strew  flowers  upon  the 
graves  of  the  patriot  dead,  resolve  they  will  ever  be  loyal  to 
their  country,  devoted  to  her  service — that  they  will  cherish  her 
honor  and  guard  her  fame. 

At  the  close  of  Mr.  Parker's  address  a  prayer  was  offered,  and 
the  children  in  procession  laid  their  floral  offerings  upon  the 
grave  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Wilson,  where  they  had  gathered, 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  151 

and  then  visited  and  decked  the  other  graves  with  flowers. 
Sorrow-stricken  kindred,  as  they  beheld  this  rite  performed  by 
children's  Imnds  over  the  lust  of  their  lost  and  loved  ones, 
returned  to  their  home*  with  hearts  chastened  and  ennobled  by 
these  kindly  offices  to  the  loyal  dead  of  the  great  Rebellion. 

AT  LYNN,  MASS. 

The  ceremony  of  strewing  with  flowers  the  graves  of  those 
soldiers  who  fell  in  the  late  war,  was  performed  in  the  city  of 
Lynn,  by  Post  No.  5,  G.  A.  R.,  in  an  impressive  and  interesting 
manner,  on  Saturday  afternoon,  May  30.  The  fact  that  these  sad 
rites  were  generally  observed  throughout  the  loyal  States,  added 
to  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion,  and  as  the  procession  moved 
along,  the  sound  of  distant  cann/>n.  which  were  being  fired  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Boston,  boomed  a  mournful  requiem  on  the 
ear.  The  weather,  though  far  from  being  bright  or  spring-like, 
was  yet  a  trifle  more  favorable  than  that  to  which  we  have  of 
late  been  accustomed.  Though  a  thick  mist  hung  like  a  pall 
over  the  earth,  still  the  rain  kept  oft*  until  the  evening,  when  the 
ceremonies  were  nearly  concluded.  The  afternoon  was  par- 
tially observed  as  a  half-holiday,  and  a  large  crowd  of  people 
wended  their  way  towards  Pine  Grove  Cemetery,  to  witness 
the  procession  and  the  ceremonies.  The  national  colors  were 
displayed  at  half-mast  from  the  various  flagstafis  in  the  city, 
and  suggested  a  thousand  tender  and  patriotic  associations.  The 
members  of  the  Post,  to  the  number  of  about  one  hundred  and 
thirty,  under  the  command  of  Post  Commander  Gardner  S. 
Morse,  mustered  at  Cadet  Hall  at  one  o'clock,  and  formed  in 
procession  in  the  following  order : 

Escort  of  Police. 
Aids.  Marshal.  Aids. 

Lynn  Brass  Band. 

Post  No.  5,  G.  A.  R. 

Disabled  soldiers,  in  carriages. 

Former  members  of  the  army  and  navy. 

The  procession  looked  exceedingly  well,  each  member  of  the 
Post  being  becomingly  dressed  in  a  plain  suit  of  black,  with 
fatigue  cap,  white  gloves,  and  a  rosette  of  white  and  black 
satin.  Each  man  bore  a  wreath,  or  one  or  more  bouquets  of 
flowers,  some  of  which  were  of  a  very  choice  description.  The 
bright  green  leaves  and  brilliant  blossoms  contrasted  pleasantly 
with  the  dark  dress  of  the  men,  and  shed,  as  the  procession 
passed,  a  grateful  fragrance  on  the  air. 

The  column  first  passed  through  Market,  Broad  and  Union 
streets,  to  the  Eastern  Cemetery,  where  the  graves  of  the  soldiers 


152  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

buried  there  were  decorated,  the  band  playing  a  dirge.  From 
thence  they  marched  through  Chestnut,  Broad,  Exchange, 
Union,  Washington,  Monroe,  Market,  Summer,  Commercial  and 
South  Common  streets  to  the  Western  Burying  Ground,  where 
the-  Mime  ceremonies  were  performed,  the  bell  of  the  Second 
Universalist  Church  being  tolled  during  the  time.  They  then 
marched  up  North  Common  street  to  the  City  Hall,  where  the 
procession  was  joined  by  His  Honor  the  Mayor,  Rev.  R.  N. 
\V  right,  and  some  invited  friends.  They  then  passed  up  Frank- 
lin and  Boston  streets  to  the  Pine  Grove  Cemetery,  where  a 
large  number  of  carriages  and  spectators  had  already  assembled. 
Marching  up  to  the  centre  of  the  Cemetery,  they  halted  in  front 
of  a  small  platform  draped  with  the  national  colors,  which  had 
been  erected  by  the  side  of  the,  Soldiers'  Lot  for  the  occasion. 
A  large  concourse  of  persons  was  assembled  at  this  point,  and 
after  a  slight  pause  Post  Commander  Morse  introduced  Rev. 
Mr.  Wright,  pastor  of  the  Second  Universalist  Church,  and  who 
himself  had  lost  a  son  in  the  war,  who  made  a  comprehensive 
and  most  impressive  prayer,  which  was  listened  to  with  pro- 
found attention — the  members  of  the  Post  remaining  uncovered 
during  the  time. 

A  select  choir,  consisting  of  Miss  M.  E.  Bartlett,  Miss  K.  M. 
Plummer,  Mr.  C.  E.  Fairbanks  and  Mr.  Edward  Butler,  then 
sang  the  beautiful  chant,  "Hear,  Father,  hear  our  Prayer." 
Post  Commander  Morse  then  spoke  as  follows : — 

COMRADES  AND  FELLOW-CITIZENS  :  I  need  not  allude  to  the 
solemnity  of  this  occasion.  I  need  not  speak  of  the  mournful 
interest  which  attaches  to  the  exercises  of  this  day,  or  the  sub- 
dued pleasure  we  all  feel  in  meeting  on  this  consecrated  ground, 
bearing  in  our  hands  these  beautiful  tributes  to  the  memory  of 
the  patriot  dead,  for  I  know  that  every  true  soldier's  heart  will 
be  strengthened,  and  quickened  by  the  ceremonies  of  the  occa*- 
sion.  In  compliance  with  orders  from  the  national  Headquar- 
ters, we  have  marched,  not  for  the  sake  of  any  ostentatious 
parade  or  public  display,  but  for  the  purpose  of  quietly  decorat- 
ing with  fresh  flowers  these  soldiers'  graves — of  raising  above 
these  still,  dead  forms  that  flag,  which,  when  they,  with  us, 
were  strong,  living  men,  through  many  marches,  sieges  and  bat- 
tles, they  followed  long,  fought  for,  loved  so  well,  and  at  last 
laid  down  their  lives  to  protect. 

Comrades  in  arms,  brave  men  !  true  men  !  martyrs  of  liberty 
— may  we  never  forget  them,  and  may  a  grateful,  prospered 
nation,  saved  by  their  valor,  ever  cherish  their  memory. 

Comrade  T.  E.  Yassar,  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Church, 
then  delivered  the  following  address  : — 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        153 

Standing  amid  these  burial  acres,  where  have  fallen  so  often 
the  mourner's  tears,  the  verdure  of  early  summer  opening 
around,  the  breeze  faintly  murmuring  througj^  these  quivering 
pines,  the  leaden  clouds  dropping  like  a  pall  over  the  graves  of 
our  dead  brothers,  we  might  well  lay  the  garlands  of  our  affec- 
tion, and  then  go  hence  in  silence,  listening  only  to  the  echoes 
of  holy  prayer.  Since  it  has  been  otherwise  arranged,  however, 
give  me  for  a  little  space  your  sympathy,  remembering  that  hu- 
man utterance  must  need  fall  below  the  level  of  the  hour. 

Not  for  the  sake  of  vain  display  have  the  pursuits  of  industry 
to-day  been  laid  aside.  Not  on  an  idle,  senseless  errand  have 
we,  with  draped  colors  and  badges  of  grief,  hither  come.  Little 
taste  have  those  who  have  shared  the  stern  realities  of  active 
service  for  sham  or  show;  but,  joining  a  brave  brotherhood 
banded  together  to  maintain  principles  struggled  for  on  many  a 
bloody  field,  we  consecrate  these  hours  to  offering  such  tribute 
as  survivors  may  to  the  memory  of  the  faithful,  now  for  earth 
no  more — men  who  fought  to  plant  the  nation's  flag  again  on 
every  staff'  whence  treason  had  torn  it,  but  who  died  with- 
out the  eight.  So  have  all  lands  and  ages  honored  their  loy- 
al sons.  Hebrew  poetry  has  few  strains  more  sadly  sweet 
than  the  dirge  chaunted  over  "  the  beauty  of  Israel "  falling 
down  in  the  dust  and  darkness  on  Gilboa's  tragic  heights; 
and  old  Greece  and  Rome  rarely  turned  out  such  processions 
as  went  with  speech,  and  song,  and  offering,  to  pay  homage 
to  their  heroic  dead. 

Not  with  such  tokens  of  gratitude  and  admiration  as  they 
were  wont  to  bear,  do  we  gather  around  this  honored  dust. 
Wonders  of  art,  weapons,  ornaments,  gems,  are  not  the  gifts  we 
bring.  More  in  keeping  with  a  purer  faith  and  tenderer  memo- 
ries the  meed.  Wreaths  woven  from  evergreen,  whose  life  the 
long  winter  has  not  chilled,  whose  tints  drifting  snows  have  not 
bleached — symbols  of  an  affection  that  abides  unwasted  and  un- 
withered — mute  prophets  of  immortality,  we  lay  upon  these 
graves.  And  also  flowers — flowers,  that  nowhere  seem  out  of 
place,  from  the  bridal  head  whereon  we  bind  them,  to  the  cold 
breast  of  the  dead  on  which  they  are  laid ;  flowers,  before 
whose  fragile  beauty  little  children  clap  their  hands,  and  the 
gray-haired  look  with  as  deep  delight — we  scatter  on  the  green 
turf  covering  brave  breasts.  Pleasant  is  the  reflection,  that  all 
through  the  land  patriots  will  so  keep  the  day.  On  the  ridgy 
slopes  of  Gettysburg,  where  thousands  rest ;  along  the  banks 
of  the  Antietam,  where  repose  most  who  fell  those  terrible  Sep- 
tember days  ;  on  Lookout  Mountain,  where  broad  acres  furnish 
sepulture  to  multitudes  gathered  from  all  adjacent  fields ;  at 


154  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Arlington,  whose  Heights  are  crowned  with  tiers  of  tombs ;  at 
Andersonville  and  Belle  Isle  and  Salisbury,  where  so  many 
ghastly  victims  rf  the  prison-pen,  true  to  the  last,  laid  down  in 
less  noted  buriaTplaces  on  Southern  soil,  holding  the  nation's 
slain  ;  in  hundreds  of  graveyards  on  Northern  plains  and  hills, 
to  which  the  brave-hearted  from  "  the  front "  were  borne  to 
await  by  the  side  of  kindred  the  awakening  hour — in  all  these 
places,  now  made  sacred  forevermore,  kind  hands  will  this  day 
lay  chaplets  from  sun  to  sun. 

Ten  years  since,  and  a  soldier's  grave  was  something  rare 
enough  to  go  out  of  the  way  to  see.  In  a  beautiful  enclosure 
on  the  Hudson,  where  in  childhood  I  often  strayed,  and  where 
the  dust  of  nearly  all  my  kindred  rests,  there  is  one  tomb  at 
which,  in  the  past,  many  stopped.  No  costly  monument  arrest- 
ed the  eye.  The  slab  was  old  and  very  plain,  but,  after  record- 
ing name  and  age,  it  added  this  simple  line — "  A  soldier  of  the 
Revolution."  Many  summers  the  grass  has  waved  on  that  un- 
adorned mound,  yet  few  passed  it  without  lingering  long  enough 
to  do  homage  to  the  hero  who  girded  on  his  sword  when  the  rod 
of  oppression  weighed  heavily,  to  win  deliverance  for  his  land. 
And  when  Time  shall  make  the  wondrous  scenes  through  which 
these  latter  days  have  led  us  seem  more  wonderful,  reverence  as 
profound  shall  be  felt  and  shown  for  the  names  of  those  who  gave 
up  life  to  preserve  what  patriot  fathers  earned.  To-day  the 
shadows  of  bereavement  yet  brood  too  heavily  over  many  a 
heart  and  home  to  see  the  great  good  which  their  sore  loss  has 
gained.  In  every  appeal  to  the  sword,  those  who  fall  are  such 
as  the  land  can  least  afford  to  lose.  It  is  not  the  aged,  whose 
work  is  nearly  done,  whose  term  of  service  naturally  soon  would 
end — not  the  feeble,  the  infirm,  the  superannuated — not  such  as 
have,  gone  aside  from  industrial  activities — for  whom  the  nation 
in  stern  straits  call.  Something  choicer  is  the  demand.  The 
strong  right  arm  which  years  have  never  weakened,  the  nerves 
that  disease  has  not  unstrung,  the  eye  which  has  not  yet  been 
robbed  of  fire,  the  limbs  that  journey  unwearied  over  leagues, 
the  face  that  neither  time  nor  pain  has  furrowed,  the  head  a 
stranger  to  gray  hairs,  the  mind  whose  perceptions  yet  are  sharp 
and  quick,  and  vigorous  and  clear,  the  will  resolute,  unfalter- 
ing, firm,  the  hopes  sanguine,  buoyant,  full  of  cheer,  the  affec- 
tions warm,  unblighted,  fresh — this  is  the  material  of  which  a 
government  makes  its  armies,  and  which  so  fearfully  fast  it  uses 
up.  And  then  there  will  rise  thoughts  not  only  of  what  the 
lost  were,  but  of  what  they  might  have  become.  How  many  a 
father  had  plans  matured,  reaching  beyond  his  own  days — plans 
that  sons  were  to  carry  out  when  the  sire  was  gone.  How 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  155 

many  anticipated  having  the  child's  stout  arm  to  lean  on  as  the 
step  grew  tremulous  and  slow.  How  parental  pride  pictured 
success;  for  those  in  whom  existence  was  bound  up — prizes 
gained,  positions  won.  How  the  neighborhood,  the  State,  the 
nation,  counted  on  what  its  young  men  should  achieve.  And 
when,  instead  of  finding  such  expectations  realized,  the  fair,  the 
promising,  the  loved,  were  mowed  down  in  swaths,  it  was  not 
strange  that,  at  the  first,  smitten  sensibilities  writhed  in  agony  ; 
not  strange  if  even  to-day  sad  hearts,  looking  on  these  ceremo- 
nies through  tears,  remember  only  the  fearful  price  they  helped 
pay  for  the  nation's  ransom  ;  not  strange  if  hearts  that  have 
gone  through  these  lesser  Gethsemanes,  find  over  them  darkness 
brooding  still.  But  to  the  graves  on  which  tear-drops  yet  fall  like 
rain,  they  by-and-by  shall  come  with  emotions  tender  and  sub- 
dued. Gone  will  be  t^ie  anguish  under  which  they  have  been 
walking  bowed  ;  gone  the  bitterness  which  has  turned  their  day 
to  night,  and  remembering  chiefly  the  issues  of  the  bloody 
agony,  catching  the  holy  hallelujahs  in  which  the  thunderous 
discords  once  shattering  the  air  sunk  away,  this  shall  be  the  tes- 
timony borne — "  Our  beloved  perished  not  in  vain — the  reward 
was  weightier  than  the  sacrifice — the  glory  greater  than  the 
gloom." 

To  settle  the  question  whether  this  nation  should  perish  or 
endure,  and  solve  the  greater  problem  whether  popular  govern- 
ment was  possible,  Lynn  sent  to  the  army  and  navy  more  than 
three  thousand  men.  One  hundred  and  fifty  of  this  number 
were  lost  in  actual  service,  and  quite  a  number  more,  honorably 
discharged,  came  home  only  to  get  a  welcome  given  and  die. 
About  a  score  wasted  in  Southern  prisons.  Their  remains  lie 
with  other  sufferers,  tar  away  ;  their  names  are  on  the  Repub- 
lic's martyr  roll.  We  have  visited  about  seventy  graves  to-day, 
and  on  them  left  the  tribute  of  our  love.  These,  probably,  are 
all  who  found  burial  here.  Within  this  lot,  consecrated  to  such 
as  fell,  some  more  enduring  memorial  doubtless  will  one  day 
rise.  But  be  it  never  so  massive,  so  majestic,  so  imposing,  the 
results  they  contributed  to  secure  will  be  more  grand  aiid  last- 
ing far.  Great  truths  are  longer-lived  than  granite  or  marble  or 
bronze.  Not  yet  do  we  see  all  for  which  they  wrought  attained. 
In  the  beginning,  self-preservation  alone  was  aimed  at,  but  un- 
consciously every  blow  was  to  tell  on  something  beyond.  Little 
as  we  knew  it — either  the  living  or  the  dead — something  more 
than  the  nation's  life  was  to  be  purchased  through  the  vast  ex- 
penditure of  pain.  Immense  and  intense  as  was  the  anguish, 
there  has  been  ordained  for  it  remedial  power.  The  forms  of 
our  beloved  were  not  shrouded  in  pale  or  bloody  death,  happy 


156  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

homes  were  not  riven  or  darkened,  the  nation  did  not  pass 
through  such  convulsive  throes,  merely  to  determine  whether 
"government  of  the  people,  by  the  people  and  for  the  people," 
should  prevail,  or  perish  from  the  earth.  Deliverance  from  long 
iniquity  was  to  result  from  the  grief,  and  pain,  and  loss.  And 
when  that  shall  have  fully  come — when  a  merciful  God  shall 
have  restored  our  waste  places— when  the  magnificent  temple 
of  American  Liberty  shall  stand  out  in  its  august  and  radiant 
beauty — when  the  land,  thoroughly  renovated,  shall  send  to 
heaven  one  grateful,  glad  thanksgiving — when  the  crime  and 
oppression  which  engendered  the  strife  shall  not  only  have  been 
shattered,  but  utterly  extirpated — when  the  Union  shall  have 
been  perfectly  reestablished  on  a  more  solid  and  so  more  endur- 
ing basis — when  tranquil  millions  dwell  in  a  better  peace  than 
before,  under  the  shelter  of  institutions  totally  renewed — when 
a  purified  people  shall  send  forth  its  benfgn  ministries  wherever 
its  commerce  whitens  the  sea  or  its  language  greets  human  ears, 
then  shall  the  sublime  compensation  for  all  this  waste  and  wreck 
of  life  appear;  then  shall  a  fit  monumental  pillar  over  the  loyal 
dead  have  been  reared.  When  a  policy  of  reconstruction,  based 
on  the  everlasting  principle  of  right,  shall  fully  have  prevailed 
— when,  where  war's  ravages  have  been  sternest,  cities  shall 
spring  up,  and  universities  rise,  and  institutions  founded  in  love 
send  their  blessed  influence,  widening  like  an  expanding  wave's, 
then  shall  it  be  seen  that  the  pillars  of  this  prosperity  were 
planted  in  soldiers'  graves,  and  it  shall  be  their  glorious  memo- 
rial as  long  as  the  land  keeps  on  its  high  career. 

And  doubt  not,  friends,  that  such  a  consummation  shall  be 
reached.  The  air  may  still  be  thick  with  bodihgs  of  ill,  but 
they  shall  vanish  by-and-by.  Why,  where  is  now  the  snow  that 
last  winter  blocked  the  thoroughfares  of  travel,  and  flushed  the 
fields,  and  choked  the  mountain  gorges?  Where  the  Arctic 
sleet,  the  death-frosts  that  stripped  the  forests,  the  bitter  cold 
sheeting  hundreds  of  leagues  with  its  icy  palls  ?  They  have  be- 
come this  May -day's  crystal  brook.  They  are  in  the  air  we 
breathe,  in  the  tender  vegetation  springing,  in  the  wealth  of 
bloom  beginning  to  gladden  the  eye.  And  the  vexing  questions 
that  yet  hang  on  our  horizon  and  make  settled  peace  seem  far 
away,  shall  as  harmlessly  vanish,  leaving  but  "  the  blessed  mem- 
ory of  rights  they  vindicated  and  the  honorable  scars  of  wrongs 
which  they  effectually  redressed." 

Citizens  of  Lynn,  standing  with  us  around  these  honored 
graves,  it  remains  for  you  not  only  to  be  here  dedicated  afresh  to 
those  interests  for  which  the  departed  gave  "the  last  full 
measure  of  devotion,"  but  to  meet  the  issues  of  the  present  and 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        157 

face  the  prospects  of  the  future  with  cheerful  hope.  Gloomy 
forebodings  never  more  misbecame  place  or  hour.  Recalling, 
as  tlit'st-  services  do,  days  which  tried  men's  souls,  let  them 
nerve  every  heart  with  courage.  What  though  strife  and  con- 
fusion and  contention  are  not  yet  utterly  done  away  ?  The  Lord 
God  omnipotent  reigneth,  and  for  the  right  good  shall  emerge 
from  these  still  disordered  times. 

"  Has  all  this  sacred  blood  been  shed, 
Have  we  thus  mourned  our  glorious  dead, 
And  shall  the  end  be  wrath  and  woe  ? 
The  knell  of  Freedom's  overthrow, 
A  country  riven  ? 

"  It  will  not  be ; 

We  trust,  O  God,  Thy  gracious  power 
To  aid  us  in  our  every  darkening  hour; 
This  be  our  prayer — O  Father,  save 
A  people's  freedom  from  its  grave ; 
All  praise  to  Tbee." 

Friends  of  the  patriot  dead,  we  bleud  our  sympathies  with 
yours,  ;ui(i  give  them  expression  in  the  offering  of  the  hour. 
But  not  in  tliis  way  alone.  In  forms  more  practical  and  tangi- 
ble would  we  speak  our  love.  To  cover  the  defenceless  heads 
of  orphanage  and  widowhood,  left  shelterless  by  the  calamities 
of  war,  to  support  the  weakened,  wearied  steps  of  age,  from 
which  the  strong  staff  was  taken,  is  in  part  our  work.  To  our 
care  fallen  comrades  committed  their  dependent  ones-%,  sacred 
trust.  We  accept  the  obligation  thus  imposed  to  the  full  meas- 
ure of  our  power.  And  now,  while  we  share  with  you  in  the 
chastened  grief  these  ceremonies  will  naturally  awake,  give  us, 
too,  to  share  in  the  proud  remembrance  that  these  lost  sons,  and 
husbands,  and  fathers,  and  brothers,  fell  in  the  high  places  of 
the  land,  contending  for  liberty  and  law.  Give  us  to  share  with 
you  the  consoling  reflection,  that,  though  they  perished,  the 
country  lived  ;  and  permit  us,  with  you  who  gave  them  up,  to 
send  out  the  all-hail  of  that  grand  future  sown  in  tears  and 
blood. 

Comrades  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  other 
soldiers  participating  in  these  solemnities,  our  dead  companions 
seem  mustering  again  and  falling  into  line.  As  the  Eastern 
warrior  imagined  that  the  shades  of  his  slain  brothers  closed 
often  around  him,  so,  to  our  fancy,  those  once  with  us  on  march 
and  post,  in  camp  and  field,  afloat  and  ashore,  seem  coming  back 
as  we  thus  hallow  then*  memories.  Again  the  drums  are  roll- 
ing, and  colors  tattered  in  a  score  of  battles  wave.  In  mighty 
square  and  column  form  a  third  of  a  million  men,  who  did  all 


158  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

tlmt  arm  of  mortal  might,  and  then  died  where  the  missiles  of 
destruction  flew  thick^  or  sickened  in  the  tangled  swamp,  or 
starved  in  the  foul  stockade,  or  sank  jn  the  boundless  blue. 
Names  that  history  will  embalm  are  in  those  battalions,  but 
thousands  more,  iust  as  faithfnl,  whose  services  shall  go  umnen- 
tioned,  are  also  there. 

"  Gathered  home  from  the  grave, 

Risen  from  sun  and  rain, 
Rescued  from  wind  and  wave, 

Out  of  the  stormy  main, 
The  legions. of  our  Brave 

Are  all  in  their  lines  again." 

Be  their  presence  an  inspiration  to  all  honorable  deeds,  to  un- 
swerving patriotism,  to  a  pure,  unselfish,  noble  life.  Returning 
from  these  rites,  may  sublimer  purposes  be  stirred  and  aspira- 
tions reaching  out  after  immortality  be  strengthened. 

And  now,  as  the  sun  hastens  to  its  going  down,  we  turn 
away.  Farewell,  brothers,  to  whose  memory  we  have  given 
these  hours.  Your  work  has  ended,  but  that  work  the  latest 
age  the  nation  sees  shall  not  outlast.  When  the  strange  drama 
of  its  history  shall  have  closed  with  songs  of  praise,  then  shall 
be  seen,  as  cannot  now,  how  wondrous  the  harvest  of  life  and 
progress  gathered  from  seeds  of  decay  and  death  sown  beneath 
these  mounds ;  how  great  the  issue  and  how  grand  the  reward 
of  all  such  sacrifice  ! 

tfp  "  Here  let  them  rest ; 

And  summer's  beat  and  winter's  cold 
Shall  glow  and  freeze  above  this  mould — 
A  thousand  years  shall  pass  away — 
A  nation  still  shall  mourn  this  clay, 
Which  now  is  blest." 

The  ceremony  of  strewing  the  graves  with  flowers  was  then 
reverently  and  mournfully  performed,  but,  before  it  could  be 
concluded,  the  rain  commenced  to  fall,  and  umbrellas  in  great 
force  were  quickly  pressed  into  service.  Returning  to  the  plat- 
form, Mr.  J.  Warren  Newhall  read  the  following 


POEM. 


Friends  of  the  noble  slain,  we  come  to-day 
To  scatter  flowers  upon  the  soldier's  grave ; 

Here  Love  and  Gratitude  together  pay 
The  heart's  fond  homage  to  our  Fallen  Brave. 

You  could  not  gather  for  a  holier  rite ; 

To  pluck  the  beauteous  flowers  of  rare  perfume, 
And  weave  them,  tinted  by  Heaven's  lovely  light, 

Into  a  garland  for  the  hero's  tomb. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        159 

What  fitter  offering  could  Remembrance  bring, 
Than  these  fair  offspring  of  the  fragrant  bowers  ? 

Seeming  like  symbols  of  the  '•  Eternal  Spring," 

Or  God's  pure  thoughts  written  on  earth  in  flowers. 

Aye,  bring  fresh  wreaths  to  deck  the  hallowed  spot 

Where  rest  the  ashes  of  our  honored  dead  ; 
Which  from  the  b.ittle-field  ye  gently  brought, 

To  lay  within  the  warrior's  dreamless  bed. 

All  through  the  land  for  which  they  nobly  died, 

Unto  these  shrines  shall  kindred  ones  repair, 
To  kneel  o'er  those  who  fell  in  manhood's  pride, 

And  lay  Affection's  floral  tribute  there. 

Thus,  wheresoe'er  the  soldier  shall  be  laid, 
'Neath  Auburn's  costly  tombs  of  sculptured  stone, 
Or  in  the  humble  churchyard's  quiet  shade, 

There  let  those  emblems  of  our  love  be  strewn. 

Thence,  floating  upward  to  th'  o'erarching  skies, 

Heaven's  azure  canopy  above  them  hung, 
A  richer,  purer  incense  shall  arise 

Than  ever  priest  from  .golden  censer  swung. 

Not  for  mere  hero-worship  are  we  here, 

Adoring  Fame  born  of  conflict  and  death, 
But  our  beloved  ones'  memory  to  revere — 

Our  Youth,  our  Pride,  our  Valor,  and  our  Worth. 

We  saw  them  from  our  threatened  homes  depart, 
To  strike  for  Freedom  an  avenging  blow  ;  * 

And,  pressing  back  the  yearnings  of  the  heart, 
Staying  the  tears  of  love,  we  bade  them  "  Go." 

We  heard  of  them  upon  the  battle-field, 

And  glorious  was  the  record  which  we  read  ; 
Marching  the  sword  of  Liberty  to  wield, 

Till  Treason  quailed  before  their  mighty  tread. 

Oh,  how  we  trembled  when  the  pending  strife 
Sent  its  vague  rumors  winging  through  the  air ! 

Lest  in  the  cruel  fray  some  precious  life 
Had  for  the  country's  weal  been  given  there. 

And  when  'twas  told  "  the  battle  had  been  won," 
Our  loved  ones  safe  from  harm,  and  all  was  well, 

How  fervently  we  thanked  the  Eternal  One, 
How  our  glad  hearts  with  gratitude  did  swell  I 

Then  came  the  tidings  of  their  gallant,  deeds, 

How  they  hurled  back  the  fiery,  fearful  tide ; 
Of  how  they  saved  Columbia  in  her  need — 

Then,  now  we  blessed  them  in  deep  loyal  pride. 


160  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Once  more  we  heard  of  them  ;  but  ah  !  we  bowed 
AY i tli  brow  convulsed  by  grieC,  and  quivering  breath, 

To  learn  that  those  of  whom  we  were  so  proud, 
Lay  cold  and  still  in  the  embrace  of  Death. 

Oh  1  then  how  empty  seemed  the  sound  of  Fame — 

How  dear  was  victory  at  such  a  price  ! 
Oft  we  repeated  o'er  the  cherished  name, 

And  thought  the  good  less  than  the  sacrifice. 

With  careful  hand  we  raised  the  lifeless  forms, 
And  homeward  gently  bore  our  cherished  dead, 

To  lay  them  where  no  cruel  battle-storm 
Should  sweep  in  ruthless  fury  o'er  their  bed. 

We  placed  them  tenderly  beneath  the  sod, 
Whispering,  "  O  Earth,  take  back  the  dust  ye  gave ; " 

Then,  bruised  and  bleeding  from  Affliction's  rod, 
We  turned  in  sorrow  from  our  Fallen  Brave. 

Then  Liberty,  Columbia's  genius,  spake  : 

"  Precious,  indeed,  are  lives  like  these  to  give ; 

Weep,  but  repine  not,  though  fond  ties  may  break ; 
They  died,  but  ah  !  they  dkd  that  I  might  live. 

"  Yea,  weep,  yet  murmur  not ;  rather  rejoice 

That  ye  could  give  such  treasures  in  my  name ; 
Their  deeds  gleam  out  like  gems  of  rarest  choice 
Set  in  imperishable  crowns  of  Fame. 

u  Ye  will  forget  them  never,  but  shall  tell 

Unto  your  children's  children  how  they  fought 
Beneath  my  starry  emblem — how  they  bravely  fell, 
And  Freedom's  peerless  heritage  re-bought. 

"  And  wheresoe'er  a  soldier's  sepulchre 

Is  made,  thither  the  Comrade's  feet  shall  tend, 
When  Spring's  soft  breath  and  sunny  pinions  stir 
TJie  bending  spray,  where  birds  their  chorus  blend. 

"  There  shall  they  bring  from  Flora's  fairest  bowers 

The  choicest  blooms  by  sunshine  e'er  caressed, 
Till  every  grave  shall  seem  a  gate  of  flowers, 
Through  which  the  sleeper's  soul  passed  home  to  rest." 

Thus  counselled  Liberty ;  and  we  come  forth 
To  accept  and  execute  the  high  design  ; 

Surviving  Comrades  through  the  loyal  North 
Will  make  each  hero's  grave  the  patriot's  shrine. 

And  we  will  count  this  as  the  choicest  day 
In  the  year's  calendar,  when  we  renew 

Our  love  perennial,  and  these  offerings  lay 
In  reverence  to  the  valiant  and  the  true. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        161 

Blest  privilege,  thus  to  honor  Valor's  tomb— 

An  hour  unto  their  worth  to  consecrate  ! 
Perchance  e'en  now  from  their  4>lest  spirit-home 

Their  blessings  float  down  through  the  pearly  gate. 

They  died  defending  Freedom  'gainst  her  foes ; 

They're  sleeping  for  the  flag  that  bears  no  stain  ; 
Oh,  better  thus  to  die,  and  thus  repose, 

Than  to  live  on  in  Treason's  shameless  train. 

But  some,  alas  !  are  resting  where  they  fell ; 

Not  e'en  a  rude  stone  marks  the  lonely  spot ; 
Ah  !  who  shall  visit  that  sequestered  dell — 

By  what  foud  hand  shall  garlands  there  be  brought  ? 

Kind  Heaven  its  angel-messengers  shall  send, 
To  linger  where  the  tangled  fern-leaves  wave, 

With  dew  and  sunshine  that  lone  spot  to  tend, 
Till  sweet  wild  flowers  shall  deck  the  unmarked  grav  . 

Thus  shall  it  be,  that  not  one  resting-place 

Shall  e'er  neglected  or  forgotten  be, 
But  o'er  these  mounds  shall  Honor,  Love,  and  Praise 

Perform  the  rites  of  'Memory's  ministry. 

And  on  this  sadly  sweet  memorial  day, 

The  stranger  who  the  noisy  city  shuns, 
Shall  gaze  upon  your  sacred  task,  to  say,  . 

"  See  how  Columbia  loves'  her  martyred  sons." 

Rest,  hallowed  dust !  the  affection  we  bore  ye 

Ever  shall  glow  like  a  halo  of  light ; 
Remembrance  shall  ever  her  vigils  keep  o'er  ye, 

True  as  the  stars  to  their  mission  by  night. 

Peacefully  rest,  while  we  tell  the  proud  story 

To  those  who  assemble  these  honors  to  pay, 
Of  how  the  bright  garlands  of  Earth's  highest  glory 

Were  bound  round  your  brows  as  your  life  ebbed  away. 

Glorified  spirits  in  regions  immortal, 

Shades  of  our  martyrs  who  over  us  bend, 
Upward  ye  speed,  through  the  fair  pearly  portal, 

Where  the  grand  music  of  seraphims  blend. 

Changed  are  life's  joys  for  enjoyments  supernal, 

Shadows  laid  by  for  the  substance  above, 
Earth's  transient  fame  for  the  glories  eternal 

Bestowed  in  the  mansions  of  Infinite  Lova 

Friends  of  the  fallen,  let  holiest  emotions 

Inspire  us  with  love  for  this  beautiful  trust ; 
Smile  on  us,  Heaven,  as  in  loyal  devotion 

We  hallow  their  memory  and  honor  their  dust. 

11 


162  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

The  choir  then  sang  the  following  hymn : 
Strew  all  their  graves  with  flowers — 

They  for  their  country  died, 
And  freely  gave  their  lives  for  ours — 

Their  country's  hope  and  pride. 

Bring  flowers  to  deck  each  sod, 

Where  rests  their  sacred  dust ; 
Though  gone  from  earth,  they  live  to  God,  % 

Their  everlasting  Trust ! 

Fearless  in  Freedom's  cause,     . 

They  suffered,  toiled,  and  bled, 
And  died  obedient  to  her  laws, 

By  truth  and  conscience  led. 

Oft  as  the  year  returns, 

She  o'er  their  graves  shall  weep, 
And  wreathe  with  flowers  their  funeral  urns, 

Their  memory  clear  to  keep. 

Bring  flowers  of  early  Spring 

To  deck  each  soldier's  grave, 
And  Summer's  fragrant  roses  bring — 

They  died  our  land  to  save. 

After  the  singing  of  the  hymn,  the  procession  re-formed  and 
marched  back  to  the  hall,  where  it  was  dismissed.  The  Catho- 
lic burying-ground,  owing  to  the  extreme  distance  from  the 
centre  of  the  city,  was  visited  in  detail  by  a  number  of  soldiers 
in  carriages,  by  whom  the  ceremony  was  performed.  At  the 
request  of  Post  No.  11,  of  Charlestown,  three  soldiers  were  also 
sent  to  Nahant  to  decorate  the  grave  of  Comrade  E.  F.  Whit- 
ney, of  the  Fifth  Mass.  Regiment,  who  lies  buried  there. 

AT  SAUSM,  MASSACHUSETTS. 

It  was  a  fitting  and  beautiful  resolve  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic  to  adopt  the  ceremony,  long  practiced  among  the 
French  and  introduced  into  the  South  by  the  French  settlers,  of 
decorating  the  graves  of  their  dead  comrades,  and  it  touched  a 
chord  in  the  popular  heart,  and  was  responded  to  with  quick 
sympathy.  The  members  of  Post  34,  of  Salem,  did  themselves 
honor  on  this  occasion.  Their  appeal  for  flowers  and  evergreens 
was  promptly  answered,  and  at  their  rooms  in  Essex  Block,  on 
Friday  and  Saturday  forenoons,  were  many  ladies  (several  of 
whom  had  themselves  yielded  up  on  their  country's  altar  those 
they  held  most  dear),  busily  preparing  wreaths,  crosses,  and 
bouquets,  from  the  masses  of  flowers  and  evergreens  sent  there 
for  the  decoration  of  the  graves  of  the  loved  ones,  the  silent  tear 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  103 

and  occasionally  a  trembling  of  the  active  fingers,  attesting  the 
emotions  of  their  hearts  as  they  tastefully  arranged  the  beautiful 
and  fragrant  emblems. 

At  half  past  one  o'clock  the  line  was  formed  in  front  of  the 
Post  Headquarters,  in  St.  Peter  street,  and  at  two  o'clock  the 
procession  moved  through  Essex  and  Washington  streets  to  the 
Tabernacle  Church.  First  came  a  platoon  of  the  Salem  police, 
in  uniform,  under  the  command  of  Assistant-Marshal  Dalrym- 
ple,  followed  by  the  Salem  Brass  Band ;  Post  34  as  escort,  in 
uniform  of  forage  caps,  dark  clothes,  and  white  gloves;  four 
barouches  containing  the  orator  and  chaplains  of  the  day,  and 
disabled  soldiers  ;  soldiers  and  sailors  of  the  late  war,  with  the 
Sutton  Drum  Corps.  Each  man  bore  a  bouquet  or  wreath,  and 
the  carriages  were  loaded  with  beautiful  flowers  and  floral  em- 
blems. Gen.  Pierson,  the  Post  Commander,  had  the  direction 
as  Chief  Marshal. 

The  church  pulpit  was  covered  with  the  Union  flag,  and 
bouquets,  wreaths,  crosses,  and  stars,  were  tastefully  arranged 
on  the  rear  wall  and  other  appropriate  places.  The  services 
were  opened  by  an  organ  voluntary,  by  Mr.  "William  Agge,  the 
organist  of  the  church,  who  officiated  in  this  capacity  during 
the  musical  exercises.  Then  followed  a  responsive  chant,  the 
46th  Psalm,  u  God  is  our  refnge  and  strength,  a  very  present 
help  in  trouble  " — the  reading  by  Rev.  E.  S.  Atwood,  of  the 
South  Church,  chaplain  of  the  5th  Massachusetts  Regiment. 
The  choir  consisted  of  a  fine  quartette  of  male  voices — Stephen 
P.  Driver,  Capt.  George  M.  Whipple,  William  H.  Whipple,  and 
Dr.  George  S.  Woodman — whose  rendering  of  all  the  selections 
was  much  admired.  The  prayer,  fervent  and  impressive,  was 
by  Rev.  E.  B.  Wilson,  of  the  .North  Church,  chaplain  of  the 
24th  Regiment.  The  following  beautiful  Ode,  written  for  the 
occasion  by  Mr.  Stephen  P.  Driver,  the  chorister,  formerly  Q. 
M.  S.  of  the  22d  Regiment,  was  next  read  by  Chaplain  Atwood, 
and  snng  by  the  quartette,  to  the  music  of  a  fine  German  hymn, 
composed  for  male  voices : 

ORIGINAL   ODE. 

Where  our  martyred  dead  are  slain, 

Moaning  pines,  and  sobbing  sea, 
Shronded  hills,  and  tears  of  rain, 

Join  in  Nature's  Litany. 

Freedom's  floral  incense  flings 

Odorous  sweets  through  all  the  land;  • 

While  Columbia  grateful  sings 
Requiems  to  her  Hero-band. 


164  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Camp  Eternal  gained  at  last, 

Victory  ivon,  :md  inarches  o'er, 
Trumpet's  blare,  or  bugle's  blast 

Breaks  tlieir  bivouac  nevermore. 

Honor  to  the  B:aves!  who  fell 

Face  to  face  with  Hoary  Wrong! 
Honor  to  the  naim-s  which  dwell 

Shrined  in  Fame's  Hi>toric  Song! 

Appropriate  selections  from  Scripture  were  then  read  by 
Rev.  S.  F.  Chase,  of  the  Lafayette  street  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  chaplain  of  the  3d  Maine  Regiment,  followed  by  the 
"Gloria  Tibi"  from  the  choir,  after  which  Gen.  Cogswell  de- 
livered a  most  impressive  and  eloquent  address,  which  was  lis- 
tened to  with  the  closest  attention  by  the  crowded  audience, 
whose  emotion  during  its  delivery  could  not  be  repressed : 

ADDBES8   OF   GEN.    WM.    COGSWELL. 

COMRADES  ASTD  FRIENDS:  The  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
comprising  now  nearly  all  of  the  honorably  discharged  soldiers 
and  sailors  of  the  late  war,  and  organized  for  the  purpose  of 
perpetuating  the  memory  of  fallen  comrades,  and  assisting  their 
families,  has  set  apart  this  thirtieth  day  of  May  for  each  Post 
of  the  Society  to  visit  the  soldiers'  graves  in  its  vicinity,  and, 
with  appropriate  ceremonies,  to  pay  the  respect  due  to  the 
memory  of  those  whose  noble  and  willing  deaths  in  the  great 
struggle  have  secured  to  us  peace,  universal  liberty,  self-respect, 
and  the  respect  of  others. 

And  to-day,  throughout  every  loyal  State  in  the  Union,  and 
happily  in  some  of  the  States  lately  in  rebellion,  the  graves  of 
the  loyal  dead,  who  fell  in  the  defence  of  their  country  and 
their  flag,  are  being  decked  with  flowers,  those  appropriate  em- 
blems of  love  and  remembrance,  at  the  hands  of  their  living 
comrades-in-arms,  and  their  relatives  and  friends — a  just,  and 
honorable,  and  most  becoming  tribute  from  the  living  to  the 
heroic  dead ;  from  those  to  whom  has  been  secured  forever  the 
rich  boon  of  civil  and  religious  freedom  to  those  who  fought 
and  died  to  secure  it.  It  is  the  tribute  of  genuine  loyalty  and 
sincere  affection,  independent  of  sect,  party,  or  condition,  to 
those  immortal  heroes,  whose  graves  are  in  every  churchyard, 
or  whose  bones  lie  whitening  on  every  battle-field  from  the 
Heights  of  Gettysburg  to  the  waters  of  the  Rio  Grande. 

And  in  this  Christian  duty,  in  this  grateful,  noble  work, 
both  far  and  wide,  in  city,  town  and  hamlet,  on  the  slopes  of  the 
Pacific,  by  the  rolling  prairie,  in  the  valley,  and  on  the  hill-side, 
by  the  lonely  grave  unmarked  by  stone  or  slab,  but  which  has 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  165 

still  its  silent  and  loving  watcher,  meet,  to-day,  the  mother 
whose  son  lias  gone,  the  wife  whose  husband  has  been  taken 
from  her,  the  sister  with  a  brother  lost,  and  the  child  whose 
father  gave  up  his  life  in  battle — meeting  with  their  tears  and 
pray  ITS.  and  with  their  offerings  to  beautify  the  spot  where  their 
love  and  hopes  are  buried;  meeting  to  renew  their  grateful  re- 
membrance and  to  realize  once  more  their  loss  of  those  they 
loved  so  well,  and  whose  souls,  in  the  dread  day  of  battle,  went 
up  to  God  in  glory. 

Here  meet  the  returned  soldier  and  sailor,  the  able  and  the 
maimed,  those  who  have  fought,  and  those  who  have  both 
fought  and  bled,  by  the  side  of  those  to  whose  memory  they  now 
do  honor — here  they  meet  to  mark  their  love  and  reverence  of 
the  Union  dead,  whose  valor  they  have  so  often  witnessed,  and 
to  whose  willing  sacrifices  they  can  so  well  attest  —  here  they 
meet  to  carry  out  one  of  the  chief  objects  of  their  extensive  or- 
ii':i!:ixation,  u  respect  to  the  memory  of  their  dead  "  and  "  a  care 
for  the  comfort  of  those  they  left  behind."  . 

And  here  also  meet  those  friends  of  the  soldier,  who  were 
so  steadfast  in  war,  and  now  in  peace  are  still  so  true ;  those 
friends,  whose  willing  hearts  and  hajids,  and  generous  purses, 
filled  to  overflowing  the  great  storehouses  of  the  Sanitary  Com- 
mission. As  they  came  once  with  their  gifts  of  comfort  and 
healing  and  to  preserve  life,  so  now  they  come  to-day  with 
flowers  to  keep  green  the  memory  and  the  fame  of  those  who 
died,  so  many  of  them,  with  words  of  blessing  on  their  lips  for 
the  good  angels  of  that  noble  charity. 

And  well  is  it,  that  in  this  house  of  God,  with  prayer  and 
song  and  the  reading  of  the  Holy  Word,  we  begin  the  dis- 
charge of  our  part  of  this  grand,  this  solemn,  and  this  sacred 
duty.  And  in  this  holy,  reverent  work,  as  we  send  our  prayers 
to  God,  as  with  the  dust  our  tears  we  mingle,  and  as  we 
strew  with  flowers  the  sod  which  covers  these  loved  forms 
from  earth,  let  us  draw  the  veil,  for  to-day,  over  the  passions 
and  feelings  of  the  hour,  and  let  one  tear  fall,  and  one  prayer 
ascend,  for  those  who  fell,  not  for  us  but  against  us — they,  too, 
had  mothers,  and  wives,  and  sisters,  and  children,,  who  loved 
them  well,  and,  surely,  beyond  the  grave  our  feelings  of  injury 
and  wrong  should  not  extend. 

When  I  turn  from  the  wonders  and  achievements  of  this 
war  through  which  we  have  passed,  from  the  deeds  of  valor 
done  and  the  fields  of  victory  won,  from  those  heroes  who 
sprang  alike  from  the  parlor  of  the  rich  and  the  hovel  of  the 
poor,  and  from  all  the  grandeur  and  sublimity  of  that  four  years' 
conflict  for  right,  and  justice,  and  freedom,  to  the  long,  sad  list 


166  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

of  those  it  cost  to  secure  all  this,  to  those  of  our  own  whose 
li vis  went  out  in  their  country's  battles;  when  I  recall  those 
it  names,  alas!  too  many  of  them!  of  Lander  and  Merritt, 
of  Williams,  Dearborn  and  Allen,  of  Buxton,  Hodges,  Phillips, 
tin-  Batchelders,  and  Hill,  and  those  many  others,  ^not  less  be- 
.  -e  not  spoken,  but  greater  even,  because  their  valor  and 
their  sacrifices  were  to  go  down,  perhaps,  unheralded  and  unsung 
— when  I  think  of  the  one  hundred  and  twenty  graves  in  our 
midst,  and  the  many,  many  others  on  distant  fields  which  no  stone 
marks  out,  and  of  those  who  suffered  a  living  death  in  prison, 
and  whose  bones  may  never  be  recovered,  and  remember  how 
tlu-v  fought  while  life  lasted,  and  whether  victory  was  perching 
on  our  banner  or  defeat  saddening  our  hearts,  never  faltered  or 
wavered,  but  marched  on,  in  full  faith  in  the  glorious  consum- 
mation which  came  at  last ;  when  I  think  of  our  own  dead,  and 
the  almost  three  hundred  thousand  more ;  when  I  recall  those 
bulletins  from  every  blood-red  field,  which  carried  sorrow  and 
mourning  to  almost  every  household,  and  brought  to  us  the 
ead  tidings  of  those  who  had  died  that  we  might  live;  when  I 
think  of  those  victories  which  were  so  dearly  bought,  those  Union 

f  raves  whose  name  is  legion  ;  when  I  realize  the  fact  that  the 
est  were  almost  sure  to  fall  the  first ;  when  I  remember  those 
who  in  their  devotion  to  the  cause  never  thought  of  life,  and  who 
in  their  desire  to  show  the  one,  so  freely  gave  the  other,  and  of  so 
many  of  my  own  beloved  comrades  and  associates  whom  I  have 
eeen  fall,  with  a  smiling  face  to  heaven  and  their  feet  towards 
the  foe — I  feel  myself  unworthy  to  be  here,  or  to  attempt 
"to  speak  their  glory  or  their  worth. 

And  let  me  close  these  words  of  mine,  so  few  and  so  in- 
adequate to  the  grand  and  noble  theme,  with  those  purer  and 
better  words  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  himself  now  one  of  the  greatest 
and  noblest  of  the  Union  dead,  spoken  at  Gettysburg,  at  the 
Soldiers'  Cemetery : 

"  Fourscore  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers  brought  forth 
upon  this  continent  a  new  nation,  conceived  in  liberty  and  ded- 
icated to  the  proposition  that  all  men  are  created  equal.  Now 
we  are  engaged  in  a  great  civil  war,  testing  whether  that  nation 
— or  any  nation,  so  conceived  and  so  dedicated — can  long  en- 
dure. We  are  met  on  a  great  battle-field  of  that  war.  We  are 
met  to  dedicate  a  portion  of  it  as  the  final  resting-place  of  those 
who  have  given  their  lives  that  that  nation  might  live.  It  is 
altogether  fitting  and  proper  that  we  should  do  this.  But  in  a  lar- 

fer  sense,  we  cannot  dedicate,  we  cannot  consecrate,  we  cannot 
allow  this  ground.     The  brave  men,  living  and  dead,  who  strug- 
gled here,  have  consecrated  it  far  above  our  power  to  add   or  to 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  167 

detract.  The  world  will  very  little  note  nor  long  remember 
what  we  x<iy  here ;  but  it  can  never  forget  what  they  did 
here.  It  is  fur  us,  the  living,  rather,  to  be  dedicated  here,  to  the 
unfinished  work  that  they  have  thus  far  so  nobly  carried  on.  It 
is  rather  for  us  to  be  here  dedicated  to  the  great  task  remaining 
before  us ;  that  from  these  honored  dead  we  take  increased  de- 
votion to  that  cause  for  which  thev  here  gave  the  last  full  meas- 
ure of  devotion ;  that  we  here  highly  resolve  that  these  dead 
shall  not  have  died  in  vain  ;  that  the  nation  shall,  under  God, 
have  a  new  birth  of  freedom,  and  that  government  of  the  people, 
by  the  people,  for  the  people,  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth." 

After  the  address  "America  "  was  sung  by  the  whole  congrega- 
tion, led  by  the  choir  and  organ,  and  the  benediction  was  pro- 
nounced by  Chaplain  Wilson. 

At  the  close  of  the  services  in  the  church,  the  procession  was 
reformed,  and  proceeded  through  Washington,  Essex,  JSTewbury, 
Brown  and  Howard  streets  to  the  Howard  Street  Cemetery, 
crowds  of  people  accompanying  the  march  and  thronging  the 
cemetery.  During  the  ceremony  of  strewing  flowers  on  the 
graves  the  band  played  a  dirge. 

At  the  soldiers'  lot,  in  Harmony  Grove,  a  spot  was  desig- 
nated, and  especially  decorated,  in  memory  of  those  who  sleep 
on  distant  fields. 

During  the  exercises,  the  post-office,  banks  and  places  of 
business  generally  were  closed,  and  the  flags  were  displayed 
at  three-quarters'  staff. 

From  Howard  street  the  procession  visited,  in  succession,  the 
Orne  Street  and  Catholic  Cemeteries  in  North  Salem,  Harmony 
Grove,  the  Monumental  Cemetery  in  Peabody  (where  twenty- 
six  graves  were  strewn,  committees  having  previously  performed 
the  same  duty  in  the  old  bury  ing-place),  and  then  returned  to 
Salem,  closing  the  ceremonies  at  the  Broad  street  and  Charter 
street  grounds. 

At  Harmony  Grove,  where  sixty-eight  of  the  dead  heroes 
lie,  the  graves  were  each  appropriately  designated  by  a  small 
American  flag,  provided  by  the  trustees  of  the  cemetery.  Many 
of  the  graves  here  were  profusely  decorated  with  flowers  by  the 
hands  of  family  affection  ;  on  some  were  placed  photographs  of 
the  sleepers,  and  touching  inscriptions,  such  as  "Our  Dear 
Boy,"  u  Home  is  not  home  without  thee,"  <fcc.,  while  relatives 
stood  by,  tears  coursing  down  their  cheeks,  as  they  gratefully 
thought  of  the  honors  paid  to  the  departed,  and  tenderly  remem- 
bered their  dead. 

At  Broad  street,  where  General  Lander  is  buried,  there  was 
a  most  impressive  scene.  The  other  graves  having  been  deco- 


168  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

rated,  the  line  was  drawn  up  before  the  General's  resting-place, 
the  band  playing  a  dirge;  and  after  Commander  Pierson  had 
placed  upon  the  tomb  several  beautiful  emblems  prepared  by  the 
hands  of  Mrs.  Lander,  the  hero's  widow,  the  members  of  the 
Post  and  the  soldiers  and  sailors,  uncovered,  passed  by,  and  each 
one  threw  upon  the  tomb  a  floral  offering,  literally  covering  it 
with  flowers. 

The  procession  then  moved  to  the  Charter  street  ground, 
where  a  single  soldier  sleeps,  and  having  discharged  their  duty 
to  their  last  dead  comrade,  the  Post  escorted  the  soldiers  and 
sailors,  and  the  orator  and  chaplains  of  the  day,  to  the  Town 
Hall,  where  parting  salutes  were  interchanged,  and  then  marched 
to  the  Post  headquarters,  and  were  dismissed,  concluding  their 
labors  at  eight  o'clock. 

The  number  of  graves  decorated  was  154,  viz :  In  the  Howard 
street  ground,  30 ;  Orme  street,  5 ;  Catholic,  17 ;  Harmony  Grove, 
68 ;  Broad  street,  7  ;  Charter  street,  1 ;  Peabody,  26. 

AT  NEWBURYPORT,   MASSACHUSETTS. 

Capt.  S.  A.  E.  Dame,  the  Commander  of  Post  49,  was  the 
prime  mover  in  Newburyport  and  vicinity  in  the  commemora- 
tion services,  under  General  Logan's  Order. 

At  10  o'clock  A.  M.  the  committee  and  the  members  of  the 
order,  together  with  the  friends  of  the  deceased  soldiers,  and  the 
Amesbury  brass  band,  proceeded  to  the  Belleville  Cemetery,  and 
wended  their  way  to  the  graves  of  the  deceased  soldiers,  which 
had  been  previously  designated  by  a  flag,  and  laid  upon  each 
one  a  bouquet  or  a  wreath  of  flowers  and  evergreens  which  had 
been  prepared  and  contributed  by  the  lady  friends  of  the  organ- 
ization. After  the  graves  had  been  decorated  a  prayer  was 
made  by  Rev.  Dr.  Fiske,  and  a  dirge  played  by.  the  band. 
They  then  proceeded  to  the  Oldtown  burying  ground,  where 
the  same  ceremonies  were  gone  through  with,  the  prayer  being 
made  by  Rev.  Mr.  Thurston,  and  the  band  performing  an 
impressive  dirge. 

At  the  City  Hall  the  services  commenced  at  2  o'clock  P.  M. 
by  the  singing  of  a  hymn,  the  words  and  music  by  Martin 
Luther.  Then  followed  a  prayer  by  Rev.  Dr.  Campbell,  and 
the  reading,  by  Dr.  Spaulding,  of  the  following  poem,  composed 
by  Capt.  Luther  Dame : 

Scatter  bright  flowers  where  tears  have  been  shed, 

Over  the  graves  of  our  patriot  dead ; 

Twine  into  garlands  the  myrtle  and  rose, 

To  deck  the  green  earth  where  their  ashes  repose. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  169 

Sadly  we  In  id  them  away  to  their  rest — 
IK'urts  we  had  cherished,  loved  and  caressed — 
Borno  from  the  battle-field,  wounded  or  slum, 
Filling  the  household  with  sorrow  and  pain. 

Kind  words  at  parting  still  sound  in  our  ears, 
Though  days  have  grown  months  and  months  become  years, 
And  lips  that  turned  pale  with  "good  by1'  at  the  door, 
Have  mouldered  to  dust,  and  will  greet  us  no  more. 

Many  a  mourner  to-day  will  reveal 

Traces  of  sorrow  they  cannot  conceal; 

Words  will  be  spoken,  and  tear  drops  will  start, 

Bespeaking  the  grief  that  lies  deep  in  their  heart. 

The  bugle  no  more  at  the  dawning  of  light 
Calls  up  the  worn  soldier  to  arm  for  the  fight ; 
For  the  conflict  of  death  has  ceased  on  the  plain, 
And  peace  sheds  her  blessings  upon  us  again. 

Long  shall  their  deeds  live  in  story  and  song — 
How  they  struggled  for  right  and  battled  with  wrong; 
Their  fame  is  immortal,  their  life's  work  is  done, 
Their  armor  ungirded,  and  victory  won. 

The  choir,  consisting  of  delegations  from  the  various  church 
choirs  in  the  city,  numbering  one  hundred  members,  and  assisted 
by  an  orchestra  and  the  Amesbury  Band,  then  performed  the 
choral — "  To  God  on  High,"  from  the  Oratorio  of  St.  Paul,  the 
singing  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  C.  P.  Morrison. 

Col.  Stone  then  made  some  interesting  remarks,  in  which  he 
reviewed  the  history  of  the  custom  of  strewing  flowers  on  the 
graves  of  departed  heroes,  tracing  it  back  to  the  ancient 
Romans,  Greeks,  and  Hebrews,  and  expressing  a  hope  that  it 
would  be  continued  as  an  exemplification  of  our  patriotism  and 
love  of  our  departed  friends. 

Dr.  S.  J.  Spaulding  next  made  an  eloquent  speech,  in  which 
he  reviewed  from  experience  the  vicissitudes  of  a  soldier's  life, 
depicting  the  scenes  that  present  themselves  to  the  tourist 
on  Southern  soil,  of  graves  and  destruction  and  desolation — all 
of  which,  in  view  of  the  grand  result,  can  be  justified  on  the 
principle  that  the  end  sanctifies  the  means. 

The  choir  then  sung  a  choral  from  the  Oratorio  of  Elijah, 
and  the  services  were  concluded  by  a  dirge  from  the  band. 

The  procession,  escorted  by  the  Gushing  Guard  and  City 
Cadets,  preceded  by  the  Amesbury  Brass  Band,  then  formed, 
and  marched  from  the  foot  of  Green  street,  through  Merrimac, 
and  up  State  to  the  Oak  Hill  Cemetery,  where  about  twenty 
graves  were  decorated.  The  grave  of  Capt.  A.  W.  Bartlctt 
received  a  contribution  from  each  member  of  the  dishing 


170  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Guard,  till  it  was  literally  covered  with  flowers  and  wreaths  of 
evergreen.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  ceremonies  of  decoration 
the  choir  sung  a  hymn,  followed  by  a  prayer  from  Rev.  Dr. 
Spaulding  and  a  dirge  by  the  band,  when  the  line  of  march  was 
taken  up  for  the  New  Burial  Hill. 

In  this  cemetery  between  30  and  40  graves  were  found 
marked  with  the  National  flag,  indicating  that  that  number  of 
fallen  heroes  slept  beneath  its  green  turf.  After  the  flowers  had 
been  placed  on  their  graves,  a  prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  D.  P. 
Pike,  and  a  dirge  was  played  by  the  band,  when  the  procession 
proceeded  to  the  Old  Burial  Hill,  and  performed  the  same  kind 
offices  for  their  comrades  who  sleep  in  that  ancient  enclosure. 
The  services  here  were  conducted  by  Eev.  Thos.  Borden  ;  and 
after  a  flnal  dirge  by  the  band,  the  company  marched  to  the 
rooms  of  the  Army  and  Navy  Union  on  State  Street,  where  they 
were  dismissed  by  their  commander,  to  come  together  again 
next  year. 

A  detachment  of  the  Post  was  sent  to  the  graves  of  Preston 
Newhall,  at  Turkey  Hill,  and  Capt.  C.  E.  Cress,  at  Curson's 
Mill,  and  Elbridge  Graves  in  Salisbury. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  names  of  the  soldiers  and  sailors 
whose  graves  were  visited,  and  which  includes  all  whose  location 
could  be  ascertained  by  the  committee.  If  any  have  been  omit- 
ted we  trust  their  positions  will  be  ascertained  before  the  next 
anniversary. 

BELLEVILLE. — L.  D.  B.  Somerby,  Whitman  Holmes,  W.  H. 
Jackman,  Joseph  Cossar,  John  Cotton,  William  D.  Lee,  Wil- 
liam Bowlin,  E.  Roberts,  Moses  Wigglesworth,  A.  Maxwell, 
Joseph  Littlefield,  William  Littlefield. 

OLDTOWN. — David  Shackford,  F.  G.  Lunt,  Daniel  P.  How- 
ard, J.  H.  Ryan,  Wm.  G.  Pickard,  Wm.  T.  Varina,  Jabez 
Atwood,  George  Atwood,  D.  H.  Mansfield. 

OAK  HILL  CEMETERY.— A.  W.  Bartlett,  A.  P.  Reed,  J.  A. 
Cushing,  Edw.  Dodge,  Horace  W.  Dodge,  M.  M.  Mumford, 
Frank  Knapp,  Chas.  W.  Poor,  Philip  Coombs,  Alfred  F.  Lee, 
Wm.  L.  G.  Green,  Charles  G.  Burbank,  Goodwin  A.  Stone, 
Henry  Stone,  Wm.  Cook,  M.  S.  Pettingell,  Hiram  R.  Poor, 
Nath.  F.  Stover. 

NEW  BURYING  GROUND. — William  Page,  John  G.  Whiting, 
Wm.  C.  Colby,  J.  M.  T.  Goodwin,  John  Black,  J.  W.  Lunt, 
Thos.  P.  Lunt,  John  H.  W.  Talbot,  Chas.  W.  Huse,  Wm.  H. 
Daniels,  S.  H.  Lunt,  Joseph  Burns,  Daniel  R.  Shaw,  James 
Graham,  Jerry  Downs,  J.  F.  Channel,  Wm.  C.  Forbes,  James  W. 
Dixon,  George  W.  Dearborn,  George  W.  Mace,  Chas.  L.  Cole, 
T.  G.  Wentworth,  J.  F.  Tarr,  Daniel  H.  Colby,  James  H.  Foy, 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  171 

Caleb  C.  Pike,  J.  G.  Dillingham,  A.  J.  Nash,  Warren  Thomp- 
son, J.  P.  Xeal,  Joseph  Coulliard,  John  Melincb,  Edward  T. 
Gurnev,  Edgar  T.  Rundlett,  J.  Wakefield,  Daniel  R.  Shaw, 
John  F.  Lee. 

OLD  HILL. — George  T.  Wakefield,  Robert  C.  Rich,  John 
Holland,  David  R.  Hinkley,  Thomas  Brown,  Michael  H.  Larey, 
James  Welch. 

AT  LOWELL,  MASSACHUSETTS. 

The  city  which  furnished  the  first  martyrs,  and  within  whose 
borders  the  graves  of  over  120  of  these  braves  are  to  be  seen, 
could  not  but  act  in  accordance  with  the  suggestion  of  Gen. 
Logan.  Post  No.  42  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  Lieut.  George  A.  Mar- 
den,  Commander,  responded  to  the  order  by  commencing  prep- 
arations, and  profuse  contributions  of  flowers  were  made  by 
citizens,  and  even  the  school-children  were  allowed  part  of  a 
day  to  gather  wild  flowers,  for  the  purpose,  which  time  they  im- 
proved with  all  the  zeal  of  children.  A  committee  visited  the 
cemetery  and  other  burial-grounds  in  the  forenoon,  and  decorat- 
ed the  graves.  The  relatives  and  friends  of  many  of  the  de- 
ceased soldiers  also  added  to  the  offerings.  Flags  were  sus- 
pended at  half-mast,  and  there  were  many  decorations  befitting 
the  dny. 

About  2  o'clock  a  procession,  numbering  about  one  hundred 
members  of  the  post  and  a  company  of  former  soldiers,  accom- 
panied l>y  the  Lowell  Brigade  Band,  marched  from  Mechanics' 
Hall  through  the  principal  streets  to  the  Lowell  Cemetery. 
When  the  procession  reached  the  vicinity  of  the  chapel  in  the 
cemetery,  the  members  stood  with  uncovered  heads  while  the 
band  played  a  dirge.  The  other  burial-grounds  were  visited  in 
turn,  and  similar  respect  shown  the  deceased  comrades.  After 
a  march  of  about  six  miles  the  procession  reached  Monument 
Square  about  a  quarter  past  five  o'clock.  Entering  the  enclos- 
ure the  members  formed  a  circle  about  the  Ladd  and  Whitney 
monument,  which  had  been  elaborately  trimmed  and  decorated. 
Each  member  added  something  to  the  profusion  of  flowers,  and, 
after  a  dirge  by  the  band,  Rev.  Horace  James,  Chaplain,  offered 
prayer.  Commander  Marden  addressed  his  comrades,  saying 
that  it  was  a  privilege  to  lay  above  the  ashes  of  their  dead  com- 
rades these  beautiful  tributes  of  the  field  and  garden.  Mayor 
Richardson  was  called  upon  to  respond  for  the  citizens,  and  ex- 
pressed his  gratification  that  such  a  beautiful  tribute  had  been 
paid,  which  he  trusted  would  be  an  annual  one.  Rev.  Horace 
James  was  the  last  speaker. 


172  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

COMMANDER  GEORGE  A.  MARDEN's  SPEECH. 

COMRADES:  We  have  performed  a  sacred,  a  pious  duty. 
"We  have  visited  the  graves  of  those  comrades  who  once  stood 
shoulder  to  shoulder  with  us  on  the  field  of  battle,  but  whose 
hallowed  remains  now  lie  buried  in  our  midst,  and  we  have 
scattered  upon  them  the  choicest  treasures  of  spring-time.  An 
old  poet  has  said,  that  it  "  is  sweet  and  honorable  to  die  for 
one's  conntry."  If  this  be  true — and  who  can  doubt  it  ? — it  is 
also  sweet  and  honorable  for  us  to  gather  the  flowery  wealth  of 
the  field,  forest  and  garden,  and  to  scatter  it  above  the  sacred 
dust  of  those  who  have  died  for  their  country. 

Comrades,  this  is  rather  a  time  for  silence  than  for  speech. 
The  bright  wreaths  and  garlands  around  us,  and  the  heaps  of 
flowers  we  have  scattered  on  the  graves  of  our  fallen  comrades 
in  the  burial-places  we  have  visited  to-day,  speak  far  more  elo- 
quently than  any  word  of  mine  or  of  any  one  else  can  do,  how 
deeply  and  tenderly  we  cherish  the  memory  of  those  whom  we 
have  met  this  day  to  honor.  I  remember  that,  during  the  past 
five  or  six  years,  the  words  of  one  of  the  sweetest  of  the  old 
English  poets  have  been  quoted  so  often,  that  it  seemed  to  me 
they  must  appear  almost  hackneyed  ;  and  yet,  during  the  past 
week  as  I  have  been  engaged  in  the  preparation  for  tfie  ceremo- 
nies we  have  undertaken  to-day,  those  words  have  been  contin- 
ually sounding  in  my  ears,  and  it  has  seemed  to  rne  as  if  that 
old  poet,  writing  years  and  years  ago,  must  have  had  a  sort  of 
prophetic  inspiration,  and  looked  forward  to  such  a  day  as  this, 
when  he  said — 

"  How  sleep  the  brave  who  sink  to  rest 
By  all  their  country's  wishes  blest! 
When  Spring,  with  dewy  fingers  cold, 
Returns  to  deck  their  hallowed  mould, 
She  there  shall  dress  a  sweeter  sod  • 

Than  Fancy's  feet  have  ever  trod. 
By  Fairy  hands  their  knell  is  rung ; 
By  forms  unseen  their  dirge  is  sung ; 
There  Honor  comes,  a  pilgrim  gray, 
To  bless  the  turf  that  wraps  their  clay; 
And  Freedom  shall  awhile  repair 
To  dwell  a  weeping  hermit  there." 

But  our  concern  is  not  alone  with  the  dead.  It  is  one  of  the 
principal  objects  of  the  association  we  have  formed  to  aid  and 
succor  the  living.  And  as  we  come  fresh  from  the  graves  of 
those  who  gave  up  their  lives  in  the  struggle  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  nation,  let  us  consecrate  onrseives  anew  to  the  work 
of  comforting  and  assisting  the  bereaved  ones  they  left  unpro- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        173 

tected.  And  let  us  see  to  it  that  none  of  the  widows  or  orphans 
of  our  deceased  comrades,  or  the  suffering  and  needy  of  those 
who  are  still  with  us,  shall  lack  for  aid  and  consolation  which  it 
is  in  our  power  to  give. 

I  know  you  will  pardon  me,  comrades,  if  I  refer  also  to 
others  of  our  old  companions  in  arms,  whose  graves  are  scatter- 
ed all  over  the  South,  and  are  to-day  decorated  only  with  such 
flowers -as  the  lavish  hand  of  Nature  has  provided. 

Scattered  on  Southern  fields  they  lie, 

Where  tropic  breezes  gently  sigh  ; 

Under  the  shade  of  orange  tree, 

Upon  the  fields  of  Olustee  ; 

Or  on  the  sandy  drifts  that  pile 

The  barren  waste  of  Morris'  Isle ; 

Buried  in  melancholy  lines 

Among  the  swamps  o'f  Seven  Pines. 

And  hundreds  more,  half-buried  still, 

On  slopes  of  Games'  and  Malvern  Hill ; 

Lying  beneath  the  waving  grain 

On  broad  Manassas'  war-scarred  plain ;  . 

Scattered  'mong  gloomy  woods  that  drees 

The  long  haunts  of  the  Wilderness ; 

Adown  the  Mississippi's  coast, 

Among  the  winding  bayous  lost ; 

Or  with  a  nation's  tears  interred 

In  thy  great  tomb,  O  Gettysburg. 

Rest,  ye  brave  men,  where'er  ye  lie  I 

Your  valor  brought  us  victory. 

Green  be  the  sod  above  your  graves, 

O'er  which  your  flag  in  triumph  waves; 

Green  be  your  memory  that  lives 

With  all  the  brightness  valor  gives; 

Hallowed  by  nation  saved  from  wreck  ; 

Hallowed  by  friends  your  graves  shall  deck ; 

Hallowed  by  patriotic  men, 

Orator's  tongue  and  poet's  pen  ; 

But  doubly  hallowed  here  by  us 

Who  mourn  our  battle-comrades'  loss; 

Though  in  uncoffined  graves  ye  lie, 

Ye  are  of  those  not  born  to  die. 

Comrades,  we  are  not  alone  in  this  celebration.  The 'kin- 
dred and  friends  of  those  we  mourn,  and  the  citizens  of  Lowell 
generally,  have  responded  nobly  to  our  call  upon  them  for  co- 
operation in  this  pious  work — how  liberally,  let  this  ample 
decoration  all  about  us,  and  the  garland-strewn  graves  of  our 
dead  bear  witness.  Let  me  then  introduce  to  you,  as  their 
representative  on  this  occasion,  His  Honor  Mayor  Richardson. 

MAYOR  RICHARDSON  :  Said  that,  impressed  as  he  was  by  the 
solemnities  of  the  occasion,  upon  a  spot  so  sacred  aa  that  where 


174  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

they  were  assembled,  within  the  shadow  of  the  monument  erect- 
ed to  the  earliest  martyrs  in  the  great  struggle  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  the  nation's  life,  he  felt  that  it  would  be  almost  sacrile- 
is  for  him  to  permit  any  feeble  utterances  of  his  to  disturb 
the  sad  reflections  which  filled  the  minds  of  those  who  were 
gathered  around  him.  He  fancied  that  their  memories  were 
wandering  back  into  the  past,  and  they  were  living  over  in  their 
imagination  their  struggles  and  sacrifices,  and  that  there  came 
to  their  minds  the  remembrance  of  some  beloved  friend,  the 
companion  of  their  march,  in  the  camp,  by  the  bivouac  fires — 
who,  when  the  call  for  battle  sounded,  went  eagerly  to  the  con- 
test, and  who,  amid  the  cannon's  booming  and  the  rattling  of 
the  musketry,  while  perhaps  the  joyous  shouts  of  victory  were 
ringing  in  his  ears,  fell  and  poured  out  his  young  blood,  a  will- 
ing sacrifice  upon  the  altar  of  his  country.  Under  such  circum- 
stances he  felt  that  silence  was  not  only  more  appropriate,  but 
more  eloquent,  than  speech.  Yet,  having  been  invited,  as  the 
representative  of  the  citizens  of  Lowell,  to  participate  in  the 
services  of  the  day,  he  was  conscious  that,  in  justice  to  them,  he 
should  express  the  deep  interest  which  they  had  felt  in  the  cere- 
monies of  the  occasion.  It  was  fit  and  proper  that  from  time 
to  time  we  should  pause  in  our  active  and  busy  career,  and,  in 
some  solemn  and  appropriate  manner,  acknowledge  the  deep 
debt  of  gratitude  we  owe  to  the  departed  heroes,  to  whom,  and 
their  compatriots  in  anus,  we  are  indebted  for  the  blessings  of 
liberty  which  we  now  enjoy. 

It  is  said  that  the  Athenians  were  accustomed  to  pay  espe- 
cial marks  of  honor  to  those  who  fell  in  battle.  Their  remains, 
enclosed  in  costly  caskets,  lay  for  a  time  in  state,  beneath  gor- 
geous canopies,  in  one  of  the  public  squares  of  the  city.  They 
were  then  borne  with  civic  honors  to  their  last  resting-place  in 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  groves  in  the  suburbs  of  that  ancient 
city ;  there  costly  monuments  of  enduring  brass  were  erected, 
and  pleasant  walks  beneath  overhanging  trees  invited  the  people 
to  the  sacred  spot,  that  they  might  never  forget  the  debt  which 
the  living  owe  the  dead.  Why  should  not  the  people  of  this 
our  young  and  glorious  America  imitate  this  beautiful  and 
touching  example  ?  I  am  sure  I  speak  the  sentiment  of  every 
man  and  woman  in  Lowell,  when  I  express  the  hope,  that  in 
the  Spring  of  every  year  hereafter,  the  ceremonies  of  to-day 
may  be  repeated,  not  for  your  sakes  alone,  not  alone  for  those 
who  sleep  beneath  the  sods  upon  which  you  have,  with  fond 
affection,  strewn  the  beautiful  flowers  of  Spring, 

" — for  they  wear  a  truer  crown 
Than  any  wreath  that  man  can  weave  them," 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        175 

but  for  the  people  at  large,  that  they  may  be  reminded  of  the 
sacrifices  which  the  preservation  of  our  nation  cost,  and  learn 
to  treasure  it  as  a  priceless  blessing  to  be  transmitted  to  the 
latest  posterity. 

But,  my  friends,  the  lowering  clouds  admonish  me  to  close 
these  brief  remarks.  It  seems  as  if  a  propitious  heaven  had 
withheld  its  rain  until  the  last  resting-places  of  your  deceased 
comrades  had  been  decked  with  flowers,  and  now,  when  that 
sad  tribute  to  the  departed  has  been  paid,  had  opened  its  gates, 
that  the  gentle  showers  which  now  are  falling  might  freshen 
and  preserve  the  floral  decorations  on  the  graves  of  the  noble 
men,  the  memory  of  whose  virtues  and  patriotism  will  live  ever 
fresh  in  the  minds  of  all. 


ADDRESS   BY   CHAPLAIN   JAMES. 


Mr.  James  commenced  his  remarks  by  alluding  to  President 
Lincoln  as  being  a  victim  of  the  war,  the  commander-in-chief 
of  our  forces,  and  the  noblest  Roman  of  them  all,  and  to  recall 
attention  to  him  in  connection  with  this  observance  in  honor  "to 
our  departed  heroes,  he  wished  to  read  his  famous  Gettysburg 
speech.  On  the  19th  of  November,  1863,  when  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  on  his  way  to  the  consecration  of  that  cemetery,  and  he 
was  told  that  he  would  be  expected  to  say  something  on  the 
occasion,  he  wrote  in  a  few  minutes'  time,  and,  after  the  close 
of  Mr.  Everett's  brilliant  oration,  read  this  brief,  compact,  elo- 
quent speech,  which  ought  to  be  repeated  until  every  American 
knows  it  by  heart. 

"  Fourscore  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers  brought  forth 
on  this  continent  a  new  nation,  conceived  in  liberty,  and  dedi- 
cated to  the  proposition  that  all  men  are  created  free  and  equal. 
Now,  we  are  engaged  in  a  great  civil  war.  testing  whether  that 
nation,  or  any  nation  so  conceived  and  dedicated,  can  long  en- 
dure. We  are  met  on  a  great  battle-field  of  that  war.  We 
have  come  to  dedicate  a  portion  of  that  field  as  a  final  resting- 
place  for  those  who  here  gave  their  lives  that  the  nation  might 
live.  It  is  altogether  fitting  and  proper  that  we  should  do  this. 

"  But  in  a  larger  sense,  we  cannot  dedicate,  we  cannot  con- 
secrate, we  cannot  hallow  this  ground.  The  brave  men,  living 
and  dead,  who  struggled  here,  nave  consecrated  it  far  above  our 
poor  power  to  add  or  detract.  The  world  will  little  note  or 
long  remember  what  we  say  here,  but  it  can  never  forget  what 
they  did  here.  It  is  for  us,  the  living,  rather  to  be  dedicated 
here  to  the  unfinished  work  which  they  who  fought  here  have 
thus  far  so  nobly  advanced.  It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here  dedi- 


176  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

cated  to  the  great  task  remaining  before  us ;  that  from  these 
honored  dead  we  take  increased  devotion  to  that  cause  for 
which  they  gave  the  last  full  measure  of  devotion;  that  we 
here  highly  resolve  that  these  dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain  ; 
that  this  nation,  under  God,  shall  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom ; 
and,  that  government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the 
people,  shall  nut  perish  from  the  earth." 

After  reading  this  speech,  Mr.  James  took  in  his  hand  a 
beautiful  bouquet  of  pure  white  flowers  which  the  ladies  had 
presented  to  him  to  bear  in  the  procession,  and  said  :  "  This 
bouquet,  distinguished  above  all  the  others  which  we  have  used 
to-day  in  its  purity  and  immaculate  beauty,  I  consecrate  to  the 
memory  of  President  Lincoln,  the  great  martyr  to  Liberty, 
whom  every  soldier  and  citizen  delights  to  honor."  (The  bou- 
quet was  then  handed  to  Adjutant  Smith,  and  by  him  deposited 
upon  the  monument,  and  three  ruffles  were  beat  upon  the 
-drums.)  The  speaker  then  continued  somewhat  as  follows  : 

"  We  have  now  nearly  completed,  comrades  and  friends,  the 
duty  of  piety,  of  fraternal  affection,  and  respect  for  the  mem- 
ory of  our  fallen  companions,  which  we  had  proposed  to  per- 
form. Laboring  from  early  dawn  until  this  hour,  with  the  kind 
assistance  and  cooperation  of  many  of  our  ladies  and  fellow- 
citizens,  we  have  visited  every  grave  of  a  deceased  soldier  or 
sailor,  and  have  left  upon  it  the  sweet  memorials  of  our  affec- 
tion and  gratitude.  We  have  not  intended  to  omit  a  single 
individual.  Having  taken  great  pains  to  discover  the  resting- 
place  of  every  comrade,  that  we  might  make  him  the  object  of 
our  affectionate  attentions,  it  will  be  a  spurce  of  keen  regret  to 
us  if  we  shall  find  that  any  one  has  been  omitted  who  ought  to 
have  shared  in  this  grateful  tribute.  Some  of  us  turned  back 
from  our  line  of  march,  having  learned  of  one  such  instance, 
and.  collecting  a  few  bouquets  cheerfully  contributed  by  female 
friends,  laid  them  tenderly  upon  the  grave  of  a  soldier  whose 
widow  and  little  daughter  were  made  happy  by  the  act,  and 
would  have  wept  over  its  omission.  We  recognize  the  'right  of 
every  one  alike,  of  whatever  rank  or  regiment  or  nationality,  to 
share  the  honors  which  belong  to  the  brave  defenders  of  their 
country ;  and  if  we  have  somewhat  more  profusely  decorated 
these  graves  by  which  we  now  stand,  and  around  which  these 
multitudes  are  gathered,  it  is  because  these  comrades  were  rep- 
resentative men,  their  blood  was  the  first  to  be  poured  out,  and 
their  monument  stands  in  the  heart  of  OUT  city.  These  elabo- 
rate adornments  are  symbolic  of  what  we  would  gladly  have 
done  for  all  had  it  been  practicable.  They  express  sentiments 
no  more  grateful  than  we  feel  toward  the  humblest  individual 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS  GRAVES.  177 

who  reposes  in  a  soldier's  or  a  sailor's  grave.  And  now,  having 
laid  wreaths  of  honor  upon  the  bosoms  of  our  braves,  we  will 
let  them  sleep  sweetly  on. 

"  They're  shrouded  in  the  flag  of  stars, 
Beneath  whose  folds  they  won  the  scars 

Through  which  their  spirits  fled, 
From  glory  here  to  glory  where 
The  banner  blue  in  fields  of  air 
Is  bright  with  stars  forever  there, 
Without  the  stripes  of  red." 

Light  rest  the  earth  upon  their  bosoms ;  green  be  the  turf 
above  them.  And  may  a  nation's  gratitude  and  love  drop  tears 
over  their  lowly  beds,  and  scatter  flowers  around  them  in  the 
Spring-time ;  and  let  me  say  that  our  hearts  beat  warmly  to- 
ward those  widowed  ones  whose  sad, 'tearful  faces  tell  of  the 
sorrow  that  is  mingled  with  their  joy  to-day.  We  feel  for  their 
orphaned  children,  and  do  here  pledge  our  faith  anew  to  bear 
their  wants  upon  the  current  of  a  ready  sympathy.  In  your 
behalf,  my  comrades,  I  assure  them  again  that  the  benevolent 
designs  of  our  association  shall  be  carried  out  toward  them  and 
theirs,  so  long  as  one  of  us  shall  survive  to  proffer  the  kind 
offices  of  love  and  duty. 

Before  we  separate,  let  me  heartily  thank  this  thronging 
multitude  for  the  sympathy  and  assistance  they  have  rendered 
us  in  this  service  of  piety  and  patriotism.  Along  the  line  of 
our  route  I  noticed  mothers  teaching  their  children  to  throw 
kisses  toward  us  as  we  passed,  and  I  said  in  my  heart,  God  bless 
those  mothers  !  and  God  bless  their  children  ! 

We  close  our  simple  services  to-day  venturing  to  express. the 
hope  that  this  grand  national  observance  may  do  much  to 
cement  the  bonds  of  a  closer  union,  to  soften  asperities,  to  aid 
the  work  of  reconstruction,  and  cause  every  citizen  to  prize 
more  highly  the  heritage  of  freedom  which  we  enjoy.  It  is  a 
happy  augury  for  us  that  the  statue  of  Victory,  with  extended 
wings,  stands  before  us,  looking  forth  over  a  land  rescued  from 
rebellion,  and  assuring  us  that  the  precious  blood  of  our  fallen 
brethren,  on  the  land  and  on  the  sea,  was  not  shed  in  vain. 
Let  us  cherish  the  omen,  and  address  ourselves  to  duty  with 
new  heart  and  hope. 

The  apostolic  benediction,  pronounced  by  the  chaplain,  ter- 
minated the  services  in  Monument  Square,  and  the  immense 
concourse  of  spectators,  who  had  given  the  most  earnest  atten- 
tion, quietly  dispersed. 
12 


178  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

AT  LAWBENCE,  MASS. 

The  ceremony  of  depositing  flowers  npon  the  graves  of  the 
Union  dead  was  performed  here  under  the  direction  of  Post  39, 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  in  the  presence  of  about  five 
thousand  persons.  At  about  2  o'clock  a  procession  was  formed 
at  Needham  Hall,  consisting  of  the  Post,  numbering  about  one 
hundred  men,  the  city  government  in  carriages,  and  a  long  line 
of  vehicles,  escorted  by  Company  I  of  the  6th  Regiment  of 
Infantry  (of  which  Corporal  Sumner  H.  Needham  was  a  mem- 
ber when  it  passed  through  Baltimore),  Company  K  of  the-same 
regiment,  and  the  4th  Light  Battery  on  foot,  headed  by  the 
Lawrence  Brass  Band.  It  marched  through  Essex,  Jackson, 
and  Haverhill  streets  to  the  Common,  where  several  hundred 
school-children  fell  in  ;  also  a  car  containing  twenty  young 
ladies  of  the  High  School.  The  procession  then  proceeded  by 
the  shortest  route  to  the  Cemetery. 

At  the  City  Cemetery  the  people  were  gathered  around  the 
monument  of  Needham,  the  first  man  shot  on  the  memorable 
19th  of  April.  After  a  solemn  dirge,  the  assemblage  was  ad- 
dressed by  Captain  Merrill. 

CAPTAIN   GEO.   8.   MERRILL'S   ADDRESS. 

COMRADES  AND  FELLOW-CITIZENS  :  When,  a  little  more  than 
seven  years  ago,  the  first  cannon-shot  of  rebellion,  against  the 
citadel  of  our  liberties,  resounded  over  the  length  and  breadth 
of  our  land,  arousing  the  nation  from  its  sweet  dream  of  peace, 
and  awaking  in  every  loyal  heart  tumultuous  throbbings  of  fer- 
vent patriotism,  how  cheerfully  did  the  noblest  and  best  of  our 
young  men,  those  nearest  our  home  circles  and  hearts,  offer 
themselves  as  a  bulwark  in  their  country's  defence ;  and  with 
how  much  joy,  albeit  tempered  with  sorrow,  did  we  give  them 
our  heartiest  blessings,  and  bid  them  God-speed,  in  their  great 
mission  of  patriotism  and  justice.  And  on  that  dark  afternoon 
in  April,  while  the  nation  wras  overwhelmed  with  sadness,  as 
the  intelligence  came  flashing  to  us  of  that  brutal  assault  in 
Baltimore,  of  the  re-baptism  of  our  Commonwealth  in  martyr's 
blood,  and  the  sacrifice  to  the  infernal  spirit  of  Treason  of  one 
of  our  own  loved  sons,  stricken  for  his  loyalty  to  the  flag,  how 
did  every  heart  respond  to  that  immortal  message  of  our  great- 
hearted Governor,  "  Send  them  to  us  tenderly."  Yes,  "  ten- 
derly," and  in  the  spirit  of  that  word  come  we  here  to-day,  in 
common  with  our  comrades  and  fellow-citizens  over  the  length 
and  breadth  of  our  land,  around  these  sacred  mounds,  to  the 
roll-call  of  the  fallen.  Here,  to  deck  with  the  most  beauteous 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        179 

and  fragrant  of  earth's  productions,  the  resting-places  of  the 
noblest  and  best  of  men — they  who,  closing  their  eyes  and  ears 
for  the  last  time  upon  earth,  amid  the  carnage  of  battle,  the 
whistle  of  the  bullet  and  shriek  of  the  shell,  opened  them  again 
to  the  bright  flowers  of  the  spirit-land,  and  the  joyous  reveille 
of  heaven. 

"  The  muffled  drum's  sad  roll  has  beat 

The  soldier's  last  tattoo  ; 
On  life's  parade,  no  more  shall  meet 
These  brave  and  fallen  few. 

On  fame's  eternal  camping  grounds, 

Their  silent  tents  are  spread, 
And  glory  guards,  with  solemn  round, 

The  bivouac  of  the  dead." 

And  standing  here  to-day,  three  years  after  the  successful 
close  of  our  nation's  great  struggle — here,  beneath  the  very 
shadow  of  the  eloquent  granite  marking  the  resting-place  01 
our  first  martyr,  from  every  drop  of  whose  blood  sprung 
myriads  of  armed  men,  to  do  battle  for  God.  their  country,  and 
truth — fitting  is  it  that  we  bring  hither  garlands  most  choice 
and  fragrant,  to  make  the  silent  mounds  as  fresh  and  beauteous 
as  the  deeds  of  these,  our  lost,  are  cherished  and  revered  in  our 
hearts.  And  as  we  would  honor  their  patriotism,  emulate  their 
example,  glorify  their  Jieroism,  an(j  teach  our  children  the 
sacredness  of  the  great  cause  in  which  they  offered  up  their 
young  lives,  let  us  scatter  over  their  graves  the  brightest  beau- 
ties of  life — the  glad  tokens  of  a  blessed  immortality.  And 
may  the  services,  now  inaugurated,  be  perpetuated  through 
eai-h  recurring  year,  so  long  as  the  Republic  shall  stand  ;  thus 
shall 

"  Each  grave  become  a  hallowed  shrine — a  mecca  for  men's  feet, 
Around  whose  sacred  bounds  shall  countless  pilgrims  meet — 
To  bless  the  hands  that  struggled,  the  hearts  that  nobly  bled — 
The  soldiers  and  the  sailors — the  stricken,  fallen  dead. 

Thus  to  the  hero  martyrs — the  brave  who  lived  and  died  ; 
To  all  who  bled  for  freedom's  cause,  we'll  point  with  holy  pride ; 
And  leaning  o'er  each  silent  bed,  as  here  we  bend  to-day, 
We'll  place  our  choicest  garlands  o'er  their  consecrated  clay." 

At  the  close  of  his  remarks  he  invited  the  company  to  unite 
in  prayer  with  their  fellow-soldier,  Eev.  D.  C.  Knowles,  of  the 
Haverhill  street  Methodist  church.  After  the  prayer  the  band 
played  "  Pleyel's  Hymn."  Rev.  J.  B.  Moore,  of  the  Unitarian 
church,  Chaplain  of  the  Post,  then  delivered  the  following  ad- 
dress : 


180  MEMORIAL   CEREMONIES 

Standing  by  the  grave  of  Suraner  H.  Needham,  tlie  first, 
martyr  of  the  war  of  Freedom,  we  are  assembled  to-day  to  call 
the  roll  of  the  honored  dead  anew,  and  to  lay  a  fresh  tribute  of 
love  and  gratitude  upon  their  graves. 

occasion  is  complete  in  itself.  It  needs  no  help  of 
gpeecli  to  make  it  memorable.  These  eloquent  flags  waving  at 
BO  many  head-stones,  with  no  stripe  erased,  and  no  star  ob- 
scured ;  these  bayonets  gleaming  in  the  sunshine  ;  these  echoing 
cannon,  this  tap  of  drums ;  these  beautiful  flowers  borne  by 
loving  hands,  contributed  by  loving  hearts ;  these  sacred  memo- 
ries baptizing  us  all — speak  to  us  to-day  more  eloquently  than 
man  can  speak,  in  a  language  which  we  can  all  understand. 

Three  years  ago  the  great  army  of  Freedom  came  marching 
home,  its  battles  all  fought,  its  victories  all  won  ;  rebellion  con- 
quered, treason  vanquished  from  the  field,  the  Constitution  vin- 
dicated, the  Union  preserved,  the  nation  saved — our  citizen 
soldiers  came  back  to  their  homes  to  exchange  the  weapons  of 
'  defence  for  the  implements  of  industry,  and  preserve  by  the 
ballot  that  which  they  had  gained  by  the  sword.  The  thinned 
ranks  of  every  returning  regiment,  the  blood-stained  flag  which 
our  boys  brought  back  to  us,  told  the  terrible  cost  of  the  sacri- 
fice over  which  peace  had  been  proclaimed.  The  shadow  of 
that  flag  fell  upon  every  home.  The  price  of  that  'peace  was 
paid  by  every  heart.  From  every  river,  from  every  hillside, 
from  the  quiet  of  the  village,  from  the1  hum  of  the  city,  from 
the  rich  man's  palace,  from  the  poor  man's  cottage,  from  the 
workshop  and  the  warehouse,  from  the  pulpit  and  the  platform, 
from  the  forum  and  the  bench,  from  Congress,  and  from  all  the 
people,  the  defenders  of  the  Government  had  sprung ;  and 
when,  with  the  music  of  victory,  our  armies  returned,  the 
cypress  was  twined  with  the  laurel  at  every  hearth-stone,  be- 
cause the  long  roll  of  killed,  wounded,  and  missing  was  an- 
swered by  some  heart  in  every  home.  This  was  the  significant 
fact  of  the  war.  The  army  by  which  it  was  waged  was  the 
army  of  the  people,  created  and  sustained  and  encouraged  by 
the  people,  whose  will  it  was  sent  to  execute,  whose  Govern- 
ment it  was  pledged  to  maintain.  Unlike  the  armies  of  history, 
unlike  the  armies  of  surrounding  peoples,  it  was  organized  for 
no  personal  or  sectional  grasp  of  power  or  dominion,  but  for 
the  preservation  of  that  national  integrity  and  unity  which  had 
made  the  United  States  of  America  the  model  republic  of  the 
world.  The  great  Union  army  was  no  arena  for  personal  ambi- 
tions. In  her  ranks  only  those  men  could  lead  who  were  them- 
selves led  by  a  spirit  of  entire  consecration  to  those  grand  ideas 
of  justice,  and  progress,  and  freedom  for  which  its  battles  were 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  181 

•waged.  General  after  general  was  thrown  to  the  surface,  but 
those  only  were  retained  whom  the  people  weighed  and  ap- 
proved. Three  years  of  our  war  were  spent  in  educating  our 
leaders.  They  came  up  from  the  people,  tliey  were  tried  by 
the  people,  and  in  the  might  of  the  people  their  successes  were 
achieved.  Three  years  of  the  war  were  also  spent  in  educating 
ourselves  up  to  the  right  standard  of  duty.  We  went  down  to 
Bull  Bun  with  proclamations,  and  were  defeated.  We  marched 
through  Maryland,  defending  rebel  property,.and  were  defeated. 
We  encamped  upon  the  Peninsular  with  a  candidate  for  Presi- 
dency, and  were  defeated.  We  crossed  the  Rappahannock  amid 
the  clash  of  personal  ambition,  and  were  defeated.  We  kept 
the  musket  from  the  negro,  and  were  defeated  ; — until,  at  last, 
the  Almighty  purpose  was  revealed  ;  the  Emancipation  Procla- 
mation was  signed,  Liberty  for  all  mankind  belched  from  the 
cannon's  mouth,  and  the  walls  of  secession  came  tumbling 
down.  The  Spring  of  1864  found  the  army  marshalled  for  a 
single  purpose,  and  that  of  Justice  for  the  whole  land.  The 
end  and  the  victory  swiftly  came.  With  Sheridan,  who  never 
stopped  to  unbuckle  his  spurs  from  New  Orleans  to  Winchester; 
with  Sherman,  who  plunged  into  the 'mountains  at  Cumberland 
and  came  out  at  the  sea ;  with  Grant,  who  shut  his  lips  upon 
the  word  "victory"  at  the  Wilderness,  and  seems  determined 
never  to  open  them  again  until  he  has  reached  the  end  of  "  his 
line  ; " — with  such  men,  and  such  a  purpose,  God  gave  us  vic- 
tory, God  gave  us  peace. 

But,  fellow-soldiers  and  citizens,  this  is  not  the  occasion  for 
eulogizing  our  generals  or  our  leaders.  History  will  care  for 
them,  name  by  name.  We  bring  our  floral  tributes  here  to-day, 
we  bring  the  best  affections  and  gratitude  of  our  hearts  here  to- 
day, that  we  may  lay  them  upon  the  graves  of  those  noble  men 
who  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  the  ranks,  breasting  the 
charge  of  treason,  resisting  the  mad  hate  of  rebellion ;  those 
noble  private  soldiers  and  officers  of  the  line,  whose  loyal,  • 
courageous  hearts,  whose  strong  right  arms  bore  generals,  and 
people,  and  government  to  victory,  and  saved  the  national 
honor  and  renown.  Fellow-citizens  we  have  never  yet  fully 
recognised  the  sacrifices  and  the  services  of  the  private  suldier. 
The  men  who  did  the  work.  The  men  who  did  the  fighting. 
The  men  who  formed  the  line  on  which  Grant  himself  fought 
it  out, — not  only  for  a  single  summer,  but  for  three  terrible 
years.  Those  brave  boys  in  blue,  whose  only  insignia  of  rank 
was  the  American  eagle  upon  their  buttons.  Those  million 
heroes  whose  tread  went  over  the  land,  shaking  treason  from 
its  throne,  and  shattering  the  confederacy  into  fragments. 


182  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Those  privates  in  the  ranks  who  gave  all  their  devotion,  who 
gave  all  their  aspirations,  who  gave  themselves  /  whose  blood 
streaming  out  upon  the  battle-plain  cemented  the  union  to- 
gether forever.  These  are  the  men  whom  we  came  here  to 
honor  to-day;  whose  graves  we  visit  as  the  monuments  of  our 
Ugliest  national  glory. 

Fellow-soldiers  and  citizens,  this  is  not  a  day  of  sadness  and 
gloom.  We  come  here  not  so  much  to  mourn  as  to  rejoice. 
Kejoicing  in  the. recollection's  of  those  lives  whose  virtues  we 
commemorate  in  this  hour.  We  come  not  for  the  bvrial,  but 
for  the  resurrection.  The  resurrection  of  those  principles  of 
justice,  and  patriotism,  and  love  of  country,  that  constitute  the 
safeguards  of  the  Republic.  Ours  is  a  two- fold  purpose  to-day. 
We  intend  to  keep  green  the  memories  of  our  fallen  heroes,  and 
to  take  up  and  perpetuate  their  heroic  work!  That  work  is 
eternal.  The  price  of  liberty  is  vigilance.  The  war  demon- 
strated the  fact  that  a  free  republic  is  no  longer  an  experiment. 
"  .Neither  the  blandishments  of  peace,  nor  the  stern  trials  of 
war,"  were  able  to  defeat  the  central  purpose  of  the  nation, — 
justice,  and  liberty,  and  equal  rights  to  all. 

Come  then,  fellow-so^iiers  and  citizens,  and  let  us  pledge  our 
devotion  and  loyalty  anew.  By  all  the  memories  that  meet  us 
here ;  by  the  purity  of  our  institutions ;  by  our  exalted  privi- 
leges ;  by  the  dignity  of  our  national  birthright ;  by  our  declara- 
tion of  independence,  rebaptized  in  blood ;  by  the  i  ntegrity  of 
our.  constitution,  preserved  upon  a  hundred  battle-fields,  let  us 
now  pledge  our  loyalty  and  patriotism  anew,  close  up  our  ranks, 
and  march  on  to  the  glorious  destiny  that  awaits  us.  Unfurl 
again  that  dear  old  flag,  whose  shining  stars  led  our  brave  boys 
through  all  the  long  and  dreary  marches  of  the  war,  and  stood 
over  the  place  where  victory  lay.  That  flag  has  never  yet  trail- 
ed in  defeat.  By  the  blessing  of  God,  it  never  shall. 

The  exercises  at  the  monument  were  concluded  with  a  hymn 
composed  by  Mrs.  Mary  D.  Merriam,  which  was  sung  by  the 
younw  ladies  of  the  High  School  to  the  music  of  Adeste  Fideles, 
(The  Lord  is  my  Shepherd). 

Bring  hither  the  flowers  of  earliest  bloom, 

Wave  back  with  their  fragrance  all  terror  and  gloom, 

Make  lovely  the  passage  of  Life  to  the  tomb, 

For  the  lost  ones  ol'earth  have  only  gone  home. 

Thougli  fathers,  and  wives,  and  sisters,  may  weep 
At  the  thought  of  Death's  slumber  so  silent  and  deep, 
Yet  remember,  ye  mourners,  those  soldiers  will  keep 
Their  sentinel  guard  around  you  while  you  sleep. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  183 

•Not  here,  in  the  dust,  doth  the  soldier  heart  lie,  . 
Nor  far,  far  away  beyond  the  blue  sky  ; 
But  sometimes  so  near,  you  can  almost  d«.  scry 
A  form  by  your  side, — and  the  same  loving  eye. 

Then  come  with  fresh  flowers,  and  scatter  them  here, 
No  time  is  more  fitting, — no  tribute  so  dear; 
These  offerings  of  Love  their  spirits  will  cheer, 
As  onward  they  march  in  the  Heavenly  sphere. 

Though  camp-life  is  ended,  their  work  is  not  done, 
They  fought  a  pood  fight,  yet  their  race  is  not  run, 
But  onward,  and  upward,  towards  God  the  great  Sun, 
Sounds  a  higher  command  to  every  one. 

Soldiers,  dear  soldiers,  your  mem'ries  shall  live, 

"While  we  have  a  tear  or  a  flower  to  give ; 

Honor  be  yours,  oh.  ye  true-hearted  braves, 

When  we  see  the  old  flag,  and  the  homes  of  the  slaves. 

The  association  and  their  comrades,  then  passed  about  to 
the  different  soldiers'  graves,  which  were  designated  by  small 
union  flags,  depositing  flowers  upon  them  and  hanging  wreaths 
over  the  monuments  and  head-stones.  At  the  grave  of  Elias 
Williams,  late  a  member  of  the  band,  who  died  shortly  after 
leaving  the  service, "  Departed  Days,"  was  played  by  his  former 
associates.  From  the  City  Cemetery,  the  company  went  to  the 
Catholic  burial  grounds  where  the  ceremonies  were  continued 
until  every  grave  which  could  be  identified  was  visited. 

A  detachment  of  the  battery  stationed  near  the  Griffin  Es- 
tate fired  minute  guns  while  the  company  were  moving  around 
and  depositing  the  flowers,  and  the  booming  of  the  cannon 
added  to  the  impressive  character  of  the  proceedings. 

The  Needham  monument  was  tastefully  decorated,  under 
the  direction  of  Mrs.  F.  E.  Clarke,  and  presented  a  very  elegant 
appearance.  The  name  "  Needham  "  was  surrounded  by  a  laurel 
wreath.  On  the  -opposite  side  was  a  floral  cross,'  and  on  one  of 
the  others  was  a  star,  and  on  the  fourth  a  shield,  ingeniously 
made  of  wild  flowers — the  stripes  of  red  and  white,  and  the 
stars  of -blue.  A  large,  heavy  wreath,  was  thrown  over  the  top 
of  the  monument,  and  one  was  hung  upon  the  gate  of  the  en- 
closure. At  two  sides  of  the  monument  were  oval  vessels  load- 
ed with  rare  and  beautiful  flowers.  The  cross,  wreath,  and  star, 
also  contained  some  rich  specimens.  The  weather  was  not  very 
promising — the  clouds  hanging  heavy  and  threatening  all  the 
morning.  There  was  a  slight  lighting  up  at  noon,  but  at  the 
time  the  procession  started,  there  were  but  few  but  expected  a 
shower  during  the  afternoon.  The  rain  held  off,  however,  until 
the  services  at  the  monument  were  concluded,  when  there  was  a 


184  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

slight  sprinkle.  It  was  much  more  comfortable  than  if  the  sun 
had  l:een  blazing  out.  Two  or  three  hours  afterwards,  the  rain 
came  down  smartly,  and  continued  to  fall  during  the  evening. 
The  procession,  of  which  Col.  Melvin  Beal  was  marshal,  Col.  L. 
D.  Sargent  acting  as  adjutant,  returned  to  Needham  Hall  at 
about  half-past  five  o'clock. 

AT  TAUNTON,  MASSACHUSETTS. 

The  graves  of  the  soldiers,  in  Taunton,  were  decorated  with 
flowers  by  their  surviving  comrades,  under  the  aupices  of  Post 
No.  3,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  In  the  forenoon  of  May 
30th,  delegations  from  Post  3  visited  the  burial-places  in  the  sub- 
urbs, about  every  one  of  which  has  a  soldier  within  its  precincts. 
In  the  afternoon  a  procession  was  formed  in  Fraternity  Hall,  at 
two  o'clock,  of  the  members  of  Post  3  and  officers  and  sol- 
diers not  members,  each  person  bearing  wreaths,  bouquets,  and 
bunches  of  flowers.  The  procession  proceeded  to  City  Hall, 
where  it  received  the  tire  department  in  uniform,  members  of 
the  city  government,  and  other  citizens,  and  moved  up  Main 
street  in  the  following  order : 

Junior  Vice  Grand  Commander;  Chief  Marshal,  Mason  W. 
Burt :  Aids,  Zaccheus  Sherman,  Orville  A.  Barker,  George  H. 
Babbitt,  Jr.,  Harry  A.  Cushman ;  National  Military  Band ; 
Decorating  Squad ;  Post  No.  3  G.  A.  R.,  E.  R.  Sprague,  Com- 
mander; Chief  Engineer  Mott  and  Assistants;  Fire  Depart- 
ment ;  His  Honor  the  Mayor,  and  members  of  the  City  Gov- 
ernment ;  Citizens. 

The  procession  moved  up  North  street  and  Washington 
street  until  it  arrived  at  the  old  Catholic  bury  ing-ground. 
There  it  halted,  and  the  decorating  squad,  under  command  of 
Comrade  Win.  Watts,  entered  and  placed  flowers  on  the  graves 
of  soldiers  buried  there.  The  exercises  at  each  graves  consisted 
of  laying  the  flowers  upon  it,  repeating,  "  In  honor  of  Comrade 

,  who  lies  here,"  and  the  saluting  with  the  American  flag 

over  the  grave.  The  procession  then  marched  to  the  Plain 
burying-ground,  where  the  same  ceremonies  were  continued, 
with  the  addition  of  music  by  the  band,  and  prayer  by  ex- 
Chaplain  J.  C.  Emery.  From  the  Plain  it  moved  to  Mount 
Pleasant  Cemetery.  At  Mount  Crocker,  wreaths  and  bouquets 
were  deposited  in  a  pile  to  the  memory  of  a  portion  of  those 
soldiers  whose  bodies  were  not  brought  home.  This  exercise 
was  not  determined  upon  until  late,  so  that  it  was  impossible  to 
obtain  a  full  list. 

Capt.  W.  H.  Bartlett,  Capt.  George  Ruby,  Charles  Dean, 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  185 

Wm.  H.  Harmon,  Andrew  Westcott,  Edson  Walker,  John  Carr 
Frank  Hall,  A.  C.  Dean,  Benjamin  J.  Hall,  Erastus  L.  Dean. 

After  the  graves  had  been  decorated,  the  procession  halted 
in  the  "Dell,"  and  the  literary  exercises  of  the  occasion  took 
place.  Capt.  George  W.  Truell  read  appropriate  selections  from 
(Scripture.  Ex-Chaplain  J.  0.  Emery  made  the  prayer.  The 
Post  Commander  made  a  few  introductory  remarks.  Ex-Dis- 
trict Commander  Alfred  M.  Williams  then  delivered  the  follow- 
ing address : 


MEMORIAL    ADDRESS. 


COMRADES  AND  FRIENDS  :  It  has  fallen  to  my  lot — who  am 
unworthy — to  express,  in  spoken  words,  that  regret  and  that 
honor  which  we  all  bear  to  our  martyred  comrades,  and  which 
we  have  just  signified  by  these  flowers,  which  are  the  beautiful 
thoughts  of  nature,  expressed  with  a  beauty  and  power  far 
beyond  any  language  of  man.  But  neither  words  nor  flowers 
can  fully  signify  the  feelings  with  which  we  regard  these  heroes, 
whose  last  resting  places  we  have  visited  this  day.  The  flowers 
will  fade ;  the  words  are  but  passing  sounds.  Our  feelings  will 
last  our  lives.  As  long  as  the  nation  lives,  it  will  remember 
these  men.  Yet,  although  this  ceremony  is  but  for  the  moment, 
we  are  glad  it  has  taken  place,  and  proud  to  bear  a  part  in  it. 
It  is  a  visible  embodiment  of  the  spirit  of  the  country.  We 
know  that  all  over  the  loyal  North,  at  this  very  hour,  the  same 
ceremony  is  taking  place.  In  almost  every  burial-place  in  the 
land,  from  Maine  to  Missouri,  where  lie  the  remains  of  the 
soldiers  of  that  army  which  crushed  the  mightiest  rebellion  the 
world  ever  saw,  there  comrades  have  gathered,  as  we  have 
gathered,  and  strewn  upon  their  graves  these  tokens  of  remem- 
brance, of  love  and  of  honor.  This  day  should  become  one  of 
the  sacred  days  of  the  Republic,  and  equal  in  honor  to  that  day 
which  we  have  celebrated  for  so  many  years  as  the  birth-day  of 
the  nation.  The  second  birth  of  the  Republic  should  have  its 
day  of  observance.  No  nation  and  no  country  has  thus  given 
such  united  honor  to  .its  defenders.  From  the  earliest  times, 
since  men  reverenced  virtue  and  bravery,  there  have  been  cere- 
monies of  respect  to  the  heroic  dead.  Isolated  battle-fields  have 
been  dedicated,  single  monuments  raised,  and  solitary  ceme- 
teries adorned.  But  this  is  universal.  The  whole  nation  unites 
in  it.  True,  the  ceremony  is  performed  by  the  surviving  com- 
rades of  those  who  fell,  but  those  who  represent  the  corporate 
existence  of  the  city  lend  us  their  presence,  and  citizens  and 
women  and  children  look  on  with  respect.  All  hearts  partici- 
pate in  tlr's  ceremony.  As  in  the  war  time  it  fell  to  the  lot  of 


186  MEMORIAL   CEREMONIES 

some  to  go  forth  to  the  fields  of  danger  and  hardships,  others, 
on  account  of  sex,  or  age,  or  bodily  infirmity,  could  not  go. 
But  all  who  contributed  of  their  wealth,  or  their  work,  or  their 
prayers,  aided  in  crushing  the  rebellion.  The  army  in  the  field 
could  not  have  lived  but  for  that  mightier  army  at  home,  which 
gave  and  toiled  and  prayed  for  them.  Those  brave  hearts  of  wo- 
men, who  went  forth  and  bore  with  unshrinking  nerves  the 
horrors  of  the  hospital,  are  as  truly  defenders  of  the  Union  as 
those  who  fought  in  the  field.  To  some  it  was  given  to  do  much  ; 
to  others  little.  All  those  who  did  their  whole*duty  are  entitled 
to  equal  honor.  So  of  this  ceremony  of  to-day.  We  arrogate 
to  ourselves  no  special  merit.  The  kind  hands  and  tender  hearts 
which  furnish  these  flowers  have  done  their  part.  The  public 
sentiment  which  aids  and  honors  this  display,  is  an  impalpable 
honor  to  the  dead.  We  but  give  form  to  the  universal  senti- 
ment of  the  land. 

Elut,  comrades,  we  have  a  sacred  chain  of  recollections, 
which  the  public  does  not  share.  As  we  have  passed  from 
grave  to  grave  to-day,  there  is  not  one  of  those  who  lay  sleeping 
beneath  the  sod  but  some  of  us  remember.  Perhaps  some  of  us 
calls  to  mind  how  he  stood  by  his  side  when  he  fell  by  the  sud- 
den bullet  of  the  enemy,  or  helped  bear  him  away  on  the  bloody 
stretcher,  or  heard  his  last  groan  amid  the  rows  of  pain  and 
anguish  in  the  wards  of  the  hospital.  Perhaps  he  helped  give 
him  his  first  burial,  when  the  rough  box  was  lowered  into  the 
shallow  hole,  it  may  be,  with  a  soldier's  requiem,  a  volley 
of  musketry,  or  as  often  without,  in  the  haste  of  victory  or 
retreat.  The  spot  that  first  received  him  may  have  been  by  the 
broad  Potomac,  or  on  some  of  those  numberless  battle-fields 
that  make  Virginia  a  dark  and  bloody  ground,  far  surpassing 
the  original  of  the  name.  Perhaps  it  was  in  the  barren  woods 
of  North  Carolina,  or  on  the  endless  plains  of  Louisiana  by  the 
sluggish  bayou,  beneath  the  sad  cypresses,  and  amid  the  alien 
scenery  of  the  tropics.  Perhaps  he  breathed  his  last  in  the 
confined  cot  on  shipboard.  Those  spots  gave  up  their  dead,  and 
they  were  returned  to  these  final  resting-places  in  the  land  that 
gave  them  birth.  Their  kindred  and  friends  followed  them  to 
their  graves,  while  their  comrades  were  risking  their  Jives 
in  the  distant  regions  where  they  fell.  But  the  survivors  have 
returned,  and  we  now  unite  all  over  the  land  in  paying  these 
ceremonies  of  respect,  which  we  could  not  pay  when  we  were 
scattered  and  struggling,  and  without  the  means. 

It  needs  not  to  recite  the  list  of  those  whose  graves  we  have 
visited  to-day.  To  some  it  was  given  to  win  a  fame  like  that  of 
Lieutenant  Swasey.  The  battles  of  Captain  Ingell  were  counted 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  187 

by  scores.  The  whole  city  was  struck  with  sorrow  at  the  death 
of  Lieutenant  Paull.  For  myself,  I  can  never  think  without  a 
thrill  of  the  bravery,  the  kindliness,  the  heroic  persistence  of  the 
great  soul  in  the  weak  body  of  Sergeant  Payson.  We  each  and 
all  have  some  one  whom,  we  remember  with  peculiar  affection. 
Each  one  of  these  was  a  comrade  to  one  of  us,  and  the  heart 
needs  no  words  to  recall  his  image.  We  do  the  same  honor  to 
the  private  as  to  the  officer,  for  he  was  entitled  to  the  same.  We 
recognize  the  heroism  of  him  who  died  before  he  ever  saw  a 
battle,  as  well  as  of  him  whose  body  was  covered  with  honorable 
wounds.  God  measures  the  intent,  not  the  action. 

Nor  while  we  thus  lay  our  tokens  of  regard  on  the  graves  of 
those  who  were  brought  home  from  their  distant  burial-places, 
some  by  the  relatives  and  friends,  and  others  by  the  powerful 
hand  of  that  great  fraternal  society  which  makes  all  its  mem- 
bers brothers,  and  continues  its  kind  offices  to  the  grave,  do  we 
forget  those  who  moulder  where  they  fell.  We  remember 
as  deeply  as  these  those  comrades  who  sleep,  it  may  be,  in 
graves  unmarked  even  by  the  rough  head-board  that  tells  that 
a  soldier  is  sleeping  beneath,  or  perchance  flung  into  the 
careless  ditch  by  the  loathsome  prison-pen,  or  fallen  like 
the  heroic  Christian,  Captain  Bartlett,  in  the  thick  of  the 
deadly  tight,  so  piled  with  corpses  that  he  could  not  be  recog- 
nized— or  sunk  in  the  soundless  depths  of  the  ocean.  We  cannot 
revisit  their  graves  in  the  body,  but  we  do  in  the  spirit.  It 
needs  710  storied  urn  nor  sculptured  marble  to  keep  their  names 
alive  in  our  hearts  or  in  the  hearts  of  the  country. 

This  is  the  beginning  of  the  Soldiers'  Memorial  Day. 
In  another  year  this  band  will  again  assemble  here,  and  from 
year  to  year  it  will  continue  to  assemble.  Year  after  year,  the 
band  of  the  living  will  grow  smaller,  the  band  of  the  dead 
increase,  until  the  time  will  come  when  some  feeble,  grey-haired 
man,  who  now  stands  before  me  in  the  pride  of  youth  and 
strength,  shall  essay  with  feeble  hands  to  lay  a  flower  on 
the  graves  of  us  all.  Which  one  of  us  he  will  be,  none  of  us 
can  say.  What  his  .feelings  on  such  a  day  will  be,  we  all 
can  imagine. 

It  may  be  that  this  Soldiers'  Memorial  Day  will  not  pass 
away  from  the  usages  of  the  country.  It  may  be,  that  after  the 
last  one  of  us  has  gone  to  his  final  resting-place,  that  posterity 
will  take  up  the  burden,  and  that  as  long  as  the  country 
remains  a  country  that  the  graves  of  those  who  fought  against 
the  great  rebellion  will  be  marked,  and  receive  their  yearly 
tribute  of  honor. 

However  that  may  be,  it  is  certain  that  ere  many  years  not 


188  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

one  of  ua  will  be  able  to  perform  or  to  aid  in  the  ceremony 
The  sight  of  these  graves  should  remind  us  that  we  shall  soon 
be  called  to  shift  our  camp,  and  join  the  squad  that  has  gone 
before  us  into  the  unknown  country.  May  each  one  of  us  be 
ready  when  the  order  comes. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  address,  His  Honor,  Mayor  Ehodes, 
made  some  brief  remarks,  that  this  would  be  the  beginning  of  a 
memorial  day  to  be  hereafter  sacred  to  the  purpose  of  lifting  us 
from  earth  to  the  heights  of  sorrow  and  the  purer  emotions  of 
the  mind  which  it  brings.  He  said  it  was  the  universal  desire 
that  there  should  be  a  soldiers'  monument  erected  by  the  city, 
and  could  assure  the  soldiers  that  it  was  not  for  any  neglect  on 
the  part  of  the  city  government  that  measures  had  not  been 
taken  to  effect  it.  At  the  present  time  the  expenses  were  very 
heavy,  but  he  could  assure  them  that  nothing  would  be  lost  by 
the  delay.  The  Mayor  spoke  in  his  usual  graceful  vein  on  the 
gratitude  due  the  soldiers,  and  the  sanctity  of  the  present 
harmony. 

Dr.  Andrews  was  then  introduced,  who  spoke  briefly  con- 
cerning the  effect  and  relations  of  the  war. 

Rev.  Dr.  Pollard  then  delivered  the  benediction. 

The  utmost  interest  was  manifested  in  the  ceremony  by  the 
community.  The  stores  were  generally  closed  at  the  request  of 
the  Mayor,  and  a  very  large  concourse  assembled  to  witness  the 
procession  and  the  ceremonies.  The  beautiful  amphitheatre  at 
Mt.  Pleasant  was  perfectly  alive  with  humanity.  More  touch- 
ing than  all,  was  the  tears  of  the  relatives  and  friends  of  the 
deceased  who  witnessed  the  tokens  of  remembrance  and  honor 
placed  upon  the  graves  of  their  loved  ones. 

Many  of  the  wreaths,  bouquets  and  crosses  were  of  great 
beauty.  Those  placed  over  the  remains  of  Lieut.  Swasey  at 
Mount  Pleasant  Cemetery,  and  of  Capt.  George  Godfrey  at 
Plain  St.  Burying  ground,  were  anchors  beautifully  decorated 
with  flowers.  Among  the  other  wreaths  was  one  to  the  mem- 
ory of  Sergeant  Payson,  to  Capt.  Wm.  H.  Bartlett,  Wm.  F. 
Macomber,  Jr.,  George  Standish,  Henry  C.  Benton,  and  others. 

AT  NEW  BEDFORD,  MASS. 

The  decoration  at  this  place  was  performed  by  Post  No.  1, 
G.  A.  R.  In  accordance  with  the  published  programme,  the 
comrades,  about  one  hundred  in  number,  assembled  at  their 
headquarters  at  9£  o'clock,  on  Saturday  morning,  when  a  pro- 
cession was  formed  as  follows  :  1st — A  "Cavalry  escort  of  twelve, 
aH  veterans,  commanded  by  Capt.  G.  R.  Hurlbut,  with  Capt. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  189 

E.  Robbing  as  aid  ;  2d — The  New  Bedford  Brass  Band,  Israel 
Smith,  leader  ;  3d — Post  No.  1,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
Lieut.  Freeman  C.  Luce,  commander  (the  officers  mounted,  and 
the  comrades  on  foot,  headed  by  Lieut.  J.  B.  Bowman) ;  4th — 
The  boat-carriage,  the  "Novelty,"  containing  the  flowers,  fol- 
lowed by  other  carriages,  in  which  were  disabled  soldiers  and 
sailors. 

The  procession,  thus  formed,  moved  to  City  Hall,  where  it* 
was  joined  by  the  speakers,  Chaplain,  and  the  invited  guests  of 
the  Post,  in  carriages,  and  also  by  the  colored  veterans,  twenty 
in  number,  under  command  of  Capt.  Wesley  Furlong.  Among 
the  guests,  were  the  Mayor,  the  President  of  the  Common 
Council,  Postmaster  Chapman,  Capt.  Fengar,  of  the  U.  S.  Rev- 
enue Cutter  Active,  and  several  other  national  and  State 
officers. 

Soon  after  10  o'clock,  the  procession  again  moved,  passing 
through  the  streets  designated  m  the  programme,  to  the  Rural 
Cemetery,  halting  near  its  centre.'  Here  the  guests  left  their 
carriages,  the  comrades  formed  in  line,  the  band  played  a  dirge, 
prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  Dr.  Mulcahey,  and  then  detach- 
ments from  the  Post  proceeded  to  decorate  the  graves  of  their 
dead  brothers  in  various  parts  of  the  cemetery.  These  graves 
had  been  each  marked  by  a  little  flag,  so  that  the  work  ot  scat- 
tering upon  them  the  beautiful,  fresh  garlands  of  flowers,  was 
readily  performed.  The  number  of  graves  of  soldiers  in  this 
cemetery  is  twenty. 

From  this  point,  the  line  of  march  was  taken  up  for  the  Oak 
Grove  Cemetery,  where  similar  services  were  performed,  thirty- 
five  graves  of  soldiers  being  strewn  with  the  floral  offerings. 
Some  of  the  comrades  had  also  been  charged  with,  and  perform- 
ed the  duty  of  decorating  the  graves  of  soldiers  at  the  Catholic 
Cemetery,  nine,  and  at  the  Peckham  West  Ground,  seven. 
Flowers  were  also  sent  to  decorate  the  burial-places  of  Lieut.  E. 
B.  Nye,  of  the  14th  battery,  at  Pocassett,  and  of  private  Alex- 
ander Tripp,  of  the  5th  battery,  at  Westport. 

The  procession  then,  passing  through  the  cemetery  to  Parker 
street,  moved  to  the  Common.  As  it  appeared  on  County  street, 
a  salute  of  35  guns  was  fired  by  veteran  members  of  the  5th 
battery,  under  command  of  Lieut.  H.  H.  Fisher.  Entering  the 
Common  from  Pearl  street,  the  members  of  the  Post  were 
drawn  up  in  front  of  a  platform  erected  just  west  of  the  monu- 
ment, around  which  was  gathered  an  immense  number  of  citi- 
zens. Capt.  W.  S.  Cobb,  chairman  of  the  committee  of  arrange- 
ments, called  the  vast  assembly  to  order ;  prayer  was  offered  by 
Rev.  Dr.  Quint,  Chaplain-General  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the 


190  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Republic,  and  then  James  Bunker  Congden,  Esq.,  being  intro- 
duced, made  the  following  address  : 

SOLDIERS  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC,  AND  FELLOW- 
CITIZENS  :  It  is  good  for  us  to  be  here.  "We  are  made  holier  and 
happier  by  such  ministrations.  The  day  of  strife  is  over ;  and 
as  we  perform  our  pilgrimage  to  the  spots  consecrated  as  the 
resting-places  of  our  martyred  dead,  we  can  strew  flowers  upon 
«hem,  wet  with  manly  tears,  unvisited  by  any  feeling  of  bitter- 
ness or  resentment  towards  those  whose  babaric  treason  brought 
them  to  untimely  graves  and  made  us  mourners. 

Our  hearts  are  too  full  of  holy  emotion,  our  thoughts  too 
highly  elevated  above  the  distractions  of  the  period  of  bloody 
contention,  to  find  room  for  feelings  of  hatred  or  revenge.  Noth- 
ing that  the  man  in  gray  has  done  or  can  do,  even  if  his  soul  is 
burthened  with  the  murderous  and  mournful  scenes  of  Ander- 
sonville,  can  disturb  us  now,  as  we  kneel  in  prayer  over  the 
graves  of  our  consecrated  dead,  and  scatter  flowers  upon  the 
green  turf  that  covers  their  cherished  remains. 

The  absorbing  emotion  is  that  of  gratitude — gratitude  to 
God  for  His  guidance  and  support  in  the  dark  hour  of  peril — 
gratitude  towards  our  brothers  who  through  His  providence 
were  made  the  instruments  of  our  deliverance.  Not  to  the 
living,  but  to  the  dead  have  we  consecrated  this  day.  We  grace 
their  tombs  with  beauty  and  fragrance,  and  we  would  make 
the  loveliness  and  sweetness  of  our  offering  emblematical  of 
those  pure  and  elevated  emotions  which  the  circumstances  of 
our  gathering  are  calculated  to  inspire. 

Thoughts  of  the  dead  of  the  Great  Rebellion  no  longer  carry 
us  to  the  fields  of  blood,  or  to  the  still  more  awful  horrors  of  the 
prison-house.  We  no  longer  see  them  mangled  and  dying  upon 
the  battle-field,  slowly  and  in  suffering  wasting  away  in  the 
hospitals,  or  agonized  by  the  torments  of  Andersonville  or  the 
Libby.  All  that  is  connected  with  them  now  is  beautiful  and 
fragrant.  "  Flowers,  sweet  flowers,"  are  the  fitting  emblems 
of  the  feelings  which  belong  to  this  interesting  demonstra- 
tion. 

Bring  flowers  to  the  shrine  where  we  kneel  in  prayer, 

They  are  nature's  offering,  their  place  is  there  ! 

They  speak  of  hope  to  the  fainting  heart, 

With  a  voice  of  promise  they  come  and  part, 

They  sleep  in  dust  through  the  wintry  hours, 

They  break  forth  in  glory — bring  flowers,  bright  flowers. 

Bring  flowers,  pale  flowers,  o'er  the  bier  to  shed, 
A  crown  for  the  brow  of  the  early  dead ! 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        191 

For  this  through  its  leaves  has  the  white  rose  burst, 
For  tliis  in  the  woods  was  the  violet  nursed. 
Though  they  smile  in  vain  for  what  otice  was  ours, 
They  are  love's  last  gift — bring  ye  flowers,  pale  flowers. 

We  are  selfish  to-day.  Our  hearts  are  with  the  dead  of  our 
own  household  ;  our  flowers  are  scattered  upon  the  graves  of 
our  friends,  our  brothers,  our  fathers.  We  are  thinking  of  the 
lost  ones  of  our  homes  ;  our  companions  in  the  conflict ;  of  those 
dear  to  us  by  the  ties  of  kindred,  dear  to  us  by  the  tender' mem- 
ories of  past  companionship  in  danger  and  in  triumph.  Every 
heart  here  has  a  cherished  association,  which  is  to  him  hallowed 
and  perennial.  Born  of  conflict,  suffering,  blood,  time  has  mel- 
lowed and  beautified  and  consecrated  it,  so  that  it  has  become  a 
"joy  of  grief,"  and  "flowers,  sweet  flowers,"  speak  the  language 
most  in  harmony  with  its  tender  emotions.  Each  brings  his 
offering,  typified  by  his  floral  garland,  to  this  spot  dedicated  to 
the  dead  of  our  beloved  city,  and  they  are  mingled  in  a  wreath 
of  glory  and  of  gratitude  which  we  reverently  place  upon  the 
monument  New  Bedford  has  reared  to  those  sons  who  were 
loyal  unto  death. 

Here  is  our  Memorial  Stone  for  all.  Our  quota  of  the  dead 
of  the  conflict  are  not  all  here.  Some  are  resting  in  graves  un- 
known, some  in  graves  far  away ;  and  these  cannot  be  reached 
by  you  to-day  in  your  pious  pilgrimage.  But  the  wreath  which 
you  place  upon  this  consecrated  shaft  is  "  a  crown  for  the  brow  " 
of  each  of  our  brothers  who  gave  his  life  to  his  country.  We 
have  flowers  for  the  graves  tar  away,  for  the  graves  unknown. 
We  can  revive  the  memory  of  the  dead,  although  we  may  not 
know  where  their  remains  are  mouldering. 

We  gather  our  thoughts  at  home.  Other  hands  than  ours 
will  to-day  wreathe  garlands  for  the  monuments  of  the  victims 
of  the  Rebellion  ;  and  wherever  the  tardy  spring-time  has  opened 
a  flower  to  be  reached  from  the  grave  of  a  "  soldier  taking  his 
rest,"  and  there  is  one  loyal  heart  beating  near,  that  flower  will 
be  plucked  and  reverently  laid  upon  the  solitary  tomb.  There 
will  be  wreaths  for  the  lofty  and  the  lowly  ;  and  he  who  shall 
this  day  weave  a  garland  for  the  youthful  and  noble  Shaw,  will 
duplicate  his  offering,  and  place  it  upon  the  brow  of  one  of  the 
brave  and  true-hearted  Africans  who  share  his  bloody  grave 
beneath  the  ramparts  of  Wagner. 

Our  hearts  are  at  home.  We  look  upon  this  graceful  and 
enduring  shaft,  and  we 

See  the  noble  HODMAN'S  name, 

High  upon  the  stone  appear — 
On  the  obelisk  of  fame 

Youthful  ROWLAND  follows  near. 


192  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

BBOWX,  whose  sable  brothers  wept, 

When  their  gallant  leader  died ; 
BLAKE,  who  well  his  station  kept, 

Finn  his  well-played  guns  beside. 
There  the  firm  and  fearless  NYE, 

Who  upon  the  battle-field, 
For  his  country  dared  to  die ; 

Shouting,  "  I  will  never  yield!  " 
WATSON,  FRANCIS.  OTTIWELL, 

Hold  a  high  ana  honored  place. 
ALMY,  KEMTTOX,  here  as  well, 

All  the  martyred  names  we  trace. 

And  the  lone;  roll  of  those  we  cannot  name — in  our  mind's  eye 
we  can  see  their  names,  too,  upon  the  enduring  granite ;  there 
is  a  garland  of  flowers  for  each  and  for  all ;  and  to  their  memory 
we  pay  the  homage  of  reverent  and  grateful  hearts. 

It  is  good  for  us  to  be  here.  He  who  reverently  and  grate- 
fully makes  a  pilgrimage  to  the  spot  where  lies  the  patriot  sol- 
dier, who  gave  his  life  for  his  country  and  for  freedom,  and  for 
the  expression  of  those  emotions  places  a  violet  upon  the  soldier's 
grave,  has  received  a  re-consecration  to  the  work  which  belongs 
to  the  citizen  and  the  patriot.  The  Grand  Army  of  the  Repub- 
lic will  be  truer  to  their  high  and  holy  calling  because  of  the 
sacred  services  of  this  day.  Hallowing  the  memory  of  the  dead, 
they  will  be  more  true  to  the  living ;  and  the  disabled  comrade, 
the  lonely  and  destitute  widow  and  the  sorrowing  orphan  will 
find  advocates  for  their  claims  in  the  softening  and  elevating 
experiences  of  this  day.  Recognising  the  claim  of  the  soldier 
who  fell  for  his  country,  to  be  remembered  with  honor  and 
gratitude,  we  shall  all  more  truly  estimate  the  worth  of  the 
nationality  they  died  to  preserve,  and  be  better  prepared  to 
labor,  and  if  need  be  to  die  in  its  defence. 

Thus  from  "  the  flower  which  fadeth,"  tenderly  and  rever- 
ently placed  upon  the  graves  of  our  honored  dead,  shall  there  be 
reaped  a  harvest  of  permanent  and  enduring  good.  We  shall 
find  in  the  future,  that  the  garlands  we  have  woven  are 

"  Withered  not  a  leaf- 
Fadeless  the  glory  of  their  spring-time  life ; 
Sweet  and  refreshing  and  a  joy  forever." 
These  flowers  are  all  "  Immortelles;  "  in  the  heart 
Forever  consecrate ;  and  thus  transformed, 
They  bloom  united  to  the  sacred  "  Word," 
And  with  it  "  stand  "  forever. 

See  the  fruit, 

Born  of  tender  leaf,  the  fragile  flower — 
Joy,  linked  with  Beauty,  Gratitude  and  Hope. 
This  is  the  fleeting  loveliness  of  earth, 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        193 

Touched  by  the  hand  of  charity  divine, 
Changed  to  a  ministry  of  holiness, 
Yielding  immortal  fruit." 

The  Band  then  played  an  appropriate  piece  of  music,  when 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Quint  spoke  as  follows  : 

— "Who  died  in  defence  of  their  country."  Seven  years 
have  gone  since  they  began  to  die.  Hardly  had  the  head  of  the 
column  entered  the  rebellious  States,  hardly  had  the  keel  of  the 
war-ships  cut  the  Southern  waters,  when  the  roll  of  the  dead 
was  begun.  Thenceforward  it  lengthened  year  by  year  through 
four  years  of  warfare.  Dead  on  the  slippery  decks  !  Dead  by 
the  camp-fires  of  a  night !  Dead  in  the  smoke-cloud  of  battle ! 
Dead  in  the  murderous  prison  pens !  Time,  which  has  hidden 
the  trenches  under  the  green  grass,  and  ploughed  over  the  track 
of  the  heavy  guns,  has  softened  the  first  violence  of  mourning 
into  gentle  sadness,  and  is  healing  a  nation's  wounds.  But 
wherever  loyal  men  and  true  comrades  are,  to-day  a  people 
brings  its  offering  with  which  to  garland  the  graves  of  their 
dead  heroes. 

We  pause  by  this  memorial  stone,  comrades  and  citizens,  for 
a  parting  service.  We  could  not  find  all  the  graves  to-day. 
You  know  where  they  are.  The  waters  are  the  restless  graves 
of  some.  The  bluffs  of  the  quiet  rivers  cover  some.  The 
thronged  burial-place  where  drooping  captives  mustered  strength 
to  bury  the  starved  dead,  hold  some  in  endless  captivity.  So, 
now  you  have  decked  the  graves  of  those  who  sleep  at  home, 
pause,  and  here  honor  the  graves  of  those  who  sleep  far  off. 

This  is  no  time  for  many  words.  Sometimes  words  are 
helpless,  because  the  great  idea  disdains  the  bondage  of 
language.  The  men  whom  we  remember  were  not  men  of 
words,  but  deeds.  All  their  words  were  written  with  their 
bayonets.  With  their  sabres  they  shaped  the  destiny  of  their 
land.  "  They  died  in  defence  of  their  country.! "  What  is 
more  eloquent  than  the  majestic  simplicity  of  that  phrase  ? 
"  Their  country  !  "  Let  not  him  try  to  measure  the  length  and 
breadth  of  these  words,  who  thinks  of  his  country  only  as  a 
place  to  buy  and  sell  and  get  gain  1  Let  him  not  try  to  sound 
the  depth  of  these  words,  whose  idea  of  his  country  is  only  that 
wherein  he  shall  get  public  office  and  honor  and  profit ! 

Let  him  not  aspire  to  the  height  of  these  words  who  thinks 
that  peace  is  better  than  righteousness,  safety  better  than 
manhood !  They  who  endured  hardship,  and  dauntlessly  met 
the  fiery  storm,  and  poured  out  their  blood,  and  lay  with  their 
white  faces  upturned  to  God,  they  knew  —  in  their  life-time 
knew — what  "  our  country"  means.  They,  in  their  graves,  tell 
13 


194  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

113  that  no  country  can  live  without  law  and  liberty  and  true 
manhood  ;  and  because  they  saw,  in  the  Flag,  the  soul  of  the 
Great  Republic,  with  strong  hearts  and  chivalric  daring  they 
planted  themselves  by  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  and  now  sleep  till 
the  reveille  of  the  resurrection  morn. 

Better  than  words  do  the  things  of  this  day  speak.  Hear 
them. 

This  service  says  that  the  old  soldiery  do  not  forget  their 
comrades.  Fresh  in  memory  are  those  who  were  once  with  us 
in  marcli  and  battle.  True  men  do  not  forget  those  with  whom 
they  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  the  greatest,  hardest  times 
this  land  ever  saw.  The  fellowship  of  the  living,  welded  in  tire 
still  endures.  Some  men  look  angrily  on  the  great  brother- 
hood of  former  soldiery,  which  now  covers  the  loyal  land.  They 
affect  to  feel  danger  from  the  hundreds  of  thousands  who  link 
their  hands  under  the  leadership  of  the  gallant  Logan.  But 
pause  and  think  you,  you  who  frown — are  the  fellowships  of  the 
battle-tield,  made  in  love  to  the  flag,  sworn  to  on  the  altar  of 
death,  to  fall  asunder  like  blades  of  grass  mown  down  ?  Think 
you  that  men  who  rested  together  on  the  hard  ground,  stood  in 
the  same  line,  followed  the  same  flag,  charged  together  when 
death  \vas  in  every  step  ;  men  who  were  deprived  of  home  and 
had  no  friends  but  each  other,  and  closed  up  as  the  dying  fell — 
do  you  ask  that  they  shall  throw  aside  these  ties  of  life  and 
death  ?  Can  you  not  instinctively  feel  that  they  cannot  do  it  ? 
that  they  cannot  abandon  their  needy  and  often  friendless  com- 
rades, and  the  widows  and  orphans  of  the  dead  ?  that  they  can- 
not dishonor  themselves  by  destroying  the  sympathies  of  a 
glorious  cause  ?  Bear  with  us,  we  pray  you,  in  this  thing. 
Think  not  hard  of  us  for  our  soldierly  care  of  comrades.  If  it 
be  a  weakness  in  us  to  cherish  old  memories,  yet  deal  tenderly 
with  m,  and  grant  us  this  one  little  boon  ;  for  once  you  needed 
us,  and  then  nothing  was  too  much  to  promise  us  when  you 
asked  us  to  encounter  death.  We  did  it.  When  we  ask  you  to 
let  us  keep  fresh  the  ties  of  death,  will  you  not  do  it  ?  Be  not 
jealous  because  we  remember  each  other.  Dangerous  ?  Yes, 
once,  dangerous  to  the  traitor  and  rebel.  But  not  now.  Men 
who  perilled  life  for  law  may  be  trusted  in  peace.  Dangerous 
again,  only  should  the  lawful  authorities  need  their  right'hands 
again,  and  then  dangerous  only  to  the  disobedient  and  law- 
less. See !  only  the  color-guard  carry  muskets,  and  the  muz- 
zles are  tilled  only  with  flowers.  There  is  no  danger  in  these 
flowers.  There  are  no  bullets  hid  under  them.  Peacefully, 
soberly,  reverentially,  loyally,  we  lay  the  flowers  on  the  graves 
of  the  dead. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  195 

Let  the  flowers  tell  our  minds.  When  the  war  was  young, 
the  volleys  over  the  grave  announced  a  soldier's  burial.  AVhen 
the  war  grew  sterner,  the  volleys  ceased  ;  and  hut  for  the  sullen 
shots  of  the  foe,  the  dead  were  laid  down  in  silence.  Ah,  me! 
the  many  over  whom  I  have  said"  Eartli  to  earth,  ashes  to  ashes, 
dust  to  dust !"  Now.  these  spring  flowers  on  the  graves  are  the 
emblems  of  peace  which  blesses  our  land.  We  bring  them  as 
puch.  We  adopt  the  substitute.  Hands  that  once  grasped  the 
sword-hilt,  now  scatter  flowers.  Accept  our  meaning. 

You  do  accept  it.  We  thank  those  that  plucked  and  gave 
these  flowers  for  the  soldiers'  graves.  We  Gratefully  acknowl- 
edge the  general  answer  to  our  request  in  this  city.  Women's 
hands,  the  hands  which  never  tired  when,  for  the  soldiers,  they 
knit,  and  sewed  and  rolled  the  lint,  while  their  tears  fell  on  the 
work  and  their  brave  hearts  nerved  themselves — women's  hands 
have  brought  the  peaceful  offering.  Do  they  not  say :  "  Soldiers, 
we  do  not  forget  the  fallen  ;  soldiers,  we  honor  still  the  manhood 
that  was  once  our  defence."  And  as  we  take  the  gentle  gifts, 
we  say,  "  As  you  trusted  us  in  war,  so  can  you  trust  us  in 
peace." 

Citizens,  we  thank  you  for  vour  sympathies.  We  expected 
it.  These  are  your  dead.  T*hey  went  out  from  your  homes. 
They  are  of  your  blood.  There  was  weeping  and  moaning  in 
your  streets  when  they  fell.  We  are  one  of  you  now.  When 
armies  disbanded,  the  soldier  laid  aside  his  garb  and  became  a 
citizen  again.  War  was  not  our  business.  Peace  was  our  ob- 
ject. Only  in  memory  and  friendship  is  any  line  existing.  In 
that  memory,  we  gratefully  acknowledge  all  honor  which  you 
pay  to  the  departed.  We  appreciate  the  words  which  have  been 
spoken  here  by  your  representative,  whose  warm  sympathies  and 
continued  help  in  the  work  of  peace,  we  do  not  forget.  We  re- 
call with  gratitude  all  who  worked  at  home  for  their  country's 
cause,  and  cherished  their  country's  defenders  in  the  field.  Not 
less,  because  no  scruples  forbade  us  to  follow  the  bugle's  call,  do 
we  think  those  who,  in  obedience  to  their  life-long  convictions, 
could  not  see  their  way  to  use  the  sword,  yet  earnestly,  kindly, 
gently  ministered  to  those  who  held  the  sword.  Not  less  do  we 
feel  gratitude  to  them,  in  that  with  oath,  pen  and  voice,  they 
nerved  themselves  to  sacrifice  and  stand  up  for  the  right. 

Tenderly  think  we  now  of  the  widow  and  orphan  !  As  the 
flowers  were  placed  on  yonder  graves,  we  saAv  tears  falling  from 
lonely  women's  eyes.  We  saw  silent  children  there.  Oh,  how 
full  of  meaning  is  this  day  to  them !  Are  not  these  scenes, 
which  tell  of  respect  to  their  dead,  a  comfort  to  them  ?  The 
God  of  the  fatherless  and  the  widow,  be  their  God  1 


190  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

"With  a  fearful  price  was  our  country  ransomed.  Yet  there 
13  no  bitterness  in  our  hearts  towards  those  that  were  our  ene- 
mies in  the  field.  We  are  not  offended  because  Southern  women 
strew  with  flowers  the  graves  of  their  dead.  Though  mistaken 
and  misled  by  ambitious  leaders,  those  men  were  brave  men. 
They  sealed  their  faith  by  their  blood.  Lowered  would  be  the 
Southern  people  in  our  thought,  did  they  forget  the  memory  of 
the  soldiers  that  fought  so  sturdily  in  their  unhappy  project. 
We  can  distinguish  between  their  often  reckless  bravery  and 
their  mistaken  cause ;  and  now  that  that  cause  is  dead,  and  our 
once  foes  have  yielded,  and  the  flag  is  undisturbed,  no  soldier, 
however  loyal,  cherishes  hate  to  the  men  he  met  in  the  rude 
shock  of  battle.  For  their  traitorous  leaders,  there  is  never- 
more trust;  as  for  the  gallant  men  whom  they  deceived,  when 
they  broke  ranks  forever,  the  controversy  ended,  and  we  are 
friends. 

On  this  day  we  reiterate  our  allegiance  to  the  flag  of  our 
country.  We  honor  those  who  fell  in  its  defence.  We  drink 
in  new  inspiration  of  loyalty,  obedience  and  faith.  By  the 
graves,  we  become  truer  patriots,  unselfish,  unflinching  in  duty. 

You  counted  the  number  of  guns,  just  now,  in  the  national 
salute.  Thirty-seven  guns.  Who  said  you  might  count  that 
number  ?  No  State  gone  ;  no  star  vanished  from  the  flag.  Who 
seized  the  dropping  stars  and  fastened  them  in  the  blue  field 
forever  ? 

Now  the  nation  lives,  not  maimed  nor  severed.  In  her  noble 
sympathy,  reaching  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from  the  Lakes  to  the 
Gulf,  she  lifts  up  ner  undimmed  banner,  and  calls  forth  to  her 
trust,  the  gallant  soldier  who  led  her  armies  to  victory,  not 
GRANT  of  the  North,  nor  of  the  South,  nor  of  the  East,  nor  of 
the  West,  but  GRANT  of  APPOMATTOX,  stern  and  fearless  in  duty, 
but  gentle,  like  a  true  soldier,  to  the  vanquished;  the  nation 
trusts  him  to  fulfill  her  vows,  that  beneath  the  folds  of  her  flag, 
shall  life,  liberty,  right,  be  preserved  to  the  living,  and  over  the 
gallant  dead  shall  be  dropped  the  tears  of  gratitude,  and  on  the 
green  graves  shall  be  scattered  the  flowers  of  Spring. 

The  benediction  was  then  pronounced  by  Rev.  Tyler  C. 
Moulton,  Chaplain  of  the  Post,  when  flowers  were  strewed 
about  the  base  of  the  monument,  and  the  shaft  was  decked  with 
wreaths  and  garlands,  while  the  band  played  "Leaf  by  leaf  the 
roses  fall,"  and  "  The  Star-Spangled  Banner." 

The  impressive  ceremonies  at  the  monument  concluded, 
three  guns  were  fired  as  a  signal,  the  procession  was  re-formed, 
and  proceeded  to  Fairhaven.  As  it  reached  the  residence  of 
Capt.  John  A.  Hawes,  a  halt  was  made,  and  a  generous  and 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'. GRAVES.        197 

beautiful  contribution  of  flowers  was  placed  in  the  flower-car- 
riage. Arrived  at  the  Riverside  Cemetery,  the  members  of  the 
Post,  with  their  guests,  and  a  large  concourse  of  citizens  of 
Fairhaven,  gathered  about  the  Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Monument, 
recently  erected  by  the  town  authorities.  A  platform  stood 
near,  upon  which  were  seated  the  Selectmen,  Rev.  Dr.  Quint, 
Capt.  Hawes,  and  others. 

Capt.  Hawes,  chairman  of  the  committee  charged  with  the 
erection  of  the  monument,  addressing  his  fellow-citizens,  re- 
marked, that  soon  after  the  arrival  ot  the  remains  of  the  first 
Fairhaven  soldier  who  fell  in  the  war,  at  a  meeting  of  the  trus- 
tees of  the  cemetery,  Mr.  Edwin  R.  Almy  moved  that  a  suitable 
lot  be  appropriated  for  the  burial  of  those  who  should  fall  in 
defence  of  their  country.  This  was  done,  and  we  stand  by  the 
spot  selected.  In  1867  the  town  voted  to  erect  a  monument, 
and  raised  a  committee  for  that  purpose.  The  committee  se- 
cured the  services  of  Geo.  F.  Meacham,  Esq.,  the  architect,  who, 
said  Capt.  H.,  voluntarily  and  nobly  exceeded  his  contract  by 
adding  some  three  feet  to  the  height  of  the  shaft. 

"And  now,  Mr.  Chairman  of  the  Selectmen  of  Fairhaven," 
said  the  speaker,  pointing  to  the  neat  monument  of  Concord 
granite,  suitably  inscribed,  u  there  is  our  report — not  written  on 
parchment,  but  in  imperishable  stone.  May  it  stand  till  the 
great  Father,  who  has  conducted  us  through  a  long  and  arduous 
struggle,  shall  see  fit  to  crumble  it  to  dust." 

Capt.  Hawes  said  the  town  authorities  had  decided  to  infor- 
mally dedicate  the  monument  on  that  occasion,  and  called  upon 
Rev.  Dr.  Quint  to  perform  that  service ;  who,  after  eloquently 
referring  to  the  services  in  which  the  Post  had  been  engaged  on 
that  day,  spoke  of  the  purpose  of  rearing  the  monument.  It 
was  to  honor  the  dead  who  gave  their  lives  for  their  country?s 
defence.  Their  names  are  graven  upon  its  sides.  But  no  such 
inscription  is  needed  to  perpetuate  their  memory;  for  their 
names  are  graven  in  the  heart?  of  the  living ;  nor  in  these  alone ; 
they  live  in  the  imperishable  history  of  the  country.  In  rearing 
this  stone  to  their  honor,  those  who  raised  it  honored  them- 
selves. 

Dr.  Quint  then  happily  spoke  of  the  significance  of  the 
monument,  of  the  lessons  it  teaches,  and  of  the  inspiration  it 
should  give.  He  spoke,  too,  of  the  claims  of  the  living  breth- 
ren of  those  who  were  thus  remembered  to-day ;  and  asked  that 
simple  justice  be  done  to  the  men  who  had  nobly  braved  the 
dangers  of  war,  that  the  country  might  have  peace.  At  the 
close  of  his  remarks,  which  were  entirely  extemporaneous,  he 
offered  the  dedicatory  prayer,  and  closed  with  the  benediction. 


198  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

The  simple  rite  of  decorating  the  monument  with  wreaths 
and  bouquets,  and  strewing  with  flowers  the  seven  graves  of 
soldiers  in  the  cemetery,  \vus  performed  by  the  comrades  of  the 
Post,  a  detachment  of  whom  had  been  previously  sent  with  a 
similar  tribute  to  be  placed  on  a  soldier's  grave  in  the  Xaska- 
tucket  Cemetery. 

This  closed  the  services  of  the  day.  The  procession  then 
returned  to  this  city,  reaching  City  Hall  at  about  five  o'clock 
p.  M  The  members  proceeded  to  their  headquarters  and  were 
i  smissed. 

There  was  a  profusion  of  flowers,  all  fresh  and  beautiful, 
manv  of  them  wrought  into  tasteful  wreaths,  crosses,  and  bou- 
quets— witnesses  not  only  of  the  generosity  of  the  givers,  but 
of  the  kindness  of  the  ladies,  who  skillfully  wove  the  garlands. 

The  procession  was  not  imposing  by  its  length ;  but  consid- 
ering the  threat  of  rain  in  the  morning,  and  the  fact  that  no 
special  etfort  had  been  made  at  display,  it  was  highly  satisfac- 
tory. The  great  distance  passed  over,  and  the  great  length  of 
time  occupied  in  the  service,  deterred  many  from  joining  the 
procession.  But  there  was  no  lack  of  interest  in  the  service. 
All  along  the  route,  demonstrations  of  respect  were  made.  The 
keepers  of  the  cemeteries  had  draped  the  entrance  to  each  with 
flags ;  flags  were  displayed  at  half-mast  upon  the  public  build- 
ings, on  various  flag-stafls,  and  upon  several  private  residences 
both  in  this  city  and  Fairhaveu.  The  school-ship  also  had  her 
flags  at  half-mast. 

AT  FALL  RIVER,  MASS. 

The  procession  started  from  the  City  Hall  at  about  half-past 
1  o'clock,  in  the  following  order  : 

A  detachment  of  eight  policemen.  Mechanics'  Band,  18 
pieces.  Aids.  Chief  Marshal.  Aids.  Company  B,  M.  Y.  M., 
uinler  command  of  Capt.  B.  D.  Davol,  21)  men.  Post  46,  G. 
A.  R.,  about  50  men,  under  command  of  Capt.  Frank  McGraw. 
Returned  Veterans,  about  75  men,  under  command  of  Capt. 
Chas.  D.  Copeland.  Company  D,  M.  V.  M.,  32  men,  under 
command  of  Capt.  S.  L.  Braley.  Hi^h  and  Grammar  School 
boys,  208,  under  the  charge  of  Mr.  JT.  Milton  Hall.  Girls  of 
the  High  and  Grammar  Schools,  under  the  direction  of  M* 
A.  K.  Slade,  Wm.  H.  Gordon,  and  Leonard.  St.  John's  Tem- 
perance Society,  37  men,  preceded  by  their  Band,  17  pieces. 
Carriages  with  Disabled  Soldiers,  as  follows :  Michael  Coughlin, 
"Win.  Deplitch,  Xathan  Boomer,  William  II.  Carpenter,  Wil- 
liam II.  Bennett.  Carriages  containing  Chaplains,  Speakers, 
Mayor,  and  Members  of  the  City  Government. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  199 

The  route  of  the  procession  was  up  Main  to  Cherry,  through 
Cherry  to  Rock,  up  Rock  to  Prospect  and  the  Cemetery. 

On  arriving  there,  the  procession  marched  in  and  halted 
near  the  Soldiers'  Burial  Lot,  Post  46,  G.  A.  R.,  stationed 
around  the  monument ;  the  remainder  of  the  line  was  ranged 
in  a  circle  round  the  lot.  On  the  lot  were  seats  for  the  chap- 
lain, speakers,  and  members  of  the  City  Government.  Here 
services  appropriate  to  the  occasion  were  observed,  as  follows : 

Music  by  the  Mechanics'  Band — "  Pleyel's  Hymn." 

Address  by  Rev.  S.  W.  Butler,  who  spoke  as  follows : 

SOLDIERS  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC  :  Again,  in 
obedience  to  the  order  of  your  commander,  do  yon  close  your 
ranks,  but  not  as  in  the  days  gone  by.  Again  the  music  of  the 
Band  rises  amid  the  trees — not  wild,  high,  and  clamorous,  as 
six  years  ago  this  May  mouth  you  heard  it,  as,  on  the  field  of 
Williumsburg,  Hooker  collected  parts  of  scattered  bands,  and 
sought  to  cheer  the  dying  and  inspire  the  hearts  of  the  over- 
matched columns.  You  stand  beneath  the  peaceful  shade  of 
"  Oak  Grove  "  to-day.  The  foliage  of  last  year  lies  brown  and 
crisp  upon  the  ground,  while  the  springing  leaflets  of  the  foliage 
that  is  to  be  is  Ted  upon  the  bough.  Six  years  ago  to-day,  you 
closed  your  decimated  files  in  Fair  Oaks,  Va.,  where  Nature's 
order  was  reversed,  for  the  early  leaf  upon  the  trees  was  brown 
and  sere  with  the  flames  of  battle,  while  the  fallen  leaves  of  the 
previous  year  were  red  with  the  life-blood  of  your  comrades, 
whose  memories  you  to-day  come  to  revere. 

The  propitious  heavens  bend  in  peace  over  your  formations 
to-day,  as  they  arched  over  your  smoking  columns  at  Gettys- 
burg. Scenes  and  experiences  have  greatly  changed  with  you 
since,  in  field  or  hospital,  you  closed  the  eyes  of  your  comrades; 
but  not  changed  in  the  soldierly  affection  which  binds  your 
hearts  to  theirs  whose  links  were  forged  and  welded  in  the 
white  heat  of  battle.  And  fitting  is  the  tribute  you  offer  to  the 
memory  of  these  departed. 

We  say  departed,  for  those  you  called  your  comrades  are  not 
here.  And  though 

*'  On  Fame's  eternal  camping-ground 

Their  silent  tents  are  spread, 
And  memory  walks  with  solemn  round 
The  bivouac  of  the  dead," 

yet  are  these  tents  deserted,  and  the  tents  only  of  the  bivouac 
remain.  Say  not  that  beneath  these  mounds  they  sleep.  The? 
soldiers  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  neither  surrender 
nor  sleep  upon  their  post. 


200  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

These  mounds  of  earth,  to  our  ill-lighted  vision  present  to  us 
illusions  which  betray  our  thoughts  into  disastrous  sadness — as 
your  comrades  at  Ball's  Bluff  were  betrayed  to  their  deaths  by 
moonbeams  shining  through  the  vistas  of  the  forest,  revealing 
to  the  eyes  of  the  scout  the  illusion  of  foeinen's  tents. 

From  Plymouth  Rock  to  the  Golden  Gate,  from  Oak  Ridge, 
111.,  where  lies  the  body  of  the  noblest  martyr,  to  Oak  Grove, 
Mass.,  where  rears  the  humblest  stone,  not  one  but  marks  the 
resting-place  of  the  brave  ;  for 

"  While  the  good  swords  rust, 
And  their  steeds  are  dust, 
Their  souls  are  with  the  saints,  we  trust," 

promoted  to  the  armies  of  heaven,  which  on  white  horses  follow 
the  "Lamb  whithersoever  He  goeth.  There  they  "  hunger  no 
more,"  for  the  rations  are  ever  bountiful.  "  They  shall  thirst 
no  more,"  for  their  line  of  march  is  eternally  by  the  margin  of 
the  "  River  of  Life,  which  flows  from  beneath  the  foot  of  the 
Throne  of  God  and  the  Lamb  forever."  Neither  shall  the  sun 
light  on  them  in  the  weary  march,  nor  any  heat  in  the  hour  of 
battle,  for  their  warfare  is  accomplished.  No  more  in  stockade, 
or  prison,  or  hospital  ward,  do  they  weep  unavailing  tears  of 
manly  love  for  homes  and  firesides,  while  the  ponderous  days 
crush  heart  and  hope,  until  the  dead  line  is  to  them  a  welcome 
boon.  "  These  former  things  "  to  them,  as  to  us,  are  "  passed 
away." 

And  when  they  passed  away,  they  bequeathed  to  us  the 
legacy  of  their  memories,  which  shall  be  perpetuated  while 
Massachusetts  hills  are  green,  and  flowers  spring  from  their 
verdant  sods  ;  and  their  lives,  though  to  us  a  vapor,  shall  be  to 
us  as  the  pillar  of  cloud  and  fire  to  Israel,  a  healing  shadow  in 
the  noon  of  our  national  prosperity,  and  a  beacon  of  cheer  in 
the  night  of  calamity.  They  have  left  us  the  rich  legacy  of 
their  altar  tombs,  from  whose  fires  we  will  ever  rekindle  the 
torches  of  their  patriotism  as  accumulating  years  of  luxury  and 
peace  shall  enervate  the  same.  They  have  bequeathed  to  UB 
those  jewels  of  their  manly  hearts,  whose  presence  was  in  fancy 
near  them  when  victory  paled  upon  the  glaring  eyeballs,  and 
the  shouts  of  triumphant  comrades  were  lost  in  the  surges  of 
the  dark  river,  the  legacy  of  their  mothers,  their  sisters,  their 
wives,  their  children.  And  we  come  to-day  to  enrich  our  minds 
with  those  legacies  of  memory  which  will  give  us  to  as  noble  a 
'life  for  the  untarnished  perpetuity  of  the  Republic,  as  they 
have  nobly  died,  and  to  take  more  closely  to  our  sympathies 
those  by  whose  poverty  and  bereavement  we  are  made  rich. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        201 

It  is  fitting,  then,  that  you,  the  surviving  comrades,  should 
come,  and,  by  the  sweet  persuasions  of  your  fidelity  to  their 
memory,  seek  to  secure  to  posterity,  inviolate,  the  Republic  of 
their  love  and  the  purchase  of  their  blood.  It  is  fitting  that  the 
citizens  should  hither  come  to  be  continually  aroused  to  that 
vigilance  whose  eternity  is  the  price  of  liberty.  It  is  fitting 
that  capital  should  hither  come,  for  these  are  the  vaults  whose 
coin  of  valor  redeems  from  worthlessness  the  medium  of  our 
commerce.  It  is  the  grass  of  these  and  other  mounds  whose 
spirit  transfigures  the  intrinsic  poverty  of  every  gold  dollar  into 
nominal  wealth. 

Whirl  away,  spindles !  clash,  clattering  looms !  fly  away, 
shuttles  !  but  pay  your  homage  here.  But  for  the  lives  that 
passed  from  there,  amid  whizzing  bullets,  clashing  bomb,  and 
hustling  shot,  the  sinews  of  your  strength  were  repudiate. 
Here  let  children  come  to  gain  inspirations  which  shall  aid  them 
to  as  nobly  live  for  the  Republic,  as  these  have  noblv  died. 

Here  let  the  Christian  come,  and  at  the  altar  of  the  nation 
offer  the  sacrifice  of  contrite  hearts  to  Him  who  ruleth  in  the 
armies  of  heaven,  and  giveth  the  beauty  of  His  chosen  to  be 
"  slain  upon  the  high  places  "  in  the  completion  of  His  own 
omniscient  benevolent  purposes. 

After  which,  prayer  by  the  same. 

Music  by  the  Band — "  America." 

Mayor  Fairbanks  spoke  as  follows  : 

OFFICERS  AND  MEMBERS  OF  THE  46TH  POST  OF  THE  GRAND 
ARMY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC  :  The  ground  upon  which  we  stand  is 
truly  sacred  soil ;  and  we  are  here  in  compliance  with  an  order 
from  the  Commander-in-Cliief  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public, that  we  may,  through  the  emblem  of  flowers,  express 
the  sweetness,  fragrance,  and  beauty  of  our  remembrance  of 
your  departed  comrades ;  and,  by  the  freshness  and  greenness 
of  our  offering,  show  that  we  still  appreciate  their  great  sacri- 
fice. 

This  is  a  place  of  silence.  Here  human  oratory  is  vain,  and 
man's  applause  a  mockery.  We  are.  surrounded  with  objects 
more  eloquent  than  speech.  Yes,  there  are  times  and  occasions 
where  words  fail  to  express  our  thoughts,  feelings,  and  emo- 
tions ;  and  yet  we  are  not  here  to-day  as  comes  a  procession  of 
mourners.  It  has  been  said  that  it  is  glorious  to  die  for  one'p 
country.  Yes,  and  it  is  glorious  to  live  with  the  conscious  feel- 
ing that  we  have  dared  death  to  save  our  country.  So,  as  we 
come  within  these  beautiful  grounds,  and  gather  around  this 
sacred  spot,  our  minds  need  not  be  filled  with  gloom  ;  and  yet 
our  tongues  may  falter  in  giving  utterance  to  our  feelings. 


202  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

If  disembodied  spirits  ever  take  cognizance  of  earthly- 
scenes,  may  we  not  believe  that  the  heroic  spirits  of  those  whose 
honored  names  are  cut  upon  this  splendid  monument  are  now 
hovering  over  us  ?  Were  it  so,  and  could  we  communicate  with 
them,  we  should  fail  to  find  fitting  words  to  make  known  our 
thoughts  and  grateful  emotions.  And  could  these  exalted  spir- 
its speak  to  us  of  things  of  time,  we  would  be  eager  listeners. 
What  would  they  say  1  Hark !  "  God  only  knows  what  the 
Boys  in  Blue  suffered  for  their  country.  Earnestly  love  and 
cherish  the  land  for  which  we  died.  Sustain,  respect,  and  honor 
our  living  comrades.  Care  for  and  protect  our  parents,  our 
widows,  and  our  orphans." 

And  now,  gentlemen  and  ladies,  will  we  ever  grow  remiss 
in  this  obvious  duty  ?  Let  us  all  in  our  heart  of  hearts  answer, 
No.  And  as  we  yearly  come  to  this  consecrated  shrine,  to 
decorate  with  flowers  these  graves,  may  we  take  anew  our  sol- 
emn vow. 

Dr.  Robert  T.  Davis  spoke  as  follows : 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN,  AND  YOU  RETURNED  YETEKANS  OF 
THE  ARMY  AND  NAVY  :  After  so  long  a  silence  and  absence,  I 
know  of  no  other  occasion  which  could  have  impelled  me  to 
address  you  other  than  this  profoundly  solemn  and  touching 
ceremony  ;  but  it  is  indeed  an  honor  and  privilege  to  participate 
with  you  in  this  act  of  respectful  and  loving  homage  to  the 
precious  and  sacred  memory  of  our  patriot  dead,  who  died  that 
their  country  might  survive — that  its  institutions  might  not 
perish  from  the  earth. 

At  this  moment,  over  all  the  land  which  they  have  saved, 
this  sweet  and  beautiful  tribute  is  tenderly  and  reverently  offered 
at  the  shrines  which  rise  so  thickly  from  the  green  earth  where 
sleep  our  heroes. 

And  fresh  and  fragrant  as  these  flowers  which  youth  and 
innocence  and  beauty  have  placed  upon  this  cherished  spot,  will 
ever  remain  the  recollection  of  these  priceless  services. 

We  knew  them  in  life,  and  saw  them  depart  from  their 
homes  ready  to  abide  the  dread  issue  of  battle  on  which  were 
staked  the  honor,  safety,  and  salvation  of  their  country,  and 
willing  in  that  sacred  cause  to  peril  life  and  personal  fortune, 
whether  humble  or  exalted — to  abandon  forever,  it  might  be, 
the  dearest  associations,  friends,  family,  neighborhood  ties,  all 
that  is  sweet,  tender,  lovely,  cherished,  and  beloved,  all  that 
brightens  and  warms  our  interior  nature — know  full  well  how 
rude  and  severe  the  test  which  they  and  their  surviving  com- 
rades so  nobly  endured.  This  is  the  place,  this  the  time,  this 
the  presence ;  for  here  stand  the  living  soldiers  of  the  great  war 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  203 

confronting  the  shaft  which,  standing  upon  the  earth  where  rest 
the  mortal  relics  of  their  brothers  in  arms,  points  upward  to 
their  eternal  home,  for  us  all  to  renew  the  inspiration  of  this 
great  epoch  from  which  we  are  just  emerging. 

Prior  to  the  Rebellion  this  nation  had  achieved  a  proud  and 
envied  name  and  place  among  contemporary  States.  In  her 
very  birth  she  had  startled  the  world  by  uttering  the  sublime 
doctrines  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  that  trumpet-call 
and  battle-cry  of  Freedom  to  all  mankind  in  all  the  ages. 

But  hostile  men,  influences,  and  institutions,  had,  almost 
from  the  foundation  of  the  Government,  conspired  to  weaken 
our  attachment  to  those  glorious  truths  for  which  Washington 
fought,  and  Jefferson  wrote,  and  Otis  spoke,  and  Franklin 
labored,  to  crumble  and  destroy  the  rock  of  our  political  faith 
— the  ark  of  our  political  salvation,  upon  which  the  patriot  and 
the  Christian  rested  as  if  it  were  the  covenant  of  Jehovah  ;  for 
they  knew  that  Divine  lips  had  uttered  the  injunction,  "  Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself" — words  which  proclaimed 
to  all  people  and  all  generations  the  great  idea  of  the  equality 
of  mankind  and  the  brotherhood  of  the  race. 

Failing  in  this,  they  instituted  fratricidal  war,  to  divide  a 
nation  they  could  not  seduce  or  control.  They  organized  gov- 
ernments, isslied  proclamations,  mustered  armies,  and  dared  the 
nation  to  a  contest  for  its  existence. 

Then  was  seen  the  true  majesty  of  patriotism  and  loyalty 
when  allied  with  liberty.  From  all  quarters  of  the  loyal  land 
came  that  mighty  host  whose  columns,  spite  of  wounds,  t-iek- 
ness,  and  death,  never  thinned,  but  always  increased,  keeping 
pace  with  the  unflagging  spirit  and  unfailing  resources  of  a 
great  people  through  tour  years  of  desperate  struggle,  till  rebel- 
lion was  annihilated,  and  our  beloved  country,  purified  by  sacri- 
fice and  baptized  in  the  blood  of  its  patriot  martyrs,  rose  to  a 
higher  <le.-tiny  and  a  grander  life. 

The  illustrious  names  arid  great  events  which  crowd  this 
mournful  but  glorious  period  have  ennobled  the  nation,  and 
temper,  purpose,  and  character  of  every  American,  is  celebrated 
by  a  knowledge  of  the  great  trial  through  which  his  country 
succost'ully  passed. 

First  among  the  names  which  our  time  has  given  to  immor- 
tality must  always  be  reverently  mentioned  that  of  the  lamented 
and  martyred  Lincoln,  the  rarest,  purest,  noblest  statesman  of 
this  a<re,  whose  unerring  sagacity  guided  us  through  every 
danger  and  difficulty,  who  fitly  crowned  his  high  functions  by 
proclaiming  the  enfranchisement  of  a  race — the  greatest  act  in 
all  the  rolls  of  time — and  whose  martyr-death  embalmed  his 
rr.t>«norv  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen  forever. 


204  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

The  great  Preserver  of  nations  and  of  men  did  indeed  bless 
while  He  chastened  us— He  raised  up  for  us  great  military  and 
naval  captains  to  lead  our  armies  and  navies  to  victory,  and  un- 
counted thousands  of  brave  hearts  to  follow  the  national  flag  on 
land  and  sea,  to  uphold  it  on  the  perilous  ridges  of  battle,  to 
march  to  assured  victory  beneath  its  folds,  or  calmly  die  in  its 
defence. 

He  nerved  those  brave  hearts  to  endure  a  more  dreadful 
ordeal  than  that  of  battle— to  bear  without  repining  the  attacks 
of  that  invisible  foe  which,  aided  by  fatigue,  exposure,  and  pri- 
vation, fastens  its  deadly  grasp  upon  all  the  functions  of  life, 
wastes  the  muscle,  thins  the  blood,  attenuates  the  frame,  making 
robust  manhood  a  tottering  wreck  weaker  than  infancy,  till  at 
last  life  ebbs  away  and  the  unequal  struggle  ends.  Or,  more 
happily,  the  healing  influence  of  time  and  change  enables  the 
survivor  to  emerge  from  the  shadowy  valley  into  the  sunlight 
of  earth  and  hope. 

They  were  enabled  to  endure  to  the  end  horrors  peculiar  to 
this  struggle,  and  which  shocked  the  civilized  world,  loading 
their  perpetrators  with  enormous  and  unequalled  infamy,  and 
crying  to  the  very  courts  of  Heaven,  for  vengeance  against  these 
monsters  in  human  form  who  could  deliberately  inflict  starva- 
tion upon  prisoners  by  the  fortunes  of  war. 

In  the  performance  of  their  great  task  our  armies  in  the  field 
were  sustained  by  the  wisely  directed  and  unstinted  energies  ot 
the  national  and  State  governments,  who  hesitated  not  to  em- 
ploy in  their  behalf  all  the  resources  at  their  command. 

They  were  aided  by  individual  and  associated  effort,  freely 
and  zealously  contributed  by  all  classes  and  both  sexes,  so  that 
the  soldier,  under  all  the  varied  conditions  of  his  arduous  lite, 
knew  that  his  grateful  countrymen  were  ministering  to  his  wants 
with  sleepless,  efficient,  unfailing,  loving  care. 

The  attitude  of  our  own  beloved  State,  from  the  commence- 
ment to  the  close  of  this  contest,  was  worthy  of  her  old  renown. 
It  could  not  be  otherwise,  for  her  purpose  was  interpreted  and 
her  will  executed  by  one  of  the  most  illustrious  of  her  chief 
magistrates.  Massachusetts  acted  with  the  arm  and  spoke 
through  the  lips  of  John  A.  Andrew — an  arm  that  never  fal- 
tered and  lips  that  never  uttered  a  word  unworthy  the  grand 
old  Commonwealth  in  this  heroic  period  of  her  history.  At  his 
summons  her  citizen  soldiery  marched  to  the  field  and  shared 
with  their  brethren  of  other  States  the  dangers  and  honors  of 
the  struggle.  Many  have  returned ;  some  bearing  honorable 
wounds,  others  happily  unscathed,  but  many  sleep  their  last 
sleep  in  that  Southern  laud  which  their  blood  has  redeemed 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  205 

from  rebellion  and  bondage.  In  the  swamps  of  Virginia,  by 
the  waters  of  the  ]\lississippi,  among  the  mountains  of  Tennessee, 
on  the  coasts  of  Carolina,  where  they  nobly  fighting  fell,  there 
they  rest ;  and  witli  them  those  whose  names  you  have  inscribed 
upon  imperishable  marble,  so  that  your  descendants  in  the  gen- 
erations to  come  may  know  to  whom  in  part  they  will  owe  the 
priceless  blessings  of  a  free  government. 

That  shaft  bears  witness  that  our  own  city  furnishes  its  fiill 
share  to  swell  that  roll  of  honor.  I  need  not  mention  to  you 
their  names ;  they  are  alike  engraved  upon  that  column,  and 
the  warm  and  living  tablets  of  your  hearts.  Some  of  you  who 
are  their  living  representatives  here  showed  their  toil  and  dan- 
ger in  the  gallant  and  much-enduring  army  of  the  Potomac,  ita 
earlier  sufferings  and  trials,  its  brightening  fame  at  Antietam 
and  Gettysburg,  and  its  final  triumph.  But  not  alone  there ; 
over  all  the  theatre  of  war,  from  Mississippi  to  the  sea,  from  the 
northern  line  of  rebellion  to  the  Gulf,  our  gallant  soldiers  and 
sailors  were  found  fighting  treason  and  battling  for  liberty — 
always  beneath  the  national  flag,  whose  gleaming  folds  waved 
over  no  truer  or  braver  defenders. 

Veterans  of  the  army  and  navy,  and  fellow-citizens,  it  is 
appropriate  and  just  that  you  should  thus  commemorate  the 
services  of  those  who  fought  with  you  and  for  you  during  this 
long  struggle.  All  nations,  ancient  and  modern,  Christian  and 
heathen,  have  religiously  cherished  the  memories  of  those  who 
have  fallen  in  the  military  service  of  their  country. 

The  reason  is  obvious;  to  peril  life  in  the  national  defence,  is 
the  severest  test  of  patriotism,  and  the  spirit  which  prompts 
that  sacrifice  deserves  enduring  honor  ;  while  the  homage  which 
it  receives  educates  and  develops  that  noble  sentiment  which  is 
the  only  security  for  the  continued  life  of  nations.  So  long  as 
its  sons  are  willing  to  die  for  their  motherland,  so  long  will  it 
endure  to  shelter  and  bless  them  and  their  children.  At  the 
hour  when  a  people  shall  be  unwilling  to  abide  this  test,  they 
will  find  that  they  have  no  longer  a  country  worth  saving,  and 
those  lives  they  will  have  deemed  more  valuable  than  honor  and 
freedom  transmitted  undimmed  through  centuries  of  glorious 
national  life,  may  prove  to  be  an  intolerable  burden  of  humilia- 
tion, misery,  and  disgrace.  "  Better  be  where  the  extinguished 
Spartans  still  are  free,  in  their  proud  charnel  of  Thermopylae, 
than  stagnate  in  that  marsh." 

Let  us,  then,  for  the  cause  of  our  country,  no  less  than  in 
grateful  memory  of  them,  render  at  stated  seasons  due  honor  to 
those  brave  men  whose  lips,  alas,  now  voiceless,  whose  forms 
now  mingling  with  the  common  mother  of  us  all,  have  left  so 


206  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

eloquent  an  example  to  us  and  future  times.  May  the  hour 
never  come  when  we  shall  have  a  less  vivid  sense  of  our  obliga- 
tions to  the  heroic  dead,  in  whose  presence  we  reverently  stand. 
Rather  from  age  to  age,  with  the  expanding  growth  and  ad- 
vancing greatness  of  the  Republic,  may  we  not  hope  that  their 
fame  will  brighten  in  the  light  of  their  achievements,  till  it  be- 
comes commensurate  with  the  glory  of  their  country  ! 

A  parting  word  to  you,  returned  veterans  of  the  armies  and 
navies  of  the  Union  : 

You  each  possess  a  badge  of  honor  in  the  evidence  of  your 
honorable  discharge  from  active  military  and  naval  duty.  That 
simple  fact  reveals  a  proud  record  which  you  can  never  forget. 
It  is  the  evidence  that  at  a  most  critical  period  you  fought  for 
your  country.  This  is  an  elevating  and  noble  consciousness,  a 
proud  and  enviable  distinction.  The  Frenchman,  of  whatever 
rank,  has  been  accustomed  to  regard  with  usual  respect  the 
veterans  of  the  Empire,  for  in  them  he  recalled  the  glories  of 
the  first  Napoleon,  and  the  military  greatness  of  France.  Need 
I  say  that  you  have  earned  at  least  equal  honor,  fighting  for 
freedom  and  your  country — not  for  empire  and  a  name.  And 
hereafter,  when  eloquent  orators  shall  discourse  of  this  great 
theme,  and  recite  in  glowing  words  to  admiring  thousands  over 
all  the  land  how  the  armies  and  navies  of  the  Union  conquered 
the  great  Rebellion ;  how  Vicksburg,  protected  by  its  lofty 
bluft's  and  frowning  batteries  and  mighty  river,  succumbed  to 
the  all-conquering  patience  and  genius  of  Grant ;  how,  realizing 
the  very  romance  of  battle,  our  armies  fought  and  won  upon 
the  misty  summits  of  Lookout,  where  the  thunder  of  our  cannon 
rivalled  the  thunder  of  heaven's  artillery  among  the  clouds  ; 
how  the  gallant  Shaw  and  his  brave  though  black  comrades  in 
arms  laid  down  in  death  while  their  immortal  spirits  rose  in 
glory  from  the  rebel  ramparts  of  Wagner ;  how  Farragut  and 
his  brave  tars  sailed  through  the  jaws  of  death,  and  New 
Orleans  and  Mobile  were  won ;  how  the  peerless  Sheridan, 
whose  breath  was  victory,  saved  the  fight  at  Winchester,  and 
followed,  like  a  pursuing  fate,  the  broken  fragments  of  the 
Rebellion,  till  Appomattox  closed  the  scene ;  and  how  in  that 
awful  and  momentous  hour,  when  the  fortunes  of  the  Republic 
hung  suspended  upon  the  issue  of  battle  in  the  valleys  of  Penn- 
sylvania, and  for  three  days  the  veteran  legions  of  Lee  were 
hurled  in  successive  and  deadly  shocks  upon  the  army  of  the 
Potomac,  till  at  last  the  defeated  hosts  of  Rebellion  withdrew, 
our  banners  advanced  and  the  spirit  of  freedom  shouted  victory 
from  the  sun-crowned  heights  of  Gettysburg ; — then  you,  and 
each  of  you,  can  proudly  say,  I,  too — I,  too,  was  a  soldier  of  the 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.         207 

Republic  ;  I,  too,  fought  for  Union,  for  liberty,  for  the  rights 
and  interests  of  untold  millions  of  men. 

A  poem  followed,  by  John  Westall,  Esq. : 

Bring  flowers  to-day—- 
The fairest  flowers  of  May  I 
And  let  the  nation  pay 

Its  grateful  tributes  here,  where  monumental  stone 
Shall  keep  the  patriot  warriors'  names  for  ages  known. 

Bring  flowers  to-day ! 
And  lay  them  on  the  graves 
Where  but  the  earthly  liea 
Of  our  heroic  braves  ; 
And  keep  alive  their  noble  memories, 
As  the  illimitable  years  in  grand  succession  rise. 

Bring  flowers  to-day — 

The  purest,  sweetest,  richest  of  the  May  I 

The  violets  blue, 

As  our  brave  warriors  true ; 

The  roses  red, 

Red  as  the  blood  they  shed  ; 

The  lilies  spotless  white, 

Pure  as  the  starry  light 

Which  led  them  in  the  fight, 

Triumphant  for  the  Right ; 
The  red,  the  white,  the  blue, 
Like  the  dear  flag  which  o'er  them  flew 
In  victory, 
So  splendidly, 

On  many  a  battle-field, 

When  cannons  thundering  pealed, 

And  bayonets  flashed, 

And  mad  Rebellion  dashed 
Like  waves  against  Freedom's  eternal  rock, 
And  perished  in  the  shock. 

Bring  flowers  to-day — 
The  red,  the  white,  the  blue, 

Of  every  shade  and  hue, 
And  let  fair  maidens  lay 

Their  wreaths  around  each  patriot  warrior's  honored  name, 
And  crown  with  noble  fame 

The  memory  of  the  soldier  brave, 

And  the  brave  sailor  on  the  salt  sea-wave, 

Who  once  so  freely  gave 

Their  own  clear  life,  their  country's  life  to  save  I 

Bring  flowers  to-day, 

From  the  fresh  hills  where  the  wild  breezes  play, 
From  gardens  fair, 
Where  all  the  murmuring  air 
Is  full  of  songs  of  bird  and  bee, 
And  crimson  apple-blooms  are  opening  free. 


208  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Bring  flowers  to-day  I 
The  fragrant  purple  spire, 
And  buds,  whose  hearts  of  fire 
Speak  of  the  loving  hands  who  place  them  here, 
So  tenderly  and  dear ; 

Which  all  hearts  move, 

The  sweet  mementos  of  a  nation's  love  : 

The  grateful  homage  which  a  nation  pays 

To  her  heroic  dead, 
In  her  heroic  days. 

Not  here  they  sleep  I  not  here  they  rest 

Beneath  the  earth's  green  breast  1 

Earth  here  but  claims  her  own, 

Beneath  the  sculptured  stone. 

But  from  the  body's  prison 

Their  spirits  have  arisen  ; 

As  from  the  seed  the  plant  must  rise, 

To  bloom  in  Summer  skies ; 
As  from  the  darksome  shell  the  blue-bird  springs, 
Spreads  on  the  golden  air  its  happy  wings, 
And  with  its  heart  of  joy  its  song  exulting  sings. 

Not  here  they  sleep  !  not  here  they  rest  1 

Earth  here  but  holds  her  own  : 

Their  spirits  to  celestial  climes  have  flown, 

And  have  immortal  grown 

In  that  fair  world  where  death  is  never  known ; — 

In  that  bright  world  of  light 

Beyond  our  mortal  sight, 

Where  Love  brings  endless  day,  with  blessings  infinite. 

How  many  memories  rise, 

Like  stars  on  Summer  skies, 
As  we  read  o'er  the  record  of  the  dead 
Who  for  their  country  fought,  and  toiled,  and  bled  ! — 

The  hissing  shot  on  Sumter's  bastioned  wall ; 

The  martyred  Lincoln's  call  ; 

The  rising  of  the  North  ; —  * 

Magnificent  beyond  compare  ! — 
And  when  the  troops  came  pouring  forth, 
The  hopes  which  bloomed  so  bright  and  fair, 
Alas  !  too  soon  to  fade  upon  the  Summer  air : 
Then  the  long,  weary,  weary,  weary  years, 
Filling  our  hearts  with  grief,  our  eyes  with  tears, 
Till  the  bright  dawn  came,  scattering  all  our  fears, 
Emancipation  leading  in  the  way, 
And  at  its  heavenly  call  burst  forth  the  glorious  day. 

Then  Victory  rose  imperial  by  our  side ; 

The  Slave  became  a  Man  ; 

And  through  the  nation's  pulses  ran 
A  higher  life  ;  and  higher  rose  the  tide 
Of  hope,  that  might  have  died ; 
But  Justice  ruled  the  hour, 
And  with  invincible  power 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  209 

She  led  the  nation  to  its  grandest  deed. 

Then  came  the  heroic  Meade, 
And  Gettysburg  flashed  o'er  the  waiting  land, 
As  fled  away  the  routed  rebel  band  ; 
And  Vicksburg  twinned  the  glory  of  that  day, 
And  brave  old  Farragut  lashed  to  the  mast  in  Mobile's  crimson  bay, 
Lit  up  with  splendor  all  the  applauding  sea 
"With  his  great  victory. 

O  days  of  wonder  I  when  each  dawn  arose, 

Bringing  new  triumphs  o'er  fair  Freedom's  foes ; 

When  Sheridan  like  lightning  flew 

Up  the  dark  valley,  ever  brave  and  true, 

And  by  the  grace  of  Heaven  the  lost  was  won, 

By  Victory's  darling  son ; — 

When  Sherman's  matchless  march  from  mountain  to  the  sea 

Wrote  a  new  page  in  Glory's  history  ,•« — 

When  through  the  fiery  Wilderness  our  dauntless  braves  pressed  on, 

Till  the  great  work  was  done, 

Fighting  it  out  on  that  line  day  by  day, 

Leaving  their  silent  mounds  to  mark  the  way ; 

Till  the  Spring  came  with  all  her  sweetest  flowers, 

And  the  whole  land  was  ours ; 

The  nation's  armies,  led  by  him  whose  words  were  few, 

Who  taught  us  patience,  and  whose  triumphs  grew 

In  grandeur,  for  his  master  mind 

The  great  campaign  designed, 
Swept  o'er  the  field,  and  saw  the  nation's  want, 
And  every  rebel  fell  before  all-conquering  Grant. 

O  great  as  good  and  calm  as  Fate, 

Modest  as  brave,  and,  like  all  truly  great, 
Seeking  thy  country's  good,  and  not  thine  own 
Through  every  office  ;  and  through  that  alone 
She  turns  to  thee  in  peace  as  well  as  war, 
Placing  in  thy  tried  hands  her  destinies ; 
For  thy  great  name  shines  o'er  her  like  a  star 
Serene  and  steady  o'er  tempestuous  seas, 
The  hope  and  beacon-light  to  every  mariner. 

Within  our  heart  the  bells  are  ringing  still, 

As  they  rang  once  on  every  vale  and  hill ; 

For  Peace  came  down  from  heaven  again, 

And  her  bright  olives  waved  o'er  mount  and  plain, 

While  grand  thanksgivings  rose  like  mighty  seas, 

And  patriots  on  their  bended  knees 

Blessed  Heaven  for  all  our  victories. 

As  if  the  full-orbed  sun  should  in  an  instant  drop 
From  the  clear  noonday  sky, 
They  ceased,  and  wail  and  cry 
Proclaim  the  nation's  agony. 

The  martyr  Lincoln  fell 
In  the  bright  morn  of  glory's  grandest  day, 
And  sorrow  such  as  tongue  can  never  tell 
Held  o'er  us  unchecked  sway. 

14 


210  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIE9 

His  greatness  we  had  never  known  till  then ; 

His  simplest  grandeur  made  him  first  of  men ; 

His  honesty,  the  spotless  citizen. 

What  was  our  loss  we  never  knew  till  now, 

By  the  deep  contrast  which  our  hearts  all  know 

And  speak  with  quivering  lip,  as  we  in  silence  bow. 

Ah  me  !  what  sadness  mingles  with  our  joy. 

Such  discipline  we  need  1 
Here  bends  the  widow  ;  there  the  orphan  boy 

His  father's  name  will  read. 
The  empty  sleeve,  more  eloquent  than  speech, 
The  patriot  heart  will  teach  ; 
The  warrior  leaning  on  his  crutch 
The  obdurate  soul  will  touch  ; 

His  halting  step  will  tell 

How  the  brave  soldier  fell 
Wounded,  where  shot  flew  thick  and  fast, 
And  Death  came  sweeping  by  upon  the  hurtling  blast. 
A  grateful  nation  makes  each  child  its  ward, 
From  every  want  its  treasures  must  keep  guard 
The  fairest  monument  it  builds  alone, 
With  justice  for  its  corner-stone. 

Who  gave  their  lives  for  us,  that  we 

Might,  reap  the  fruit  of  liberty  ? 

This  sculptured  monumental  stone 

Tells  by  whose  hands  the  costly  work  was  done. 

The  honored  names  of  thy  brave  sons  are  here, 

America,  forever  dear  I 

While  on  its  tablets,  standing  side  by  side, 
As  they  once  stood  in  battle's  bloody  tide, 
Where  they  together  fought,  together  died, 

To  stay  dark  Treason's  crimes, 

Are  names  from  other  climes. 
Beneath  thy  banner  they  were  one, 
In  duty  all  thine  own ; 

True  Scot,  brave  Celt,  and  English  hearts  of  oak, 
Breaking  the  Traitor's  yoke, 
His  chains  and  slavery, 
And  giving  to  humanity  a  broader  scope 
For  nobler  life  than  Europe  dared  to  hope. 

Ye  Veterans  from  many  a  hard-fought  battle-field, 

Who  come  this  day  to  yield 

Your  hearts'  deep  tribute  to  your  comrades  brave, 

You  saved  your  country  in  her  darkest  hour ; 
Her  voice  still  calls  :  again  she  bids  you  save 
Her  liberties 
From  all  her  enemies, 

And  with  a  freeman's  power 
Fight  her  great  battles  now  at  home  in  peace, 
Till  every  wrong  shall  cease  ; 
And  when  in  joy  returns  each  fair  November  sun, 
Let  your  pure  ballots  keep  what  your  bright  bayonets  won. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        211 

Let  us  keep  fast  what  Freedom  here  has  gained  : 

The  ballot  true,  from  every  fraud  unstained, 

Guarded  by  bands  well  trained, 

Impartial,  equal  to  eacli  citizen  ; 

The  strength  of  loyal  men, 

This  is  the  fortress  of  our  Liberty ; 

Who  keeps  this  pure,  shall  evermore  be  free, 

While  o'er  the  land  unnumbered  schools,  like  flowers,  shall  rise. 

And  countless  sacred  spires  point  upward  to  the  skies. 

Oh,  words  are  weak  beside  the  grave, 
When  patriots  die  our  liberties  to  save  ! 
Yet  here  we  may  renew 

Our  vows  to  Freedom,  and  here  consecrate 
Ourselves  to  her  great  service,  firm  and  true. 
Above  our  heads  our  country's  banners  wave 
Their  stars  of  stainless  white  in  their  bright  fields  of  blue, 

Shining  like  stars  around  heaven's  morning  gate. 
Here  we  may  pledge  each  faithful  heart  and  hand, 
To  stand 

By  Freedom's  sacred  cause  ;  that  all  the  land, 
From  green  Niagara's  rainbow-crowned  spray, 
To  the  Arcadian  shores  of  Tampa's  placid  bay — 
From  Shasta's  peak  of  ever-sparkling  snow, 
To  the  wide  fields  of  far-off  Mexico, 
Shall  never,  never  more  be  trodden  by  a  slave. 
Here  shall  the  people,  true  to  Freedom's  cause, 
Live  under  equal  laws ; 
And  every  taint  of  tyranny  shall  fade, 
Nor  race  nor  color  shall  their  rights  degrade  ; 
That  all  may  live  in  peace  till  life's  bright  sands  are  run, 
In  happy  freemen's  homes,  the  happiest  'neath  the  sun. 

Music  by  the  Band — "  Star  Spangled  Banner." 

At  the  close  of  the  exercises  at  Oak  Grove  Cemetery,  Mayo? 
Fairbanks  was  requested  to  read  the  following  inscription,  which 
•was  attached  to  a  cross  of  evergreens  and  flowers,  very  tastily 
arranged : 

"  These  flowers  are  contributed  to  the  memory  of  Abner 
Lawton,  the  little  drummer-boy,  who  lies  in  his  lonely  grave  in 
a  far-off  Southern  cemetery.  His  name  is  inscribed  on  our  Sol- 
dier's Monument  at  Oak  Grove  Cemetery.  Please  dispose  of 
them  in  a  way  you  consider  the  most  appropriate,  and  oblige 

A  FKIEND." 

The  ceremony  of.  strewing  the  graves  of  their  former  com- 
rades was  then  performed  by  the  members  of  Post  46,  G.  A.  R. 

After  which,  the  procession  took  up  its  line  of  march  for  the 
North  Burial-ground,  the  Catholic  Cemetery,  and  Friends' 
Burying-ground,  at  each  of  which  the  ceremony  of  strewing 
the  graves  was  performed.  The  procession  then  re-formed  and 
returned  to  City  Hall,  where  they  were  dismissed. 


212  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

At  Oak  Grove  Cemetery  were  flags  and  streamers  arranged 
with  tine  effect.  Over  the  outside  entrance  was  the  following : 

"  Let  the  living  honor  the  patriotic  dead." 

On  the  inside  was  the  rnotto  : 

"  They  died  for  their  country  and  liberty." 

These  were  in  an  arch  intertwined  with  flags  and  streamers. 

Over  the  Soldiers'  Burial  Lot,  in  an  arch,  were  the  words, 
"  We  will  cherish  the  memory  of  our  departed  heroes."  On 
the  arch  were  fifteen  flags,  with  a  shield  at  each  end. 

AT  HINGHAM,  MASS. 

The  arrangements  for  the  decoration  of  the  soldiers'  graves 
at  Hingham  were  under  the  charge  of  a  committee  of  thirteen 
returned  soldiers,  headed  by  Brigadier-General  Luther  Stephen- 
son,  Jr.,  and  the  same  number  of  citizens,  headed  by  Capt.  John 
Stephensoa.  In  the  forenoon  the  cemeteries  at  Liberty  Plain, 
Nantasket  and  High  street  were  visited,  and  the  graves  of  the 
soldiers  buried  in  these  localities  decorated  with  flowers.  In 
the  afternoon  a  procession  was  formed  at  Fountain  Square,  em- 
bracing the  returned  soldiers  and  sailors  of  the  town,  several 
large  carriage  loads  of  young  ladies,  a  juvenile  military  company 
dressed  in  Zouave  uniform,  the  teachers  and  scholars  of  the  pub- 
lic schools,  the  town  officers,  ministers,  and  managers  of  the 
Hingham  Agricultural  Society,  and  a  large  number  of  citizens 
on  foot  and  in  carriages.  The  music  was  furnished  by  the 
South  Hingham  Cornet  Band.  The  display  of  flowers  was  very 
extensive,  and  almost  every  person  in  the  procession  carried  a 
bouquet.  Some  of  the  bouquets  were  composed  of  very  choice 
flowers,  and  were  very  beautiful. 

The  procession  first  proceeded  to  Fort  Hill  Cemetery,  and 
Gen.  Stephenson  made  a  very  brief  address,  and  gave  the  mili- 
tary history  of  each  soldier  buried  in  that  place,  and  as  these 
statements  were  made,  parties  of  young  ladies  were  sent  out 
from  the  central  stand  to  decorate  their  graves.  Rev.  Mr.  Ful- 
ler, a  returned  soldier,  then  made  some  remarks  and  offered 
prayer,  aftef  which  the  procession  resumed  its  march  for  the 
cemetery  at  Hingham  Centre.  The  ceremony  of  decorating  the 
graves  was  repeated  in  the  same  manner  here,  and  Rev.  Mr. 
Tillson  offered  prayer.  The  Hingham  cemetery  was  the  last 
one  visited,  and  at  this  place  the  members  of  the  military  escort 
placed  the  bouquets  which  they  had  carried  during  their  march, 
around  the  monument  which  has  been  erected  there,  inscribed 
with  the  names  of  forty  Hingham  soldiers  who  gave  their  lives 
for  their  country,  and  whose  remains  are  buried  in  distant 
graves. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        213 

GENERAL   STEPHENSON's   SPEECH. 

FELLOW-SOLDIERS,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  :  Throughout  our 
land  the  returned  soldiers  and  sailors  of  the  late  war,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  people,  are  assembling  to-day,  to  decorate  with 
flowers,  and  with  our  country's  emblems,  the  graves  of  those 
who  gave  up  their  lives  in  support  of  the  Union,  and  in  defence 
of  the  principles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  In  every  town- 
ship and  city  from  the  North  to  the  South,  from  the  shores  of 
the  Atlantic  to  the  slopes  of  the  Pacific,  these  floral  offerings 
will  be  paid. 

Thousands  and  thousands  of  graves  will  be  adorned  to-day, 
with  the  choicest  gifts  of  nature,  to  show  a  soldier's  love  for  his 
comrades,  and  a  nation's  gratitude  for  their  services,  and  their 
sacrifices. 

No  town  in  our  Commonwealth  can  show  a  more  honorable 
record ;  no  place  can  boast  of  nobler  or  better  soldiers  than  our 
own ;  and  we,  its  people,  are  assembled  to  pay  our  tribute  of 
respect  and  love  for  the  fallen ;  to  express  our  sympathy  for 
their  afflicted  friends,  and  to  stir  up  the  channels  of  memory, 
that  their  lives  and  deeds  may  be  kept  fresh  and  green  in  our 
hearts. 

From  this  part  of  our  town,  three  of  our  citizens,  belonging 
to  one  family,  went  out  as  a  part  of  the  quota  of  Hingham.  The 
f;i.ther,Wm.  H.  Jones,  served  in  the  4th  Mass.  Cavalry,  and  was 
killed  at  the  battle  of  Honey  Hill.  One  son,  Gardner  Jones, 
enlisted  in  the  32d  Mass.  Vols.  With  two  others  he  volunteered 
to  perform  a  perilous  duty  at  Laurel  Hill,  Va.,  and  with  one  of 
his  companions,  was  mortally  wounded.  Sergt.  William  H. 
Jones,  Jr.,  of  the  18th  Vols.,  was  buried  in  this  place.  He  was 
one  of  the  first  to  volunteer  at  the  commencement  of  the  Rebel- 
lion, and  fought  at  the  battles  of  2d  Bull  Run,  Antietam,  Fred- 
ericksburg,  Chancellorsville,  and  Gettysburg.  He  was  one  of 
the  best  soldiers  in  his  regiment. 

In  this  cemetery  also  repose  the  remains  of  David  W.  Cush- 
ing,  35th  Mass.  Vols.,  who  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  South 
Mountain,  after  only  one  month's  service. 

Benj.  Lincoln,  4th  Mass.  Cav.,  died  in  this  town  from  dis- 
ease contracted  in  the  service.  Samuel  M.  Lincoln,  23d  Mass. 
Vols. ;  and  John  Pierce,  who  was  connected  with  the  —  Mass. 
Reg't.  and  was  killed  in  battle. 

The  young  ladies  selected  tor  the  purpose,  then  placed  flow- 
ers over  the  graves  of  those  mentioned  by  Gen.  Stephenson. 

During  this  exercise,  the  S.  H.  C.  Band  gave  selections 
adapted  to  the  occasion  from  music  arranged  "  a  la  rninore ;  " 
after  which  Rev.  Mr.  Fuller,  of  the  Methodist-Episcopal  Church, 


214  MEMORIAL   CEREMONIES 

was  called  upon.  Mr.  Fuller  stated  that  he  had  been  in  the 
service  ;  had  fought  under  Gen.  Burnside,  and  carried  honorable 
scars — having  been  wounded  in  three  places.  He  was  with  a 
kind  commander ;  one  who  was  always  foremost  in  expeditions 
of  danger ;  who  said  to  his  men  "  cmne"  and  not  "  go"  Yet 
there  were  trials,  hardships  and  long  marches  to  be  endured, 
which  none  but  a  soldier  could  appreciate.  He  was  pleased  to 
know  that  the  men  who  laid  down  their  lives  for  the  salvation 
of  their  country  were  not  forgotten.  Mr.  Fuller  spoke  of  those 
who  encouraged  and  of  those  who  discouraged  enlistments  dur- 
ing the  war. 

At  the  close  of  his  remarks,  the  procession  was  reformed  and 
marched  to  the  cemetery  at  Hingham  Centre,  passing,  on  its 
way,  many  fine  displays  of  "  the  flag  of  our  Union  "  ;  among 
which  we  name  Mr.  Anderson's  and  Mrs.  Fuller's,  at  West 
Hingham ;  Mrs.  Crocker's,  and  the  Temperance  Hall,  in  Lin- 
coln s  Building.  Mr.  Thos.  F.  Whiton's  house  was  very  taste- 
fully arranged  with  flags  and  spiral  decorations ;  also  Dr.  Ezra 
Stephenson's  and  others. 

Arrived  at  the  Hingham  Centre  Cemetery,  the  services  were 
similar  to  those  at  Fort  Hill.  Rev.  Mr.  Tilson,  invoked  the 
divine  blessing.  His  prayer  was  an  eloquent  appeal  to  God, 
who  alone  was  able  to  comfort  those  who  felt  their  sorrows  re- 
newed. Flowers  were  then  distributed  over  the  graves  of  Lieut. 
Frank  Thomas,  Lieut.  Edward  W.  Halcro,  TJ.  S.  .Navy,  and 
William  H.  Beal. 

Lieut.  Francis  Thomas,  12th  Mass.  Yols.,  was  killed  at  the 
battle  of  Gettysburg,  while  acting  as  Inspector  General  on  the 
staff  of  Gen.  Baxter.  He  was  engaged  in  all  the  battles  in 
which  his  regiment  participated  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  and 
was  a  brave  and  efficient  officer. 

Lieut.  E.  W.  Halcro,  U.  S.  Navy,  was  a  comparative  stran- 
ger amongst  us ;  but  where  known,  was  loved  and  esteemed  as 
an  officer  and  a  gentleman.  He  served  in  the  Gulf  squadron 
under  Com.  Farragut. 

Private  Wm.  H.  Beal  enlisted  in  the  40th  Mass.  Yols.,  and 
was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness. 

Leaving  this  spot,  the  procession  next  moved  to  the  Hingham 
Cemetery,  where  a  large  assemblage  was  gathered  to  witness  and 
hear  the  closing  services  of  the  day.  A  temporary  monument 
had  previously  been  erected  by  some  of  our  public -spirited  citi- 
zens in  a  conspicuous  location,  upon  which  we  noticed  the  fol- 
lowing names : 

Thomas  Tinsley,  1st  Mass. ;  Horace  Burr,  Charles  H.  Marsh, 
llth  Mass. ;  Sanluel  Spencer,  12th  Mass. ;  Michael  Fee,  16th 


AT  TUB  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        215 

Mass. ;  Nelson  F.  Corthell,  Thomas  Churchill,  David  W.  Her- 
sey,  18th  Mass. ;  Alvin  Tower,  20th  Mass. ;  George  D.  Gard- 
ner, Edward  A.  F.  Spear,  Charles  E.  French,  Henry  C.  French, 
John  S.  Neal,  Thomas  Sprague,  James  T.  Churchill,  39th  Mass. ; 
Jeremiah  J.  Corcoran,  40th  Mass. ;  John  W.  Gardner,  8th 
Maine ;  William  J.  Stockwell,  30th  Mass. ;  George  W.  Bibby, 
James  L.  HaskeU,  Demerick  Stodder,  William  Breen,  Washing- 
ton I.  Stodder,  Wallace  Humphrey,  Jacob  G.  Gushing,  Daniel 
D.  Hersey,  John  Q.  Hersey,  Horatio  P.  Willard,  32d  Mass. ; 
Kichard  J.  Farrell,  2d  U.  S.  Art. ;  Michael  Thompson,  5th  U. 
S.  Art. ;  William  H.  Jones,  Dennis  Scullery,  4th  Mass.  Cav. ; 
Henry  B.  Livingston,  Yet.  Res.  Corps. ;  Major  Benj.  C.  Lincoln, 
2d  U.  S.  C.  I. ;  George  Merritt,  U.  S.  Navy ;  James  Fitzgerald, 
William  B.  Gushing,  Leavitt  Lincoln. 

The  names  of  Don  Pedro  Wilson  and  Gardner  Jones  should 
have  appeared  upon  tliis  monument,  but  were  accidentally  omit- 
ted. 

Here  Gen.  Stephenson  addressed  the  large  assemblage,  as 
follows : 

In  this  beautiful  cemetery  are  interred  the  remains  of  four- 
teen soldiers  and  sailors  of  the  Union.  We  will  lay  our  offer- 
ings upon  the  graves  of  Capt.  Edwin  Humphrey,  llth  Mass. 
Vols.,  who  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  Capt. 
Humphrey  was  one  of  the  fighting  men  of  Hingham  ;  serving 
with  nis  regiment  in  nearly  all  the  engagements  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  from  the  first  battle  at  Bull  Run  until  his  death. 
His  record  is  honorable  alike  to  himself,  his  kindred,  and  his 
native  town.  Lieut.  Nath'l  French,  Jr.,  32d  Mass.  Vols.,  died 
from  the  effects  of  the  malaria  at  Harrison's  Landing,  in  the 
early  part  of  the  war.  He  was  a  faithful  and  efficient  officer, 
and  if  his  life  had  been  spared,  would  have  shown  an  honorable 
record  in  the  field.  Sergt.  Chas.  S.  Mead,  32d  Mass.  Yols. ;  the 
youngest  of  Hingham's  soldiers ;  the  pet  of  his  regiment,  loved 
and  respected  by  all.  Peter  Ourish,  32d  Mass.  Yols. ;  a  brave, 
conscientious,  and  faithful  soldier;  he  was  killed  in  battle. 
Nath'l  Gill  enlisted  as  a  musician  in  the  llth  Mass.  Yols.,  at 
the  commencement  of  the  war.  Chas.  W.  Blossom,  16th  Mass. 
Yols.,  was  engaged  in  all  the  battles  of  the  Peninsula,  also  at 
the  capture  of  ^Norfolk.  Capt.  Elijah  Hobart  served  in  the  93d 
N.  Y.  Yols. ;  and  was  also  engaged  on  the  Peninsula ;  «a  brave 
and  talented  man.  Warren  P.  Lincoln,  3d  Minn.  Cav. ;  he 
served  at  the  battle  of  Murfreesborough,  Term.,  where  his  entire 
regiment  was  captured ;  afterwards  paroled  and  sent  to  the 
Northwest  to  fight  the  Indians.  He  was  accidentally  killed  at 
Fort  Snelling,  while  on  his  return.  Corp.  H.  F.  Miller,  39th 


216  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Mass.  Yols.,  was  engaged  in  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness,  and 
received  his  mortal  wound  on  the  8th  of  May,  1864.  Chas.  E. 
Wilder,  32d  Mass.  Yols.,  was  wounded  during  the  campaign 
under  Gen.  Grant,  in  1864.  Hiram  Newcomb,  32d  Mass.  Yols., 
died  from  disease  after  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service. 
Horace  0.  Barnes,  10th  Mass.  Battery,  was  killed  at  Jones' 
Farm,  Ya.,  under  the  following  circumstances.  His  battery 
being  ordered  in  position  to  engage  the  enemy,  a  detachment  of 
four  men  were  sent  to  cut  down  a  tree  which  prevented  accurate 
firing ;  but  they  returned,  reporting  that  it  could  not  be  accom- 
plished by  reason  of  the  danger  from  the  enemy's  sharpshooters. 
Private  Barnes  volunteered  to  perform  the  duty,  and  had  re- 
moved the  obstruction,  when  he  received  his  death-wound.  To- 
day is  the  anniversary  of  his  death.  He  was  an  upright  and 
conscientious  man,  as  well  as  a  brave  soldier.  Private  John 
Crease,  22d  Mass.  Yols.,  was  taken  sick,  before  Yorktown,  and 
died  in  Bedloe's  Island  Hospital.  He  was  a  native  of  Scotland ; 
a  man  of  pure  and  upright  character.  Lieut.  Thos.  Andrews, 
U.  S.  Navy,  died  at  .New  Orleans,  while  in  the  service.  He 
was  a  good  officer ;  a  genial  and  pleasant  man. 

In  this  beautiful  place  also  lie  the  remains  of  one  whose 
name  is  identified  with  the  history  of  our  country  in  her  first 
struggle  for  freedom.  We  will  to-day  lay  our  offerings  upon 
the  tomb  of  Maj.-Gen.  Benjamin  Lincoln. 

Fellow-citizens,  we  have  paid  our  tribute  of  respect  to  the 
memory  of  those  who  went  forth  to  do  battle  for  their  country, 
and  whose  remains  are  deposited  in  this  their  native  or  their 
adopted  town.  But  forty  of  the  soldiers  and  sailors  whose 
names  are  identified  with  our  town,  were  buried  in  the  places 
where  they  died,  away  from  their  homes  and  kindred,  in  the 
land  of  strangers. 

The  parents  of  those  whose  graves  we  have  decorated  with 
flowers  to-day,  carry  with  them  the  mournful  satisfaction  that 
the  bodies  of  those  they  loved  are  deposited  near  their  homes, 
by  the  side  of  their  friends  and  kindred.  The  wife  can  visit  the 
spot  where  her  treasure  lies,  and  at  his  headstone  pour  forth 
her  love  and  sorrow.  Their  children  can  point  to  the  place 
where  their  fathers  lie,  at  the  same  time  remembering  with 
pride  that  they  gave  up  their  lives  for  their  country  in  her  hour 
of  extreme  peril  and  danger.  But  these  mournful  satisfactions 
are  denied  the  friends  and  kindred  of  those  whose  ashes  are  in- 
terred where  they  died,  away  from  their  homes,  away  from 
those  they  loved.  Many  of  them  fell  at  the  cannon's  mouth, 
and  were  buried  on  the  battle-fields  where  they  fell.  Others 
died  from  wounds  or  lingering  disease  in  the  many  hospitals 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  217 

that  were  scattered  over  our  land.  Some,  alas  !  drew  their  last 
breath  in  suffering  and  sorrow,  amid  the  horrors  of  a  Southern 
prison.  No  stones  mark  their  graves,  and  the  rude  head-boards 
erected  by  their  comrades  have  ere  this  been  swept  away  by  the 
wind  and  the  storm,  and  the  places  where  they  lie  can  never- 
more be  identified  by  mortal  eyes.  Among  their  number  may 
be  found  the  names  of  some  of  the  bravest,  the  noblest,  the  best 
of  Hingham's  soldiers.  The  returned  soldiers  and  sailors  have 
erected  this  simple  tribute  to  their  memory,  and  will  deposit 
around  their  names  these  emblems  of  purity,  love,  faith,  hope, 
and  immortality. 

Selections  by  the  Band  followed  these  remarks,  after  which 
General  Stephenson  read  the  following  lines,  composed  by  a 
lady  of  Hingham  : 

IN    MEMOHIAM. 

A  Floral  Tribute  to  the  Graves  of  our  Patriot  Dead,  who  fell  in  Defence  of 

their  country. 
Tread  lightly,  speak  softly, 

For  hallowed  the  hours — 
Our  hearts  hold  commune  through 

The  language  of  Flowers. 
"With  heroes,  now  taking 

Their  furlough  of  rest 
From  the  battles  of  Time, 

At  their  Chieftain's  behest. 

A  place  for  the  Mother — 

She  bendeth  beneath 
The  weight  of  her  love ; 

There's  dew  on  her  wreath. 
The  Myrtle  *  is  sacred 

She  leaves  with  us  here, 
Exhaling  to  heaven 

Her  words  in  each  tear  I 

And  the  Father  draws  nigh, 

His  heart  at  the  helm, 
He  crowns  his  young  sailor 

With  Cypress  t  and  Elm.  J 
The  one  tells  of  sorrow, 

His  cloud  o'er  life's  sea ; 
While  the  patriot's  pride 

The  Elm  whisp'reth  free. 

The  Brother  with  Ivy  § 

With  Balm  |  and  with  Bay  T 
Composeth  the  lyric 

He  singeth  to-day. 

*  Myrtle — Enduring  Love.  §  Joy — Fraternal  Love. 

f  Cypress — Mourning.  |   Balm — Sympathy. 

j  American  Elin— Patriotism.  ^[  Sweet  Bay — Reward  of  Merit 


218  MEMORIAL    CEEEMON1E8 


As  the  sweet  flower  rhythm 

Is  caught  by  the  air, 
The  wind-harps  are  breathing, 

"  God  holds  him  in  care." 

The  Sister  with  Snow-Drops,* 

And  Violets  f  blue, 
Conveys  to  her  brother 

Her  greeting  anew. 
The  hope  of  reunion 

She  cultures  on  earth, 
Through  her  faith  in  life's  germ, 

Immortal  at  birth. 

We  pause — we  are  silent ; 

The  Widow  kneels  there, 
By  the  branches  of  Yew  J 

She  planted  with  prayer. 
On  her  breast  there's  a  Flower  § 

Pervading  the  sense 
With  its  perfume  of  power — 

It  calleth  her  hence, 
To  the  home  of  her  youth, 

And  mem'ry  her  part 
Is  playing  again  in 

Her  harmonized  heart. 

God's  angels,  the  Children, 

His  flowers  of  Spring, 
Their  Daisies  ||  and  Lilies  1T 

In  cheerfulness  bring. 
No  tribute  more  grateful 

To-day  has  been  given — 
Incense  of  innocence 

Rising  to  heaven ! 

In  the  beauty  of  Youth, 

With  Cyclamen  **  crown, 
Her  arms  filled  with  Roses,tf 

The  Maiden  kneels  down, 
With  her  heart  in  her  hands, 

She  is  looking  above, 
And  we  see  that  life's  fragrance 

Ascends  with  her  love  ! 

Hush  !  filling  the  air  is 

The  voice  of  our  Braves ; 
Fellow-comrades,  we're  here, 

We  salute  o'er  your  graves ; 
And  the  arms  that  we  use 

Are  charged  by  the  heart ; 
They  recall  the  sad  scenes 

Wherein  we  had  part. 

Snow-Drop — Hope.  ||  Daisy — Cheerfulness. 

Violet,  blue — Faith.  •[["  Lily — Innocence. 

Yew — Grief.  **  Cyclamen — Diffidence. 

Flower — Clematis.  ff  Rose — Love. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  219 

Bring  the  Palm  *  for  our  victors ! 

Death's  battle  is  o'er ; 
Our  Advance  will  await  us — 

They  watch  for  our  Corps. 

We're  waiting — these  passing 

Have  earlier  claim ; 
We're  waiting  to  offer 

The  flower  of  Fame  1 

No  strangers  are  near  us — 

We  all  are  the  friends 
Of  the  heroes  departed — 

We  owe  them  amends. 

Bring  hither  the  Laurel,t 

Enwwreath  it  with  care, 
And  hallow  each  leaf 

With  the  glory  of  prayer. 

Bend  the  knee  and  the  heart 

At  this  harmonized  hour, 
For  the  Spirit  of  God 

Descends  on  each  Flower.  C.  L.  P.  8. 

Rev.  Calvin  Lincoln  invoked  the  Divine  blessing,  after 
which  Rev.  Mr.  Tilson  spoke  of  the  families,  and  characters  of 
some  of  the  departed.  These  services  were  then  brought  to  a 
close. 

During  the  forenoon,  detachments  were  sent  to  the  High 
street  Cemetery,  and  flowers  placed  over  the  remains  of  Sewell 
Pugslev  and  Hollis  Hersey.  Also  at  Liberty  Plain  Cemetery, 
where  lie  interred  the  bodies  of  Albert  G.  Wilder  and  Albert  S. 
Haynes,  of  the  39th  Massachusetts  Volunteers.  A  detachment 
also  visited  North  Cohasset,  placing  flowers  over  the  graves  of 
Daniel  L.  Beal,  32d  Massachusetts  Volunteers,  and  John  Man- 
uel, Jr.,  1st  Battalion  Heavy  Artillery. 

Here  the  pastor  of  the  village  made  some  very  appropriate 
remarks,  and,  with  a  large  number  of  his  people,  joined  with 
the  detachment  in  honoring  the  memory  of  these  fallen  patriots, 
who  enlisted  in  the  service  and  bore  its  hardships  and  privations 
that  the  nation  might  be  saved  from  dissolution. 

A.T  WEYMOUTH,  MASS. 

Post  40,  G.  A.  R.,  of  Xorth  "Weymouth,  assumed  the  duty  of 
decorating  the  graves  of  the  departed  soldiers  with  floral  offer- 
ings, and  faithfully  and  becomingly  fulfilled  their  trust.  The 
sky  was  somewhat  lowering,  but,  notwithstanding  this  unfavor- 
able indication  of  bad  weather,  a  good  number  of  the  coni- 

*  Palm — Victory.  f  Laurel — Glory. 


220  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

mand,  with  the  children  of  the  public  schools,  and  citizens, 
formed  in  procession  at  the  headquarters,  and  marched  to  the 
Old  North  Cemetery.  Before  the  line  of  inarch  was  taken  up, 
a  delegation  of  soldiers'  widows,  seven  in  number,  escorted  by 
Mr.  J.  Ford,  approached  the  column,  and  through  their  leader, 
Mrs.  Starbuck,  presented  a  neat  American  flag  to  the  Post,  with 
the  following  address : 

ME.  COMMANDER  AND  SOLDIERS  or  POST  JS"o.  40,  G.  A.  R. : 
Before  us  is  our  national  emblem,  the  "  Stars  and  Stripes." 
They  speak  to  us  with  many  tongues — of  sorrow  and  of  joy.  In 
the  days  when  you  bore  it  on  the  field  of  conflict,  when  our 
brave  ones  fell  one  by  one,  when  sudden  grief  had  smote  our 
hearts,  and  our  eyes  fell  on  its  drooping  folds,  we  saw  in  it  the 
sadness  of  death,  the  unutterable  woe  of  bereavement.  When 
your  arms  had  succeeded  and  the  free  winds  tossed  its  folds 
above,  we  saw  victory  written  on  our  banner,  and  the  sunlight  of 
hope  glisten  from  every  star.  To  you,  members  of  Post  4:0,  we 
present  this  flag,  as  widows  and  mothers  of  those  who  have 
joined  that  invisible  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  who  were 
once  comrades  with  you.  In  yonr  hands  may  it  ever  symbolize 
those  holy  principles  which  only  are  eternal.  Plant  its  staff 
firm  and  high  above  the  flags  of  error,  where  the  sun  of  truth 
may  gild  its  folds,  and  the  stars  of  heaven  in  darkest  night  bap- 
tize our  star  with  purity  and  love. 

Though  taken  completely  by  surprise  at  this  unexpected 
offering,  the  commander  of  Post  40,  Gen.  B.  F.  Pratt,  made  a 
fitting  reply,  paying  a  tribute  to  the  unwearied  and  self-sacrific- 
ing labors  of  the  heroic  women  of  our  country  during  the  Re- 
bellion. The  march  was  then  commenced,  and  on  arrival  at  the 
Cemetery,  prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  Mr.  Emery,  followed 
with  remarks  by  Rev.  Mr.  Rockwood,  the  remarks  of  the  rev- 
erend gentleman  being  prefaced  with  a  short  address  by  the 
commander,  recounting  the  circumstances  which  had  called  the 
assembly  together.  The  officer  of  the  guard  then  stepped  from 
the  ranks,  and  as  the  color-bearer  waved  the  flag  over  the  grave 
of  each  soldier,  the  floral  offerings  were  deposited  by  them. 

The  command  then  proceeded  to  the  Landing  Cemeteries  in 
carriages,  where  prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  G.  Cole  ;  thence  to 
South  Weymoutn,  where  Revs.  Messrs.  Hayes  and  Hewett 
offered  prayer,  and  continued  to  East  Weymouth,  where  a  large 
gathering  of  people  had  assembled.  Prayer  was  offered  by 
Rev.  Mr.  "Waldron,  and  about  8  o'clock  the  ceremonies  were 
closed  by  singing  "  America."  In  all,  forty-six  graves  were 
visited,  as  follows : 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  221 

SOLDIERS'  GRAVES  VISITED  MAT  30th,  1868,  BT  POST  40,  G.  A.  B. 

NORTH  WEYMOUTH  CEMETERY. — William  Pike,  Ira  W.  Bragg, 
Chas.  B.  Blanchard,  Eugene  Kimball,  T.  B.  Gushing,  Willard 
Pratt,  Win.  A.  Bail,  Leonard  F.Pratt,  Chas.E.  Gannett,  Henry 
Ritchie,  George  Starbuck,  S.  Lewis  French,  Frank  Tirrell, 
Daniel  D.  Hersey,  Benj.  F.  Pratt,  3d,  Joseph  T.  Dame,  James 
Pratt— 17 

WEYMOUTH  LANDING  CEMETERIES. — George  Smalley,  Fred  J. 
Gammons,  Fred  T.  Bicknell,  A.  J.  Baker,  L.  V.  Bourne,  F.  A. 
Wallace,  Joshua  Day,  Zack  Damon,  Abram  Hobart,  Geo.  H. 
Cooledge.— 10 

SODTH  WEYMOUTH  CEMETERIES. — Edward  L.  Thomas,  (Main 
St.),  J.  G.  Jones,  (Main  St.),  D.  Newcomb,  (Main  St.),  Boyle  D. 
Hill,  (Main  St.),  O.  B.  Staekpole,  (Pond  St.),  G.  O.  Orcutt, 
(Pond  St.),  W.  A.  Holbrook,  (Union  St.),  John  F.  Ayres,  (Union 
St.)— 8 

PLEASANT  ST.  CEMETERY.  —  Daniel  F.  Rogers,  Adnab  G. 
Leach,  Nathan  Weeks. — 3 

EAST  WEYMOUTH  CEMETERY' — David  B.  Burrell,  M.  J.  Har- 
rington, A.  C.  Hayden,  Henry  Perry,  Win.  Goodwin,  S.  C. 
Taylor,  Geo.  R.  Healey,  Irving  J.  Totman. — 8 

North  Weyinouth,  17 ;  Weymouth,  10  ;  South  Weymouth, 
8  ;  Pleasant  St.  Cemetery,  3 ;  East  Weymouth,  8.  Total,  46. 

BEV.   SAMUEL   L.   ROCKWOOD's   ADDRESS. 

FELLOW-CITIZENS  :  You  have  now  heard  from  the  Com- 
mander of  Post  No.  40  of  G.  A.  R.  the  order  to  the  members 
of  that  patriotic  organization,  and  the  recommendation  to  us  all 
to  assemble  to-day  and  visit  the  graves  of  all  our  beloved 
soldiers  who  have  died  in  the  defence  of  their  country  in  quel- 
ling the  rebellion  against  the  best  human  government  on  earth. 
In  compliance,  we  propose  to  visit  the  grave  of  every  one  of  our 
fallen  heroes  of  this  late  war  whose  remains  sleep  in  this  the 
oldest  cemetery  of  our  State  save  one,  and  after  this,  those  in 
each  of  the  other  several  cemeteries  in  our  town.  We  do  not 
propose  by  these  ceremonies  to  consecrate  these  graves ;  this  has 
already  been  done  by  the  heroic  deeds  of  those  who  here  sleep, 
and  in  their  dying  for  the  country  loved.  But  hereby  we  would 
consecrate  ourselves  anew  to  our  country  and  the  cause  of 
liberty.  With  prayer  and  praise  to  Almighty  God ;  with  martial 
music  and  the  waving  of  our  country's  flag  (dear  and  sacred  as 
such,  but  this  one  made  doubly  so  to  you,  just  presented  to  you 
by  the  widows  of  some  of  these  fellow-soldiers  with  solemn 
charge),  over  these  graves,  and  strewing  with  the  sweetest  and 


222  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

fairest  flowers  we  could  gather  from  our  conservatories,  our 
houses,  and  our  gardens,  and  the  fresh  wild  flowers  from  our 
fields,  woods,  and  sunny  glens.  This  scene  is  affecting,  this 
mu^ic  is  thrilling,  and  these  flowers  are  beautiful;  but  if  we 
except  true  piety  to  God,  there  is  nothing  on  earth  more  touch- 
ing, more  valuable,  more  beautiful  than  true  patriotism,  that 
love  of  country  which  bore  these  loved  ones  to  their  glorious 
death.  We  meet  to  perform  a  duty  sanctioned  by  religion, 
reason,  and  justice.  It  has  been  the  spontaneous  impulse  of  the 
human  heart  in  all  ages,  to  reverence  and  honor  those  who  have 
periled  life  and  all,  and  more  especially  those  who  have  sacri- 
ficed their  lives  for  the  good  of  others.  In  the  present  instance, 
the  union  of  our  country  preserved,  the  rebellion  crushed, 
slavery,  the  cause  of  the  rebellion,  forever  abolished,  our  land 
made  free  indeed,  we  are  warranted  in  remembering  and  hon- 
oring our  dead, — those  who  died  for  this  great  and  glorious 
object.  We  come  not  to  flatter  pride  by  dropping  the  tear,  and 
laying  gently  these  sweet  flowers  upon  the  graves  of  high 
officers  alone,  but  to  honor  alike  all — all  who  loved  and  died  for 
their  country ;  the  humblest  private  soldier  shall  have  his  due, 
and  soon  we  will  record  alike  all  their  names  on  the  monument 
we  shall  rear,  yonder.  So,  to-day,  we  will  pay  our  tribute  of 
respect  to  our  true  hero-soldiers  who  went  to  the  field  of  battle 
and  to  death,  without  the  ambition  of  power,  the  hope  of  promo- 
tion, or  the  temptation  of  gain,  but  simply  from  a  sense  of 
patriotic  duty.  In  honoring  such  we  confer  no  benefits  on 
them,  but  we  secure  untold  good  to  ourselves.  And,  now,  may 
God's  blessing  be  upon  us  in  the  discharge  of  these  solemn  and 
impressive  services. 

AT  GLOUCESTER,  MASSACHUSETTS. 

The  graves  in  all  the  cemeteries  in  this  town  and  Rock- 
port,  except  Oak  Grove,  were  decorated  in  the  forenoon  of  May 
30,  by  deputies  from  the  G.  A.  R.,  Post  45,  who  faithfully  per- 
formed the  duties  assigned  them. 

In  the  afternoon  the  services  at  Oak  Grove  took  place.  The 
members  of  the  Post,  numbering  about  seventy  men,  together 
with  the  Band  of  Hope,  comprising  some  one  hundred  and  fifty 
children,  formed  in  procession,  under  the  marshalship  of  Col. 
Andrew  Elwell,  and  accompanied  by  the  Cornet  Band,  proceed- 
ed over  the  route  previously  announced,  to  the  cemetery.  The 
members  of  the  G.  A.  R.  wore  rosettes  of  red,  white  and  blue 
ribbon,  and  carried  handsome  wreaths  and  bouquets,  as  did  also 
the  children,  and  the  floral  display  was  the  finest  ever  witnessed 
on  our  streets.  Minute  guns  were  fired  during  the  march,  and 


AT   THE    SOLDIERS     GRAVES. 

also  at  the  cemetery  while  the  graves  were  being  decorated. 
Several  flags  were  also  displayed  at  half  mast  about  town. 

On  arriving  at  the  cemetery,  the  procession  marched  in,  and 
the  members  of  the  Post  proceeded  to  the  several  graves,  which 
they  profusely  decorated,  the  band  playing  a  dirge,  rendering 
the  scene  a  most  impressive  one.  There  was  a  very  large  num- 
ber of  spectators  present,  probably  the  largest  that  ever  assem- 
bled within  these  grounds. 

After  every  grave  had  been  visited,  the  procession  marched 
to  the  grove,  where  exercises  were  held,  consisting  of  singing  by 
the  Band  of  Hope ;  prayer  and  reading  of  Scriptures,  by  the 
Chaplain  of  the  Post,  Dr.*  J.  F.  Dyer;  and  an  address  by  Capt 
Fitz  J.  Babson,  Commander  of  the  Post. 

OAPT.  BABSON'B  ADDRESS. 

COMRADES  AND  FRIENDS  :  In  accordance  with  General  Orders 
from  the  Commander  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  we  have  to-day  decorated 
the  graves  of  our  fallen  comrades  with  evergreens  and  flowers. 
None  have  been  neglected  or  forgotten,  for  in  the  ranks  ot 
our  glorious  dead  we  recognize  those  traits  of  character  which 
prompted  the  sacrifice  they  have  made  for  our  country,  for 
humanity  and  for  the  oppressed  of  the  world.  It  is  peculiar- 
ly fitting  that  from  oor  hands  this  tribute  should  (come.  We 
l^now  how  they  died  and  for  what  they  died.  No  man  who 
has  been  baptized  in  the  fire  of  the  rebellion  can  ever  forget  the 
patient  suffering,  the  heroic  self-denial  and  generous  fortitude 
of  the  men  whom  we  have  this  day  remembered  with  garlands 
and  praise ;  and  it  is  a  pleasant  thought  that  throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  our  land  the  comrades  of  the  Grand 
Army  are  at  this  moment  engaged  in  the  same  patriotic  duty. 

It  is  fitting  also  that  the  children  should  come  with  us  to- 
day, with  their  hymns  and  wreaths  of  flowers,  for  them  more 
than  for  all  others  has  the  sacrifice  been  made.  To  save  them 
from  the  horrors  and  barbarism  of  war,  to  transmit  unimpaired 
the  glorious  heritage  of  the  fathers,  to  vindicate  the  principles 
of  liberty  and  equality  for  all  men,  we  have  fought  and  con- 
quered, and  to  the  enjoyment  of  a  government  based  upon  the 
eternal  principles  of  truth  and  justice  we  invite  the  children 
to-day.  Let  them  not  forget  to  whom  they  owe  this  debt  of 
gratitude,  but  may  each  returning  spring  see  them  renew  with 
grateful  offerings  this  simple  tribute  to  the  fallen  brave. 

It  is  fitting  also  that  the  citizens  should  meet  with  us  around 
the  graves  of  our  comrades.  "They  have  seen  them  go  forth 
blessed  with  health,  strong  in  the  pride  of  youth  and  fearless  in 
the  cause  of  right.  They  have  cheered  them  on  with  shouts  of 


224  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

praise  and  promise  of  reward.  They  have  watched  their  course 
and  know  that  they  have  done  their  duty  nobly.  They  have 
seen  many  carried  to  their  last  resting-place,  while  many,  many 
others  sleep  in  their  nameless  graves.  Shall  the  memory  of 
their  deeds  die  with  them?  No!  The  soldier  has  redeemed 
the  country,  and  the  citizens  will  redeem  their  pledge.  The 
widows  and  orphans,  the  maimed  and  disabled,  must  ever  be  a 
sacred  trust,  while  the  example  of  our  fallen  ones  shall  be  cher- 
ished as  the  strongest  pledge  of  the  stability  of  the  people's 
government. 

To  the  relatives  and  near  friends  of  our  comrades  we  offer 
at  this  time  our  heartfelt  sympathy,  knowing  the  loss  they  have 
sustained  is  great ;  for  when  brave  men  die  many  are  called  to 
weep.  The  knowledge  that  they  have  fallen  in  the  line  of  their 
duty,  fighting  in  the  noblest  cause  men  ever  were  called  upon 
to  sustain,  carrying  with  them  to  their  graves  the  respect  and 
admiration  of  their  comrades,  will  in  some  degree  allay  the 
bitter  grief.  With  us  their  memories  will  ever  be  green,  as 
we  shall  annually  gather  around  their  graves  to  remember 
their  virtues  and  seek  to  emulate  their  examples. 

To  the  ladies  and  members  of  the  Christian  and  Sanitary 
Commissions  we  return  our  sincere  thanks.  Many  a  soldier 
unknown  to,  you  has  blessed  you.  Much  suffering  has  been  re- 
lieved by  your  kind  care.  Without  reward,  without  ambition, 
or  any  of  those  incentives  so  highly  prized  by  men,  you  have 
toiled  and  labored  for  our  brave  boys,  purely  from  the  native 
kindness  of  your  own  hearts.  The  soldier  cannot  thank  you 
materially,  but  he  has  fought,  suffered  and  died.  The  cause 
has  triumphed,  and  with  you  he  is  proud  to  divide  his  honors. 

And  now,  Comrades  of  the  Grand  Army,  although  we  have 
come  to  this  place  as  mourners,  although  we  remember  the 
multitudes  of  our  comrades  who  lie  unrecognized  along  the  line 
of  every  battle-field,  where  no  hand  shall  strew  flowers  over 
them  save  the  gentle  hand  of  Him  who  letteth  not  a  sparrow 
fall  without  His  notice,  with  all  their  memories  fresh  upon  us, 
still  we  feel  the  work  has  not  been  in  vain.  The  cause  for  which 
we  contended  has  triumphed.  The  glorious  arch  of  our  Gov- 
ernment stands  firm  upon  the  everlasting  pillars  of  truth  and 
justice,  with  each  stone  cemented  by  the  blood  of  our  martyred 
ones.  The  foot  of  the  slave  finds  no  resting-place  on  our  broad 
domain  of  freedom.  Education  is  free  for  all,  and  the  school- 
house  opens  wide  its  doors  to  rich  and  poor  alike.  Manhood  is 
the  test  of  citizenship,  and  God's  image  is  everywhere  recog- 
nized as  God's  child.  For  this  our  heroes  fought,  and  for  this 
they  died. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        225 

No  longer  will  Americans  look  to  Greece  or  Rome  for  ex- 
amples of  heroism  and  patriotism.  There  is  not  a  village  or 
hamlet  within  the  lines  of  the  loyal  States  that  cannot  produce 
characters  worthy  of  the  best  and  bravest  of  ancient  times ;  and 
not  only  in  individuals,  but  in  a  proud  nationality,  has  this  been 
developed.  We  are  indeed  a  nation  !  The  flag  of  our  country 
symbolizes  the  power  of  forty  millions  of  people,  strong  in  the 
consciousness  of  duty  to  be  done,  proud  in  the  realization  of 
truth  and  right  vindicated.  And  this  stupendous  fabric  of  gov- 
ernment, this  beautiful  temple  of  Liberty,  has  for  its  foundations 
the  simple  virtues  of  the  people.  The  men  whom  we  have  this 
day  honored  by  floral  offerings  were  not  peculiarly  educated  or 
fitted  for  a  military  life ;  not  one  of  them  by  profession  was  a 
soldier ;  but  they  had  been  taught  at  their  mother's  knee  that 
truth  was  a  Divine  attribute,  and  the  foundation  of  every  virtue. 
They  had  learned  in  our  schools  that  patriotism  and  public  vir- 
tue were  devotion  to  country  and  loyalty  to  the  Government. 
They  had  learned  in  our  churches  that  self-sacrifice  was  the  true 
foundation  of  a  Christian  life.  From  these  principles,  the 
springs  of  New  England  civilization,  they  imbibed  their  en- 
thusiasm. Do  we  wonder  that  these  men  shrunk  not  from  the 
storm  of  battle  ?  No.  They  would  not  have  accepted  life  with 
a  coward's  name.  Not  a  mother,  dearly  as  she  might  love  her 
sou — not  a  wife,  sad  and  lonely  as  her  house  now  is — not  a  child 
deprived  forever  of  paternal  comfort  and  care,  would  ask  for 
their  life,  burdened  with  disgrace.  The  proudest  legacy  a  sol- 
dier leaves  is  the  inheritance  of  his  honor  and  the  glory  of  his 
deeds.  To  you  fathers  and  mothers,  wives  and  children,  comes 
this  benediction  of  glory.  In  the  pride  of  your  approbation  he 
stood,  fought,  and  died. 

Thus  has  it  been,  comrades  and  friends,  throughout  the  war. 
From  whatever  section  our  comrades  have  come,  the  sweet, 
gentle  influence  of  home  has  strengthened  and  sustained  our 
spirits,  kept  our  feet  to  the  front,  and  our  hands  to  the  work. 
And  when  the  Government  ceases  to  respect  the  honor  and 
purity  of  our  homes,  then  must  the  people  look  to  their  liberties, 
for  the  stream  must  never  rise  above  its  source. 

Comrades,  the  ceremonies  of  the  day  are  nearly  closed  ;  we 
are  about  to  depart  from  this  beautiful  spot  consecrated  by  love 
and  affection  to  the  memory  of  those  who  sleep  beneath  its  sod ; 
let  not  the  lesson  of  this  hour  be  lost  upon  us.  We  have  strewn 
flowers  over  the  forms  of  our  comrades.  Why  are  we  not  num- 
bered with  them  ?  In  the  providence  of  God,  death  has  passed 
us  by.  For  some  purp9se  we  are  spared.  Is  it  not  that  we 
may  witness  the  universal  homage  paid  to  patriotic  virtue,  and 
15 


226  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

be  thereby  strengthened  to  a  still  higher  and  nobler  performance 
of  our  duty  ?  JYom  every  land  where  liberty  seeks  to  know 
her  children,  come  the  tidings  of  responsive  efforts  in  her  be- 
half. The  example  of  our  heroes,  the  success  of  their  efforts, 
has  thrilled  the  heart  of  every  one  who  bows  beneath  the  op- 
pressor's rod.  American  liberty  is  what  the  world  demands. 
Our  duty  is  to  so  fashion  it  as  to  fully  meet  this  universal  cry — 
to  so  perform  our  duties  that  our  comrades'  deaths  and  our  own 
efforts  shall  not  have  been  in  vain,  and  that  our  children  shall 
not  be  obliged  to  renew  the  fight  we  have  so  fairly  won.  And 
when  the  last  taps  shall  strike  for  us,  and  the  light  of  life  be 
extinguished,  may  we  drop  asleep,  feeling  assured  that  the 
morning's  reveille  shall  send  the  old  flag  to  the  truck,  where 
the  rays  of  the  rising  sun  shall  sweetly  welcome  it  as  the  em- 
blem of  "  Liberty  and  Union,  now  and  forever,  one  and  insepa- 
rable." 

At  the  close  of  the  address  the  children  sang  again,  after 
which  the  procession  formed  and  marched  to  the  vacant  lot  near 
the  entrance  of  the  cemetery,  which  was  dedicated  to  the  mem- 
ory of  those  fallen  in  battle  who  now  lie  in  unknown  graves. 
The  Stars  and  Stripes  floated  over  the  spot,  and  on  the  halting 
of  the  procession,  Captain  Babson  made  a  brief  address,  sub- 
stantially as  follows : 

COMRADES  :  It  was  the  custom  in  ancient  Greece  to  gather 
up  the  remains  of  those  who  fell  in  defence  of  the  nation,  and 
carry  them  in  richly  decorated  cars  through  the  public  streets, 
accompanied  by  their  comrades  and  the  people.  In  the  midst 
of  the  procession  was  a  car  more  highly  decorated  than  the  rest, 
yet  containing  nothing.  This  was  in  commemoration  of  those 
whose  remains  could  not  be  obtained,  who,  buried  immediately 
after  the  strife,  or  on  the  hasty  march  or  retreat,  could  never  be 
sought  out  or  recognized. 

In  imitation  of  this  ancient  custom  we  have  assembled 
around  this  spot  surmounted  by  the  country's  flag,  to  strew  this 
ground  with  flowers  in  honor  of  those  of  our  comrades  who 
sleep  unknown  by  every  battle-field,  hospital,  and  prison-pen  of 
the  South.  Spirits  of  our  departed  comrades,  accept  this  offer- 
ing and  the  service  of  this  day  as  a  renewal  of  our  love,  our 
gratitude,  our  esteem ! 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  remarks  the  spot  was  strewn  with 
flowers,  and  the  band  played  a  dirge.  It  was  one  of  the  most 
affecting  scenes  of  the  occasion,  and  a  fitting  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  our  fallen  heroes  now  slumbering  in  unknown 
graves. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  services  at  Oak  Grove,  the  mem- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        227 

bers  of  the  Post  inarched  to  the  depot  and  took  the  5  o'clock 
train  fur  Manchester,  where  they  were  joined  by  some  of  the 
citizens,  and  marched  to  the  different  cemeteries,  decorating  iu 
all  fifteen  graves. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  the  soldiers  buried  in  Man- 
chester whose  graves  were  decorated  with  flowers  : 

Rosed  ale  Cemetery :  Samuel  Hooper,  George  Andrews, 
George  Stanley,  John  Harris,  Isaac  Baker,  William  Twiss. 

Old  Cemetery :  Stephen  Ferguson,  Samuel  Pert,  Edward 
Wells,  John  Leach,  Benjamin  Farrow,  George  Lufkin. 

Union  Cemetery :  Benjamin  Allen,  Joseph  Morgan,  Frank 
Rowe. 

AT  AMHERST,  MASS. 

Post  No.  36,  Department  of  Massachusetts,  G.  A.  R.,  L.  J. 
Winslow,  Commander,  successfully  carried  out  General  Logan's 
order  for  the  decoration  of  the  soldiers'  graves  at  Amherst.  In 
the  absence  of  their  chaplain,  Rev.  J.  L  Jenkins  accompanied 
them  to  the  various  cemeteries.  Visiting  first  the  cemetery  at 
South  Amlierst,  where  are  the  graves  of  Edward  Manley, 
George  Dickinson,  Morrison  Barton,  Benjamin  Allen,  Charles 
E.  Smith,  and  Porter  Nutting,  they  were  joined  by  the  friends 
of  the  deceased  soldiers,  and  many  other  citizens.  The  exercises 
were,  a  prayer  by  Rev.  Mr.  Jenkins ;  a  quartette  sang  an  appro- 
priate piece,  "  Mourn  for  the  Fallen ;  members  of  Post  36, 
formed  as  a  military  company,  preceded  by  martial  music  with 
drums  muffled,  and  followed  by  the  citizens,  marched  solemnly 
in  slow  time  past  each  grave,  the  commander  at  the  same  time 
announcing  the  name  of  the  comrade  buried  there,  and  the 
soldiers  and  others  placing  upon  the  graves  wreaths  and  bou- 
quets of  flowers.  After  all  of  the  graves  had  been  thus  visited, 
the  company  was  again  halted,  and  the  benediction  pronounced. 

The  next  cemetery  visited  was  at  North  Amherst,  where  a 
large  number  of  people  had  gathered  to  take  part  in  the  exer- 
cises, and  had  brought  with  them  a  great  quantity  of  flowers. 
There  are  here  eleven  soldiers'  graves,  viz. :  Norman  Roberts, 
Fred.  Clapp,  Arthur  Sears,  Fred.  Crocker,  Edwin  Ball,  H.  C. 
Plumb,  Charles  Smith,  Charles  Baker,  Edward  Prouty,  Cephas 
Bolio,  and  Edward  Baxter  Dickinson.  Ten  other  soldiers  from 
North  Amherst  were  killed,  or  died  in  service,  whose  bodies 
were  never  brought  home.  After  the  graves  had  all  been  visit- 
ed, Rev.  Mr.  Herrick  made  a  few  remarks  well  suited  to  the 
occasion. 

At  half-past  1  o'clock  the  company  was  at  North  Hadley, 
and,  instead  of  driving  directly  to  the  cemetery,  by  request, 


228  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

formed  near  the  flagstaff  and  marched  up,  where  they  were 
joined  by  the  schools  and  many  of  the  citizens.  A  gentle  rain 
was  falling  while  here,  but  it  did  not  interfere  with  tiie  ceremo- 
nies. The  soldiers'  graves  here  are  Henry  Fales,  Geo.  A.  Boice, 
Fred.  K.  Russell,  and  Dwight  Marsh,  each  of  which  was  literally 
covered  with  flowers. 

The  Plainville  Cemetery  was  next  visited,  at  the  entrance  of 
which  had  been  placed  a  banner,  inscribed,  "  In  Memory  of 
Plainville  Fallen  Brave."  Not  a  large  number  of  people  were 
gathered  here,  but  the  exercises  were  much  the  same  as  at  the 
other  places.  Rolin  and  Silas  Cowles,  brothers,  and  both  killed 
in  battle  or  died  from  their  wounds,  are  the  only  soldiers'  graves 
in  the  cemetery. 

At  a  quarter  past  3  o'clock  the  party  arrived  in  Amherst, 
formed  on  the  Common,  and  marched  in  slow  time  to  the  ceme- 
tery, where  they  were  joined  by  a  large  number  of  the  people. 
The  opening  exercises  were  nearly  the  same  here  as  at  each  of 
the  other  places  visited.  There  are  here  twelve  soldiers'  graves, 
viz. :  George  E.  Cook,  George  Fitch,  Frazier  A.  Stearns,  Samuel 
C.  "White,  Marshall  Cowles,  Charles  B.  Adams,  Sylvester  II. 
Adams,  Lyman  W.  Skinner,  Chas.  C.  Smith,  John  Thompson, 
Spencer  Church,  and  Ezra  Kelsey.  After  flowers  had  been 
strewn  upon  all  of  these  graves,  appropriate  remarks  were  made 
by  Rev.  Mr.  Jenkins,  Dr.  Parker,  and  Prof.  J.  H.  Seelye,  after 
which  all  joined  in  singing  two  verses  of  the  National  Hymn, 
"  America."  Mr.  Jenkins  pronounced  the  benediction,  and  the 
members  of  Post  36  marched  to  their  rooms  in  the  Amherst 
House.  The  whole  number  of  soldiers'  graves  visited  and 
strewn  with  flowers  during  the  day  was  thirty-five. 

RESPECTFULLY  DEDICATED  TO  POST  36,  G.  A.  B.,  MAY  30,  1868. 

Nature  is  mingling  her  tears  with  ours, 

As  we  deck  our  heroes'  graves  with  flowers  ; 

They  perished  nobly  in  battle  strife, 

And  welcomed  death,  to  give  the  nation  life. 

In  churchyard,  and  on  forgotten  plain, 

'Mid  bursted  shell,  where  bullets  fell  like  rain, 

Or  horsemen  fierce  at  the  bugle's  blare 

In  thunder  charged  on  the  steel-girt  square. 

They  lie  in  their  last  sleep,  'neath  the  sod  ; 
And  we  resigned  them,  in  our  grief,  to  God. 
Honor  to  them  !     And  as  the  years  go  round, 
"With  tear-dewed  flowers  bestrew  each  sacred  mound. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  229 

AT  UXBKIDGE,  MASS. 

Report  of  Post  25,  G.  A.  JR.,  Uxbridge,  Mass.,  of  proceed- 
ings on  the  30th  May,  1868. 

We  raised  l>v  subscription  among  the  citizens  of  the  town 
about  eighty  dollars  ($80)  to  pay  the  expenses  of  a  Band  and 
other  necessary  expenses  outside  the  Post ;  as  our  Post  is  email 
we  did  not  feel  like  paying  for  a  Band  of  music,  but  if  the  citi- 
zens were  willing  to  pay  for  it,  we  would  hear  the  other  expenses, 
which  they  seemed  perfectly  willing  to  do,  by  their  liberal 
subscriptions. 

We  procured  the  services  of  the  Slatersville  Brass  Baud. 
The  arrangements  or  programme  for  the  day,  were  made  by  a 
committee  appointed  by  the  Post,  but  owing  to  the  lateness  of 
the  hour,  it  was  not  all  carried  out.  Speeches  were  omitted. 

The  Post  met  at  their  hall,  at  four  o'clock,  which  with  the 
band,  formed,  and  marched  to  the  Common,  where  the  citizens, 
schools,  &c.,  were  assembled  to  the  number  of  about  five  hun- 
dred, were  formed  in  procession,  comrade  L.  B.  Willard,  Mar- 
shal ;  thus  marched  to  the  cemetery,  preceded  by  the  band  and 
Post. 

On  arriving  at  the  cemetery,  a  prayer  was  offered,  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Barbour,  after  which,  we  proceeded  to  decorate  the 
graves  of  thirteen  of  our  fallen  comrades.  Each  grave  was 
marked  by  a  miniature  flag.  Six  young  ladies  were  chosen  to 
deposit  a  wreath  and  cross  on  each  grave,  after  which  comrades 
and  citizens  scattered  flowers  on  each  grave.  A  record,  or 
slight  sketch  of  each  deceased  soldier  was  read  at  the  grave. 
After  decorating  the  graves,  a  hollow  square,  as  near  as  possi- 
ble was  formed,  and  a  memorial  sketch  was  read  by  G.  W. 
Hobbs,  Esq.,  in  memory  of  those  departed  comrades  not  buried 
here. 

The  names  of  those  buried  here,  are  as  follows : 

Walter  H.  Judson,  2d  Lieut.  Co.  C,  4th  Reg't.  Mass.  Yol. ; 
James  Taft,  2d  Lieut.  Co.  H,  15th  Reg't.  Mass.  Vol. ;  Henry 
H.  Legg,  Priv.  Co.  H,  25th  Reg't.  Mass.  Yol. ;  Hezekiah  Hall, 
Priv.  Co.  I,  36th  Reg't.  Mass.  Vol. ;  Wm.  H.  Seagraves,  Capt. 
Co.  K,  30th  Reg't.;  U.  S.  C.  T. ;  R.  M.  Sabine.  Priv. 
Co.  G,  42d  Reg't.  Mass.  Yol. ;  Chas.  H.  Howard,  Priv.  Co.  K, 
15th  Reg't.  Mass.  Yol. ;  Benj.  F.  Hall,  Priv.  Co.  I,  36th  Reg't. 
Mass.  Yol. ;  Henry  M.  Engley,  Priv.  Co.  H,  15th  Reg't.  Mass. 
Yol. ;  Abner  Haskell,  Private  5th  Regiment  R.  I.  Yol. ; 
Prentiss  M.  Whiting.  Capt.  Co.  A,  1st  Reg't.  Mass.  Yol. ;  L. 
W.  Murdock,  Priv.  Co.  G,  42d  Reg't.  Mass.  Yol. ;  James  F. 
Russel,  Priv.  Co.  A,  30th  Reg't.  Mass.  Yol. 

Your  truly,  A.  A.  SHERMAN, 

P.  C.  Post  25,  G.  A.  R. 


230  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

AT  ANDOVER,  MASS. 

The  services  at  this  place  commenced  by  the  teachers  and 
pupils  of  Abbott  Female  Academy,  and,  seconded  by  the  stu- 
dents of  the  Seminary,  and  of  Phillips  Academy,  was  quite  a 
success.  The  public  services  in  the  chapel  of  the  Theological 
Seminary  consisted  of  singing  national  songs,  prayer  by  Profes- 
-ur  Thayer,  who  was  chaplain  of  the  40th  Mass.  Regiment,  and 
reading  of  patriotic  selections  of  poetry  by  Mr.  J.  W.  Churchill, 
of  the  Seminary.  A  procession  of  four  or  five  hundred  was 
formed,  headed  by  twelve  or  fifteen  students  of  the  Seminary 
and  Academy  who  had  served  in  the  war.  Mr.  L.  Bradley,  Jr., 
of  the  Academy,  who  belonged  to  the  1st  Mass.  Heavy  Artillery, 
took  the  lead,  carrying  the  banner  presented  to  the  Andover 
Company  by  the  students  of  Phillips  Academy ;  the  stars  and 
stripes  were  also  borne  by  Mr.  John  P.  Studely,  of  the  Acade- 
my, who  was  a  member  of  the  20th  Conn.  Regiment,  and  ac- 
companied Sherman  to  the  sea,  and  Mr.  James  H.  Giddings, 
who  belonged  to  the  2d  Mass.  Cavalry.  The  procession  visited 
the  cemeteries  of  the  Hill,  of  the  South  Parish,  and  the  Episco- 
pal Society,  scattering  flowers  upon  the  graves  of  all  buried 
therein,  who  were  known  to  bear  arms  in  the  war. 

AT  FITCHBURG,  MASS. 

A  large  procession  formed  at  the  Town  Hall,  and  marched, 
headed  by  the  Fitchburg  Cornet  Band,  to  Laurel  Hill  Cemetery, 
where  the  ceremonies  of  the  day  were  performed.  A  large  num- 
ber of  people  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  procession  at  the  burial 
ground. 

The  spot  on  which  the  procession  halted  wras  near  the  sol- 
diers' monument  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  a  beautiful  height 
overlooking  the  village  and  river  below.  The  ceremonies  were 
conducted  by  Post  No.  19,  G.  A.  R.,  and  consisted  of  the  sing- 
ing of  an  original  hymn ;  prayer  by  Rev.  H.  L.  Jones,  of 
Christ's  Church,  (Episcopal)  ;  hymn — "  There  is  a  tear  for  all 
that  die ;  "  address  by  Col.  E.  P.  Loring,  and  dirge  by  the  band. 

AT  GKOTON  JUNCTION. 

The  citizens  of  Groton  Junction  met  at  one  o'clock  p.  H.,  at 
Union  Hall,  where  a  long  procession  was  formed  under  the 
direction  of  Surgeon  J.  Q.  A.  McCallister,  M.  D.,  chief  marshal. 

The  procession  was  headed  by  the  Groton  Junction  Band. 
Next  in  the  line  were  the  beautiful  memorials  and  decorations, 
followed  by  three  young  ladies,  appropriately  dressed,  represent- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  231 

ing  the  nation  and  the  States,  then  the  public  schools,  committee 
of  arrangements,  and  relatives  of  deceased  soldiers  and  sailors 
who  died  in  the  war — the  reverend  clergy  and  invited  guests, 
numerous  citizens  and  others, — the  line  ending  with  a  large 
number  of  carriages. 

The  procession  marched  to  the  Catholic  Cemetery,  where 
deeply  interesting  services  were  held,  and  flowers  and  wreaths 
deposited  upon  the  graves  of  the  Union  dead. 

Leaving  here  the  procession  marched  to  the  other  cemetery, 
where  a  floral  tribute  was  paid  to  the  memory  of  the  soldiers 
"  sleeping  in  glory  there.'' 

At  the  cemeteries  brief  addresses  were  made  by  Rev.  Crawford 
Nightingale,  Dr.  Hinds,  and  Abel  Prescott,  Esq.  The  prayer 
was  offered  by  Rev.  Mr.  Phillips. 

Thirteen  from  this  village,  in  Groton,  fell  in  the  war,  some 
of  whom  were  not  buried  here.  Appropriate  services  were  held 
in  their  behalf.  The  temporary  monument  gotten  up  for  them 
was  covered  with  flowers. 

AT  WALTHAM,  MASSACHUSETTS. 

May  30,  1868,  was  well  observed  in  Waltham  as  Soldiers' 
Memorial  Day.  In  obedience  to  General  Orders  No.  13,  pro- 
mulgated to  all  the  Posts  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
Post  29  of  this  place  made  due  preparation,  and  well  performed 
its  duty.  On  the  same  day  the  soldiers'  monument  was  dedi- 
cated. These  services  were  considered  not  only  as  appropriate 
to,  but  as  part  of  the  exercises  of  the  "  flower  day."  During  the 
early  morning  the  heavy  clouds  hung  low,  and  wept  as  if  in 
memory  of  the  fallen  brave  ;  later  the  clouds  passed  by,  the  sun 
shone  in  beauty,  telling  of  that  sunlight  that  never  fades,  that 
land  where  flowers  immortal  bloom,  that  immortality  known  by 
the  patriot  martyr  soldier.  The  call  issued  by  the  Commander 
of  the  Post  for  flowers  was  promptly  and  generously  answered ; 
bouquets,  wreaths,  crosses,  wild  flowers  in  abundance,  with  the 
most  rare  exotics,  were  sent  in  in  profusion,  here  and  there  a 
bouquet  or  wreath  bearing  the  name  of  some  fallen  soldier  friend, 
but  generally  sent  for  the  common  cause  to  decorate  the  graves 
of  those  who  had  fallen  in  the  war,  or  who  returning  had  since 
passed  away.  The  only  emulation  seemed  to  be  who  should 
most  aid  the  returned  soldiers  in  their  work  of  love. 

At  eight  o'clock  the  procession  was  formed  at  the  Post  Head- 
quarters, consisting  of  members  of  the  Post,  other  returned 
soldiers  and  sailors,  pupils  of  the  public  schools  with  their 
teachers,  citizens  generally,  accompanied  by  a  full  band,  (Hall's, 


232  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

of  Boston).  Later  in  the  day  the  procession  was  augmented  by 
the  addition  of  Waltharn  Royal  Arch  Chapter,  Monitor,  and 
Isaac  Parker  Lodges  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  all  in  fall 
regalia,  the  tire  department,  literary  associations,  and  citizens. 

The  line  of  march  was  first  taken  to  the  old  burial-ground 
where  sleep  eight  fellow-soldiers.  Their  graves  were  profusely 
covered  with  flowers  in  the  presence  of  a  large  concourse  of 
spectators.  The  line  of  march  resumed  the  procession  took  its 
way  to  the  Catholic  Cemetery,  where,  in  the  icy  halls  of  death, 
repose  seven  of  those  who  gave  life  willingly  that  their  adopted 
country  might  be  redeemed  from  foul  rebellion's  curse.  The 
graves  decorated,  the  following  words  were  sung  by  the  pupils 
of  the  public  schools  in  a  feeling  and  effective  manner : 

OH!    WBAP   THB   FLAG   AROUND   MB,    BOYS. 

0,  wrap  the  flag  around  me,  boys, 

To  die  were  far  more  sweet, 
With  Freedom's  starry  emblem,  boys, 

To  be  my  winding  sheet ; 
In  life  I  lov'd  to  see  it  wave, 

And  follow  where  it  led, 
And  now  my  eyes  grow  dim,  my  hands 

"Would  clasp  its  last  bright  shred. 
Chorus :  Then  wrap  the  flag,  &c. 

O,  I  had  thought  to  greet  you,  boys, 

On  many  a  well-won  field, 
"When  to  our  starry  banner,  boys, 

The  trait'rous  foe  should  yield ; 
But  now,  alas  1  I  am  denied 

My  dearest  earthly  prayer, 
You'll  follow,  and  you'll  meet  the  foe, 

But  I  shall  not  be  there. 
Yet  wrap  the  flag,  &c. 

But  tho'  my  body  moulder,  boy?, 

My  spirit  will  be  free, 
And  every  comrade's  honor,  boys, 

Will  still  be  dear  to  me. 
There  in  the  thick  and  bloody  fight, 

Ne'er  let  your  ardor  lag, 
For  I'll  be  there,  still  hov'ring  near, 

Above  the  dear  old  flag. 
So  wrap  the  flag,  &c. 

Again  the  line  was  formed  and  the  procession  continued  on 
its  way  to  the  New  or  Mt.  Feake  Cemetery.  Here  are  the 
graves  of  sixteen  comrades ;  here,  as  was  intended,  the  special 
decoration  services  took  place ;  here  reposes  many  a  loved  one 
who  went  forth  in  young  manhood's  prime  and  returned  to  fill 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  233 

a  soldier's  grave.  The  soldiers  forming  in  front  of  the  graves 
of  several  of  their  comrades,  the  following  words  were  sung  by 
the  scholars : 

THE   VACANT   CIIAIK. 

"We  shall  meet,  but  we  shall  miss  him, 

There  will  he  one  vacant  chair ; 
We  shall  linger  to  caress  him 

While  we  breathe  our  evening  prayer. 
When  a  year  ago  we  gathered, 

Joy  was  in  his  mild  blue  eye, 
But  a  golden  cord  is  severed, 

And  our  hopes  in  ruin  lie. 

At  onr  fire-side  sad  and  lonely, 

Often  will  the  bosom  swell 
At  remembrance  of  the  story 

How  our  noble  soldier  fell ; 
How  he  strove  to  bear  our  banner 

Thro'  the  thickest  of  the  fight, 
And  uphold  our  country's  honor, 

In  the  strength  of  manhood's  might. 

True,  they  tell  us  wreaths  of  glory 

Evermore  will  deck  his  brow, 
But  this  soothes  the  anguish  only 

Sweeping  o'er  our  heart-strings  now. 
Sleep,  to-day  !  O  early  fallen, 

In  thy  green  and  narrow  bed, 
Dirges  from  the  pine  and  cypress 

Mingle  with  the  tears  we  shed. 

Eev.  L.  P.  Frost  then  followed  in  appropriate  and  interest- 
ing remarks,  of  which  we  give  a  brief  outline. 

ME.  COMMANDER  AND  SOLDIERS  :  You  have  assembled  to-day 
in  the  various  burial-places  of  our  town,  to  remember  by  affec- 
tionate tribute  your  companions  of  other  days.  We,  your  fel- 
low-citizens, recall  the  dark  hour  when  the  war-cloud  was  seen 
first  rising  from  the  Southern  lands,  when  the  first  call  was 
issued  for  men — soldiers,  patriots — to  crush  rebellion's  power, 
and  to  raise  our  country's  flag,  dishonored,  despised,  desecrated, 
trodden  in  the  dust  by  so  many  of  our  own  countrymen,  to  its 
old,  proud,  and  honored  position. 

We  remember  how  yon  gathered  round  the  old  flag,  and 
offered  your  services  for  the  war.  .  "We  remember  how,  with 
full  ranks,  with  firm  step,  with  God-like  resolution,  you  started 
for  the  seat  of  war.  We  remember  the  agony  of  the  hour, 
when  on  the  first  battle-field  some  of  your  number  fell.  We 
remember  the  first  soldier  funeral ;  the  tolling  bell,  the  draped 
church,  the  words  of  consolation,  the  solemn  requiem,  and  the 
funeral  march.  *  * 


234  MEMORIAL    CEKEMONIES 

You  to-day  remember  those  who  went  forth  with  you,  your 
companions  in  many  a  weary  march,  your  companions  on  many 
a  tented  and  untenfed  field,  your  companions  on  many  a  battle- 
field, the  companions  of  some  of  you  in  the  prison-house,  where 
death  rioted. 

Beneath  these  and  kindred  mounds  sleep  the  decaying  forms 
of  those  who  went  forth  with  as  proud  step  as  you.  W  here  are 
Banks,  Miles,  Rogers,  the  Browns,  Sherman,  Fairbanks,  Baxter, 
Rand,  Smith,  Durriage,  and  a  host  of  others?  They  sleep  the 
sleep  that  knows  no  waking.  Say  rather,  they  know  the  life 
that  knows  no  death.  They  are  not  here,  they  have  risen; 
they  tread  the  shore  of  a  glorious  immortality ;  they  will  go  to 
war  no  more. 

'Tis  well  to  remember  them  this  day,  and  cover  their  graves 
with  flowers,  emblems  of  immortality.  True,  these  flowers  will 
fade,  will  perish ;  not  so  the  flowers  that  form  their  chaplets, 
that  adorn  their  brows.  Our  country's  future  growth,  and  fu- 
ture glory,  will  only  add  lustre  to  their  deathless  names.  When- 
ever and  wherever  our  national  banner  is  unfurled  to  the  breeze, 
it  will  add  to  the  glory  of  their  achievements. 

It  was  a  happy  thought,  by  whomsoever  originated,  thus  to 
decorate  the  soldiers'  graves.  Let  it  become  a  perpetual  cus- 
tom. Come  annually,  when  flowers  are  most  abundant,  and 
drop  a  tear  in  kind  remembrance  as  you  thus  decorate  their 
graves ;  and  as  one  by  one  you  fall,  let  the  survivors  remember 
each  companion  in  arms.  Come  year  by  year,  till  there  shall  be 
but  one  survivor,  bending  on  his  staff,  the  last  of  glory's  legion. 
And  when  the  legion  immortal  is  full  on  the  other  shore,  a 
willing  country  will  place  an  unfading  wreath  on  each  soldier's 
resting-place. 

At  the  close  of  the  address,  the  following  hymn  was  sung  by 
the  scholars : 

SHALL   WE   GATHEE   AT  THE   BTVEB. 

Shall  we  gather  at  the  river 

Where  bright  angel  feet  have  trod ; 
With  its  crystal  tide  forever 

Flowing  by  the  throne  of  God? 
Chorus :  Yes,  we'll  gather  at  the  river, 

The  beautiful,  the  beautiful  river ; 
Gather  with  the  saints  at  the  river 
That  flows  by  the  throne  of  God. 

On  the  margin  of  the  river, 

Washing  up  its  silver  spray, 
We  will  walk  and  worship  ever, 

All  the  happy  golden  day. 
Yes,  we'll  gather,  &c. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS' '  GRAVES.  235 

Ere  we  reach  the  shining  river, 

Lay  we  every  burden  down; 
Grace  our  spirits  will  deliver, 

And  provide  a  robe  and  crown. 
Yes,  we'll  gather,  <fec. 

Soon  we'll  reach  the  silver  river, 

Soon  our  pilgrimage  will  cease; 
Soon  our  happy  hearts  will  quiver 

With  the  melody  of  peace. 
Yes,  well  gather,  &c. 

After  which  Rev.  Mr.  Frost  offered  the  following  prayer : 

Almighty  Parent,  Supreme  Architect  and  ruler  of  the  uni- 
verse, command  thy  blessing  upon  us  at  this  time.  As  thou 
didst  prove  thyself  to  be  our  fathers'  God,  so  hast  thou  proved 
thyself  to  be  the  God  of  their  erring,  wandering  children.  In 
the  day  of  darkness  and  peril  thou  wast  with  us.  When  the 
strength  of  the  strong  was  weakness,  when  the  wisdom  of  the 
wise  was  foolishness,  when  great  and  mighty  men  trembled  and 
quaked  for  fear,  then  thou  didst  prove  thyself  to  be  a  God  near  at 
hand,  and  not  afar  off.  We  thank  thee  that  thou  didst  rule  in 
the  hour  of  trial,  and  that  the  right  triumphed.  Bless  thy 
servants  who  to-day  remember  in  love  their  fallen  comrades. 
Let  their  lives  be  precious  in  thy  sight,  we  beseech  thee.  Let 
them  long  live  to  see  the  prosperity  of  our  country.  He-unite, 
we  pray  thee,  the  dissevered  sisterhood  of  States,  and  let  our 
land  long  continue  to  be  Emanuel's  land,  the  Garden  of  the 
Lord.  Let  the  restored  foundations  of  our  Government  be  laid 
deep  in  the  principles  of  thy  word,  and  in  accordance  with  the 
higher  law  of  eternal  truth.  Again  we  ask  thy  blessing  on 
these  returned  soldiers,  on  our  commonwealth,  and  on  our 
country.  Bless  us  as  a  community  in  all  the  varied  exercises 
of  this  day,  and  in  all  the  pursuits  of  life;  and  as  one  by  one 
these  thy  servants  shall  be  called  from  the  labors  of  earth,  may 
they  be  found  worthy  and  well  qualified,  duly  and  truly  pre- 
pared for  that  rest  which  remaineth  for  the  children  of  God. 
We  ask  these  and  all  needed  blessings  through  thy  Son,  our 
Saviour,  to  whom  with  thee  and  the  Holy  Spirit  be  praise  ever- 
more. Amen. 

A  chant  was  then  sung  by  the  members  of  the  High  School, 
and  the  procession  re-formed  and  marched  back  to  the  Post 
headquarters,  where  it  was  dismissed  for  rest  and  refreshments. 
In  the  afternoon,  the  procession  was  again  formed,  and  after 
marching  through  the  principal  streets  of  the  town,  entered  a 
large  tent  erected  for  the  occasion,  capable  of  holding  eight 
thousand  persons.  This  was  filled  to  overflowing,  hundreds  be- 


236  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

ing  unable   to  gain   admittance,  when   a   series  of  the   most 
praiseworthy  and  impressive  exercises  took  place. 

BENJ.  THOMAS,  Post  Corner. 
G.  F.  FKOST,  Post  Adft. 

AT  WORCESTER,  MASS. 

The  soldiers'  graves  in  all  the  cemeteries  of  this  city  were 
decorated  by  the  soldiers  of  the  Grand  Array.  In  the  afternoon 
a  procession  was  formed,  consisting  of  the  State  Guards,  High- 
laud  Cadets,  Post  10  Grand  Army,  Gen.  A.  B.  II.  Sprague, 
Grand  Commander  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts,  and  staff, 
and  Mayor  Blake  and  members  of  the  City  Government.  It 
marched  to  Mechanics'  Hall,  where  the  memorial  services  were 
held.  Addresses  were  delivered  by  Major-Gen eral  Devens,  and 
others.  Governor  Bullock,  who  was  expected  to  address  the 
meeting,  telegraphed  his  inability  to  be  present,  saying  :  "  Ten- 
der to  all  my  sympathies  in  the  solemn  exercises  of  the  day." 

AT  NANTUCKET,  MASS. 

Post  No.  2  of  the  G.  A.  R.  of  this  town  organized,  and  duly 
celebrated  the  occasion  by  the  decoration  of  the  graves  of  their 
fallen  comrades  belonging  to  Nantucket.  Early  in  the  after- 
noon of  Saturday  the  soldiers,  and  a  large  number  of  the  citi- 
zens and  friends,  went  to  the  Methodist  church,  where  imposing 
ceremonies  were  conducted  in  honor  of  the  dead. 

The  vocal  and  instrumental  exercises  were  of  the  choicest 
kind  in  selection,  and  were  sweetly  and  tenderly  rendered. 
"  Beautiful  Flowers,"  a  solo  and  chorus,  was  very  touching  in 
its  spirit  of  remembrance  ;  there  was  the  solemn  chant,  moving 
the  heart ;  while  the  grand  old  air,  "  The  Star-Spangled  Ban- 
ner," kindled  in  patriot  breasts  a  new  love  for  the  old  flag. 
Very  fitting  selections  from  the  Bible,  with  a  most  fervent 
prayer,  were  sincerely  and  reverently  offered  by  Rev.  Thos. 
Dawes  (Unitarian),  who  kindly  accepted  the  onerous  duties,  in 
the  absence  of  the  beloved  pastor,  Rev.  Mr.  Starr,  and  Rev. 
Mr.  Hosmer  (Cong.).  The  address  to  the  soldiers  was  written' 
and  delivered  by  Arthur  E.  Jenks,  of  this  town.  The  scene  in 
the  church,  during  its  delivery,  was  impressive.  There  was  a 
hush  which  whispered  to  each  heart :  "  The  Lord  is  in  His  holy 
temple  ;  let  all  the  earth  keep  silence  before  Him."  There  sat 
men  whose  memories  of  conflict  and  triumph  were  known  only 
to  themselves  and  to  God.  There  drooped  the  old  flag,  fringed 
with  its  clustering  recollections  of  victory  and  unfading  glory — 
a  blazing  rebuke  to  the  heartless  and  ungrateful  in  humanity. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        237 

The  pulpit  was  prettily  draped  with  mourning  emblems,  with  a 
beautiful  cross,  and  with  wreaths  and  bouquets  of  fragrant  flow- 
ers. 

MR.  JENKS'  ADDRESS. 

SOLDIERS  OP  THE  GKAJSTD  ARMY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC  :  "With 
prompt  and  respectful  regard  for  the  recommendation  of  your 
Commander-in-Chief,  you  have  assembled  for  the  purpose  of 
inaugurating  a  custom  which,  in  the  expression  of  your  General 
Orders,  "  will  preserve  and  strengthen  those  kind  and  fraternal 
feelings  which  have  bound  together  the  soldiers,  sailors,  and 
marines,  who  united  to  suppress  the  late  Rebellion." 

Such  service,  annually  observed  by  surviving  comrades-in- 
arms, will  lay  the  hand  of  sacred  commemoration  upon  the 
graves  of  heroes  gone,  above  whose  honored  dust  beautiful 
flowers  will  breathe  their  aroma  of  memory,  which  shall  be 
your  choicest  peace-offering  at  the  shrine  of  patriot  valor  ! 

Appropriate,  time-honored,  even  beautiful,  this  act  of  yours, 
which  to-day  crowns  a  new  era  in  your  soldier-life,  while  it 
strews  the  mounds  of  your  brothers  with  the  Spring's  blushing 
honors.  "  Flowers  are  the  alphabet  of  angels,"  and  their  speech 
transcends  written  language.  Life,  in  all  that  is  sweetest  and 
tenderest,  is  blessed  when  then  the  flowers  speak.  In  early 
time,  we  know,  the  temples  of  the  worshippers  were  adorned 
with  flowers,  and  the  saying,  "  Under  the  rose,"  was  typical  of 
a  plighted  faith  which  the  young  bride  held  inviolate  as  the 
order  of  the  confessional.  Flowers  lay  a  more  rare  than  tessel- 
lated pavement  for  the  feet  of  victorious  veterans  coming  home 
from  the  war.  I  have  seen  triumphal  arches,  and  floral  pavil- 
ions, bearing  on  their  fronts  grander  prophecy  than  the  brazen 
image  of  Apollo,  scatter  their  white  blossoms,  and  bend  above 
the  conquering  heroes,  whose  true  swords,  early  drawn  for 
Liberty  and  Country,  have  been  sheathed  with  honor. 

At  feast  and  festival  the  bountiful  tables  are  ever  graced  by 
the  sweet  presence  of  flowers.  And  as  in  life,  so  in  death  s 
hour  of  sadness  and  grief,  the  pretty  flowers  are  Heaven's  minis- 
ters still.  The  young  are  borne  to  the  tomb  with  white  roses  in 
their  bosoms  ;  in  the  moments  of  our  last  suffering,  the  passion- 
flower, whose  stem  and  petals  represent  the  cross  and  crown  of 
thorns  patiently  endured  by  our  Saviour,  rehearses  to  us  the 
story  of  the  Atonement,  and  we  learn  to  lean  on  the  bosom  of 
our  Father  and  our  God. 

Nantucket's  dead  in  the  war !  How  they  pass  in  review 
before  us  now !  We  loved  them  living ;  shall  we  not  honor 
them  dead  ?  Yes  ;  and  for  this  have  we  assembled  here.  We 


238  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

have  not  come  to  them  "  after  the  burial,"  with  the  misguided 
poet's  wail  of  despair  and  unchristian  belief,  but  with  faith  in 
the  Hereafter. 

Dickens  says  it  is  an  exquisite  and  beautiful  thing  in  our 
nature,  that  when  the  heart  is  touched  by  some  tranquil  happi- 
ness, the  memory  of  the  dead  comes  over  it  most  powerfully 
and  irresistibly.  It  would  almost  seem  as  though  our  better 
thoughts  and  sympathies  were  charms,  in  virtue  of  which  the 
soul  is  enabled  to  hold  some  vague  and  mysterious  intercourse 
with  the  spirits  of  those  whom  we  dearly  loved  in  life. 

And  the  memory  of  our  dead  soldiers  buried  here,  or  in 
other  grounds,  is  with  us  to-day  ;  it  lifts  the  veil  of  skepticism, 
that  it  may  give  us  but  a  glimpse  of  the  glory  of  their  'appear- 
ing through  sacrifice. 

During  the  Rebellion,  my  eyes  were  arrested  by  these  strange 
words  in  a  war-bulletin  :  "  A  slight  skirmish — only  a  private 
killed,  and  six  wounded."  I  confess  my  blood  has  been  chilled 
and  my  heart  has  stood  still  when  I  have  listened  to  cruel  words 
like  these :  Only  a  private  ?  "Who  that  lays  claim  to  any  human 
feeling,  can  taunt  a  man  on  account  of  modest  abilities,  or  his 
humble  place,  it  may  be,  among  his  fellow-men  ?  Let  him  be 
ashamed  when  he  shall  hereafter  stand  in  the  marble  ohadow  of 
one  who  "  never  despised  a  man  because  he  was  poor,  or  be- 
cause he  was  ignorant,  or  because  he  was  black." 

Every  private  soldier  in  our  army  was  somebody's  son ! 
Mother  and  sister  loved  him.  To  them  he  was  the  best  of  sons 
and  brothers  ;  and  all  through  those  long  nights  of  terrible  war, 
while  civilians  slept  in  peace,  each  prayed  in  agony  of  spirit, 
nor  closed  her  weary  eyes :  "  If  it  be  possible,  O  Lord,  let  this 
cup  pass  from  me ;  nevertheless,  not  as  I  will,  but  as  Thou  wilt." 

Was  there  no  sacrifice  there  ?  Call  you  such  offering  of  her 
first-born  on  the  altar  of  country  common  ?  Nothing  in  human 
feeling  I  know  of  transcends  the  emotions  of  a  mother's  heart. 
Recall  that  sublime  utterance  of  a  poor,  unlettered  woman,  after 
hearing  her  parish  priest  relate  the  history  of  Abraham  :  "  Oh  ! 
God  would  certainly  not  have  required  such  a  sacrifice  of  a 
mother !  " 

Ah,  when  we  traduce  our  soldiers,  then  will  we  be  traitors 
at  heart ;  then  shall  we  be  ungrateful  to  men  who  endured, 
only  as  the  world's  great  can  endure,  the  fearful  suffering  and 
the  unwritten  barbarism  of  war.  Let  me  here  call  the  names 
of  the  brave  and  loyal  Twenty -six,  four  of  whom  are  not  buried 
on  the  island  ;  but  there  are  memorial-stones  in  honor  of  two  of 
them.  I  trust  that  an  early  day's  declining  sun  will  lay  its  halo 
of  light  upon  tablets  for  those  not  thus  honored :  Leander  F. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  239 

Alley,  Ferdinand  Alley,  Hathaway,  Chase,  William  Grnber, 
Charles  Grnber,  Snow,  Andrews,  Winslow,  George  H.  Swain, 
John  Swain,  Moore,  Morgan,  Hussey,  Hiram  Fisher,  Charles 
Fisher,  Header,  Folger,  Rivers,  Defriez,  Mitchell,  Tracy,  Macy, 
Smith,  Rogers,  and  Russell.  Those  remaining  of  onr  island's 
dead  soldiers,  whose  graves  are  not  here,  are  peacefully  en- 
shrined in  historic  fields  like  Gettysburg,  Fredericksburg,  An- 
tietam,  and  Fair  Oaks.  Nantucket  has  thus  lain  on  the  altar  of 
Country  sixty-seven  young  men — fifty-five  in  the  army,  twelve 
in  the  navy.  And  Nantucket  ought  to  rear  a  monument  for 
these,  to  be  placed  in  some  one  of  the  public  squares  of  the 
town.  Such  enduring  testimonial  in  marble  is  due  to  their  lives 
of  sacrifice.  Its  index-finger  would  point  to  their  unfading 

flory,  new  every  morning,  fresh  every  evening.     For,  in  the 
eautiful  thought  of  Irving,  "  there  is  a  remembrance  of  the 
dead  to  which  we  turn  even  from  the  charm  of  the  living." 

Reverently  let  us  draw  near  the  hallowed  earth  that  en- 
tombs them,  scattering  our  garlands.  What  a  spectacle  to  men 
and  angels ! — a  country  like  our  own,  stretching  from  the  At- 
lantic; sea,  beyond  the  Western  prairies,  in  every  city,  town,  and 
village  where  there  is  a  soldier's  grave,  in  the  act  of  inaugurat- 
ing a  national  observance,  in  the  hope  that  it  will  be  annually 
celebrated  while  a  survivor  of  the  war  lives  to  honor  the  lite 
and  death  of  his  departed  comrades. 

Parents,  sisters,  or  friends  of  our  island's  dead  soldiers, 
whether  lying  in  the  home  graveyard  or  in  unknown  sepulchre, 
let  not  your  hearts  be  troubled  by  the  sneers  of  ingratitude  in 
the  ranks  of  humanity.  No  cross,  no  crown  !  Be  of  good 
cheer;  and  to-day,  while  your  tears  fall  as  you  think  01  the 
vacant  chair,  or  some  kind  deed  he  performed,  bind,  like  an 
amulet  upon  your  beating  heart,  the  royal  truth  of  that  beauti- 
ful couplet, 

"  Only  those  are  crowned  and  sainted, 
Who  with  grief  have  been  acquainted  !  " 

No !  we  will  not  forget  them,  our  slain  defenders,  who 
fought  and  died  for  principles,  not  policies.  I  am  aware  that  it 
is  bad  to  make  an  unnecessary  show  of  high  principles ;  but  it 
is  far  worse  not  to  have  any  high  principles  to  show.  Our  peace 
has  been  purchased-  by  the  privations  and  death  of  our  soldiers 
on  land  and  sea.  In  our  prosperity  shall  we  ignore  the  dark 
days  of  their  adversity  ? 

Standing  as  American  citizens,  in  the  protection  of  restored 
peace,  our  congratulations  ought  to  testify  for  the  triumph  of 
truth  over  err  >r,  and  not  for  aggrandizement  of  party.  Treach- 


240  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

ery  of  men,  infidelity,  or  neglect  of  our  bounden  duty,  ought 
not  to  hide  from  the  light  the  heroic  deeds  of  our  Union  sol- 
diers. No  testimony  of  ours  must  tell  to  coming  generations 
that  Nan  tucket  was  recreant  to  the  memory  of  her  benefactors, 
or  that  she  laughed  at  the  cost  of  blood  and  treasure  which  re- 
•  deemed  our  Republic  from  a  fatal  plunge  into  the  abyss  of 
anarchy  and  ruin  ;  or  that  she  did  not  remember,  while  decorat- 
ing the  graves  of  the  fallen  heroes,  the  martyred  President, 
Abraham  Lincoln,  so  cruelly  murdered  by  the  demoniac  foe. 
The  name  and  deeds  of  the  great  ruler  and  emancipator  to-day 
lie  very  near  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen.  It  is  at  the  shrine 
of  our  purest  faith,  where  we  bend  the  knee  in  respect  for  one 
who  lived  "  with  charity  for  all,  with  malice  toward  none." 
There  is  a  flower  of  memory  for  Lincoln,  watered  by  Liberty's 
tears,  and  its  bloom  is  eternal ! 

Let  us  be  glad  indeed,  that  out  of  the  smoke  and  horrid 
agony  of  the  battle-field  came  not  the  vulture  to  pluck  out  our 
eye  of  faith  in  the  Right.  No,  no,  thank  Heaven  !  God  merci- 
fully permitted  us  to  receive  from  the  quivering  lips  of  dying 
patriots  His  message,  that  He  would  bless  us  with  the  gifts  of 
peace.  What  a  legacy  they  bequeathed  to  us  I 

Forget  them  ?    Oh,  ignoble  heart, 

Thus  to  be  false  to  those  most  true  ! 
Methinks  their  whitened  bones  would  start, 

Like  Macbeth's  ghosts,  confronting  you  ! 

Like  Barbara  in  old  Fredericktown, 

Ye  held  your  standard  high  in  air ; 
And  never  that  free  Flag  came  down, 

But  seemed  a  benediction  there  ! 

Our  Country's  Flag  !     Ye  bore  it  on  ! 

Ye  were  the  walls  of  our  defence ; 
If  ye  were  poor  or  lowly  born, 

In  glory  ye  departed  hence  ! 

Recognition,  in  this  country,  of  moral  worth  in  a  man,  dig- 
nity of  character — in  one  word,  manhood — is  the  keystone  of 
our  civil  life.  The  classic  Greeks  and  Romans  supplanted  an 
idea  so  eminently  Christian ;  therefore  the  splendor  and  refine- 
ment, if  you  please,  of  their  pagan  economy,  became  corrupt 
beyond  St.  Paul's  language  to  depict,  and  the  miserable  empire 
crumbled  and  fell !  If  we  would  save  ourselves  from  a  mistake 
so  fatal,  we  ought  to  trust  in  God  and  obey  His  commandments. 
Then,  I  believe,  our  country's  peace  will  be  in  His  keeping,  and 
not  at  the  mercy  of  imperialism  on  the  one  hand,  or  suicide  on 
the  other. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  241 

To  you,  Soldiers  of  the  Army  of  the  Kepublic,  survivors  of 
maiiy  a  hard-fought  field,  what  shall  I  say  to  add  one  cubit  to 
your  heroic  stature?  It  would  be  fulsome  to  attempt.  You 
have  passed  into  History,  and  a  more  faithful  and  powerful  pen 
than  mine  has  already  recorded  your  triumphs.  You  have 
written  what  you  have  written.  \  our  scars  are  all  numbered, 
and  Loyalty  pays  tribute  to  your  brilliant  achievements.  Nan- 
tucket  honors  you,  and  will  ever  hold  you  in  grateful  remem- 
brance. In  the  sensible  words  of  your  invincible  leader,  Gen- 
eral Grant :  "  Of  your  rectitude  in  the  performance  of  public 
duties,  men  will  judge  for  themselves,  by  your  record  before 
them."  And  those  words  are  true  of  the  citizen  as  well. 

We  must  remember  at  this  time,  that  woman's  hands  have 
plucked  and  arranged  the  flowers  which  you  will  so  soon  place 
over  the  remains  of  your  fellow-soldiers — the  same  willing  fin- 

fers  that  picked  the  lint,  and  wound  the  soft  bandages,  and 
ound  up  the  bleeding  leg  or  arm. 

Noble,'  self-sacriticing  women  of  the  war  !  Ye  were  not  the 
Aspasias  or  Cleopatras  of  America  !  It  was  woman's  virtue  in 
a  good  mother  that  gave  us  a  Lincoln,  and  not  a  Julius,  for  a 
President ;  and,  for  the  great  Chief  of  our  armies,  the  reliable 
Grant,  and  not  a  gifted  Antony.  Our  legions  of  soldiers  did 
not  wait  for  him  in  vain.  Antony  lost  Rome  and  empire  by  the 
intoxication  of  a  silly  woman's  caress.  Grant  remembered  God 
and  duty,  and  the  destiny  of  nations,  and  saved  the  Republic. 
Nelson,  of  Trafalgar,  became  the  willing  slave  of  a  Court  lady. 
A  worthier  object,  another  vision,  arrested  the  eye  and  heart  of 
the  hero  of  Mobile,  while  lashed  to  the  rigging  of  his  battle- 
ship. Because  our  soldiers  and  naval  heroes  were  men,  true  to 
themselves  in  the  day  of  their  trial,  they  unconsciously  com- 
mand now  the  homage  of  "  fair  women  and  brave  men." 

Whatever  is  good  in  the  character  of  this  nation,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  has  been  moulded  by  our  American  women  of 
virtue  and  Christian  fidelity.  No  one  familiar  with  the  history 
of  the  world  will  deny  the  influence  of  woman.  I3y  it,  when 
on  the  side  of  truth  and  religion,  man  acts  wisely  and  well ;  by 
it,  when  leagued  with  error  and  guilty  ambition,  man  becomes  a 
fiend.  Think  of  him  who  shed  the  blood  of  thousands  of  Hu- 

fuenots  to  gratify  her  passion  !     If  education  has  placed  woman 
igh,  the  Christian  religion  has  done  more  for  her.     She  now 
looks  back  with  pity  upon  the  wasted  years  of  her  sex — in  a 
more  dazzling  age,  perhaps  davs  of  lute  and  love-song,  when 
crazy  troubadours  or  infatuated  knights  sat  lisping  at  the  feet 
of  weak,  irresolute  women,  all  untutored  in  the  realms  of  mind 
and  heart-culture.     Blessings,  then,  the  choicest  in  God's  gift, 
16 


242  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

for  man's  sake,  upon  all  institutions  and  all  privileges  that  will 
ennoble,  and  not  degrade  her.  What  a  gulf  between  her  who 
made  Nero  what  he  was,  and  the  benignant  Isabella  of  Castile, 
whose  virtue  of  inspiration  and  love  for  the  purest  knowledge 
encouraged  the  daring  adventurer,  and  made  Columbus  discov- 
erer of  a  New  World.  It  was  the  name  of  a  poor  orange-girl 
that  was  last  on  the  lips  of  a  dying  king ;  so,  too,  among  the 
dying  words  of  greater  than  kings  ancl  princes,  our  expiring 
patriots,  woman's  name  was  breathed  last — mother,  or  sister ! 
And  where  these  were  not,  that  of  some  kind-hearted  hospital 
nurse. 

You  will  soon  march  in  procession,  bearing  your  wreaths 
with  you,  to  yonder  churchyard,  the  resting-place  of  your  com- 
panions in  battle  and  bivouac — our  sons  and  brothers  whom  an 
unkind  tongue  dared  to  call  "  common  soldiers,"  but  whom  God 
and  History,  this  hour,  crown  with  the  hero's  laurels  and  the 
martyr's  name.  You  will  not  fail  to  weave  in  the  evergreen  of 
your  memory  the  sweet  forget-me-not  for  him  who,  during  the 
furnace-heat  of  our  political  peril,  guided  the  affairs  of  this 
Commonwealth.  Side  by  side,  in  this  quiet  hour,  alike  repose 
the  Governor  of  Massachusetts  and  her  thousands  of  loyal  de- 
fenders. Patron  of  knowledge,  lover  of  God  and  his  fellow- 
men — John  Albion  Andrew  ! 

While  History  paints  the  camp-fire's  glare 

That  flickered  through  the  Northern  gloom, 
Who  reads,  will  breathe  in  silent  prayer, 

Above  thine  honorable  tomb  1 
Thy  words,  pure  messengers  of  grace, 

Clothed  like  a  prophet's  golden  speech, 
Held  armies  in  their  dreadful  place, 

Or  cheered  them  in  the  deadly  breach. 
For  this  our  holy  altars  burn 

With  incense  sacred  to  thy  name ; 
More  eloquent  than  marble  urn, 

Or  cenotaph  of  worldly  fame ! 

This  your  memorial  service  over,  you  will  return  to  the 
business  of  life.  May  you  bring  to  the  pursuits  of  peace  the 
patience  and  manly  energies  which  nerved  your  hearts  and  tem- 
pered every  sinew  of  your  being  in  time  of  war.  To-day,  and 
now,  this  country  calls  for  young  men  like  you,  with  hearts  and 
hands  like  yours.  To  acknowledge  God  in  all  things,  while  you 
labor  for  the  American  Government  (not  forgetting  the  "  irre- 
pressible conflict ") ;  to  make  yourselves  eligible  to  the  higher 
destiny  that  awaits  you ;  hereafter  to  work  with  the  untiring 
zeal  of  enterprise ;  to  freely  and  manfully  discuss  all  topics  of 
social  or  national  importance ;  to  open  up  every  avenue  to  in- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  243 

telligent  intercourse  and  successful  thrift;  declaring  like  men  in 
earnest,  that  for  every  man  and  for  every  woman,  black  or 
white,  rich  or  poor,  learned  or  unlearned,  the  ways  of  Freedom 
are  God's  ways,  and  that  Labor  knows  no  distinction ; — these 
are  some  of  the  duties  to  be  performed  by  the  young  men  of 
our  time.  Who  then  will  cry,  "  There  is  nothing  to  do  "  2 

Governor  Andrew's  words  are  the  utterance  of  the  hour, 
and  with  these  I  close  :  "  Patriotism  and  Christianity  unite  the 
arguments  of  earthly  welfare  and  the  motives  of  heavenly  in- 
spiration, to  persuade  us  to  put  off  all  jealousy  and  all  fear,  and 
to  move  forward  as  citizens  and  as  men  in  the  work  of  social 
and  economic  reorganization — each  one  doing  with  his  might 
whatever  his  hand  tindeth  to  do," 

"  To  stay  the  ruthless  hand  of  crime, 

And  awe  the  rage  of  lust  and  fear  ; 
The  fruits  of  Nature  and  of  Time, 

Again  to  ripen,  and  to  rear  : — 
Our  Country's  rankling  wounds  to  heal, 

By  faith  supreme,  with  tender  pride ; 
And  guard,  with  consecrated  zeal, 

The  cause  for  which  her  martyrs  died  ! " 

After  the  church  services  were  concluded,  the  soldiers  formed 
in  procession  in  front  of  the  armory  on  Main  street,  and  bear- 
ing their  wealth  of  floral  treasure,  they  marched  to  the  several 
grounds  where  their  soldier-friends  lay  buried.  The  sun  gave 
them  his  smile  of  benediction,  as  with  muffled  drums  and  fifes 
they  moved  to  the  graves.  Here  their  ceremony  brought  tears 
to  many  eyes.  They  left  no  grave  uncovered  ;  over  each  one 
the  flag  hung  low,  and  the  triple  roll  of  the  drums  told  how 
they  all  were  loved.  At  the  Unitarian  ground,  Capt.  I.  H. 
Folger  made  a  few  remarks,  after  which  the  ceremonies  closed 
with  prayer  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dawes. 

ADDRESS  OF  CAPTAIN  FOLGEB. 

FELLOW-COMRADES  :  It  is  with  great  pleasure  that  I  greet  you 
here  on  this  occasion,  after  the  inauguration  of  what  is,  I  be- 
lieve, in  the  future  to  be  a  yearly  custom  throughout  the  coun- 
try— that  of  placing  flowers  on  the  graves  of  our  fallen  brothers. 
I  am  gladfrthat  this  has  commenced,  though  at  a  late  day  and 
by  the  veterans  themselves,  and '  trust  that  its  continuance  will 
be  kept  up  as  long  as  there  remains  one  of  us  to  carry  out  the 
design,  that  the  memory  of  those  who  fought  to  maintain  the 
Union  of  the  United  States  may  be  bequeathed  to  our  children, 
who  will  carry  fond  recollections  of  their  fathers'  service  as 
green  as  the  wreaths  which  we  have  this  day  left  at  the  graves 
of  those  gone  before.  The  custom  originated  in  the  Southern 
States,  by  the  ladies  there  placing  the  choicest  flowers  of  Spring 


244  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

on  the  graves  of  the  Confederate  dead.  Kot  to  those  who  were 
offered  up  as  a  sacrifice  to  lay  the  corner-stone  of  an  oligarchy 
whose  riches  were  to  be  drawn  from  the  toil  of  an  unfortunate 
race,  bnt  to  the  sacred  memory  of  the  dear  ones  lost  in  a  mis- 
taken cause.  It  has  been  a  suggestion  to  us  worthy  of  adop- 
tion. While  much  has  been  said  and  done  by  the  country  and 
this  town  for  our  returned  veterans,  we  have  been  too  lax  in  our 
memory  of  those  who  now  are  lying  near  us  in  nameless  graves, 
and,  so  far  as  I  know,  are  only  recorded  in  the  memory  of  those 
of  to-day,  to  be  forgotten  by  coming  generations.  Is  this  as  it 
should  be?  The  service  of  our  Army  and  Navy,  with  its  pri- 
vations and  hardships,  is  too  little  realized  and  appreciated. 
The  extravagant  promises  made  during  the  war  by  politicians 
have,  in  a  small  measure,  been  carried  out ;  but  how  little,  after 
all,  has  been  accomplished.  "  The  Union  must  and  shall  be 
preserved  !  "  was  the  cry  ;  but  now  that  the  tocsin  of  war  has 
ceased  its  alarming  peal,  our  endeavors  to  maintain  the  Union, 
and  the  whole  Union,  are  being  gradually  forgotten  and  passed 
over  as  an  unpleasant  dream  ;  but  we,  who  together  bore  the 
hardships  and  privations  of  that  life,  will  never  forget  what  we 
have  endured.  It  would  ill  become  me  as  a  soldier  to  make 
boast  of  our  achievements  ;  but  though  our  fame  is  written  in 
lines  of  blood  by  land  and  sea,  and  will  never  be  forgotten  by  a 
grateful  nation,  still  these  unmarked  graves  remain  to  us  a  last- 
ing reproach  ;  and  if  others  forget  and  grow  indifferent,  we 
should  never  do  so,  but  see  that  their  memory  is  carved  in 
granite  as  enduring  as  their  fame.  This  town,  the  banner-town 
of  the  State  in  furnishing  recruits  for  the  service,  appears  to  re- 
main in  a  wonderful  apathy  on  this  subject.  "When  the  war 
broke  out,  it  was  said  "  .Nantucket  had  no  fighting  men."  How 
is  that  answered  ?  Over  sixty  of  our  townsmen  are  sleeping 
their  last  sleep,  while  a  large  number  of  widows,  and  pension- 
ers on  the  bounty  of  the  General  Government,  walk  our  streets, 
and  silently,  but  with  a  sad,  expressive  eloquence,  refute  that 
assertion.  Her  sons  have  fallen  in  nearly  every  general  engage- 
ment, and  a  nation  mourns  their  loss.  It  is  the  endeavor  of  the 
Government  to  place  at  the  head  of  our  veterans'  graves,  when 
none  others  do  so,  a  neat,  durable  head-board,  with  their  name, 
regiment,  or  ship,  and  time  and  place  of  decease.  Too  many, 
alas  !  are  designated  "  unknown."  But  what  excuse  can  be 
offered  here  for  those  who  are  buried  among  friends  ?  The 
attention  of  the  public  has,  from  time  to  time,  been  called 
through  the  medium  of  our  local  press  ;  but  though  a  constant 
agitation  might  produce  gratifying  results,  the  writers,  as  if 
abashed  at  their  own  temerity,  have,  after  writing  one  or  two 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  245 

articles,  left  it  with  a  moral  protest  to  themselves,  that  they 
have  performed  their  share  of  this  duty,  and  thus  left  it  as 
every  one's  business.  This  is  something  that  should  be  rectified 
at  once,  as  it  is  a  tribute,  nobly  earned,  that  we  owe  to  their 
memory  ;  and  I  trust  that  immediate  attention  will  be  given  to 
what  has  already  remained  too  long  in  silence.  Our  veterans 
have  now  taken  this  matter  in  hand,  and  I  hope  that  persistent, 
manly  efforts  will  bring  an  honorable  recognition  of  this  claim. 
The  moral  feeling  of  this  town  is  against  display  of  any  kind  ; 
but  when  it  was  a  national  question  of  unity  or  discord  of 
States,  then  we  remembered  that  we  owed  an  allegiance  to  our 
country,  and  that  the  Constitution  of  our  fathers,  bequeathed  to 
us  at  the  cost  of  precious  blood  and  life,  should  be  maintained 
and  passed  down  intact  to  those  who  come  after  us,  even  if  a 
like  price  must  be  paid :  and  those  whose  bodies  formed  the 
breastworks  of  defence  for  the  preservation  of  that  Constitution 
and  Union  alike  dear  to  all,  should  receive,  at  the  hands  of 
those  who  were  benefitted  by  their  sacrifices,  the  undying  record, 
that  those  services  are  appreciated  by  their  grateful  townsmen 
— grateful  they  should  be  in  the  fullest  sense,  because  by  their 
endeavors  the  Union  and  Constitution  were  preserved,  and  they 
enjoy  the  happiness  of  peace.  Words  do  not  show  sincerity. 
"  By  their  acts  ye  shall  know  them ; "  and  a  few  lines  by  one 
of  the  American  poets  of  the  day,  seem  peculiarly  appropriate 
for  the  occasion : 

"  Wut's  words  to  them  whose  faith  and  truth 

On  war's  red  tech-stone  rang  true  mettle  ? 
Who  ventered  life,  an'  love,  an'  youth, 

For  the  gret  prize  o'  death  in  battle  ? 
To  him  who,  deadly  hurt,  agen 

Flashed  on  afore  the  charge's  thunder, 
Tippin'  with  fire  the  bolts  of  men 

That  rive  the  rebel  line  asunder  ? 

'Ta'n't  right  to  hev  the  young  go  fust, 

All  throbbin'  full  o'  gifts  an'  graces, 
Leavin'  life's  paupers,  dry  ez  dust, 

To  try  an'  make  b'lieve  fill  their  places. 
Nothin'  but  tells  us  wut  we  miss  ; 

Ther's  gaps  our  lives  can't  never  fay  in, 
An'  thet  world  seems  so  fur  from  this 

Lef  for  us  loafers  to  grow  gray  in." 

But  that  they  are  still  unhonored  even  by  a  plain  slab  com- 
memorative of  their  services,  I  trust  will,  ere  another  year 
passes,  be  rectified,  and  when  we  again  come  to  freshen  our 
memory,  we  shall  find  that  they  are  not  entirely  forgotten. 

Fellow-citizens,  I  congratulate  you  on  your  hearty  coopera- 


246  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

tion  with  us  on  this,  oar  memorial  day,  and  on  the  return  of  its 
anniversary,  I  feel  sure  I  shall  see  a  mass  of  patriotic  faces, 
when  looking  at  a  monument  reared  to  the  memory  of  our 
honored  dead.  Every  man's  heart  should  swell  within  him  as 
he  remembers  that  this  great  inheritance  of  liberty  is  his,  and, 
as  received  from  our  revolutionary  fathers,  is  transmitted  to  his 
hands,  to  be  held  in  trust  for  future  generations. 

While  the  procession  was  on  the  march,  the  bells  tolled,  and 
gnus  were  fired  at  intervals.  Thus  closed  the  new  day  of  com- 
memoration. 

AT  MARLBORO,  MASS. 

At  noon  of  May  30,  nearly  every  shop  and  store  was  closed 
out  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  the  dead  heroes.  In  the  west 
part  of  the  town  all  the  shops  and  stores  were  closed.  A  flag 
was  suspended  across  the  street  from  the  headquarters  of  the 
Post  in  Boyd's  block,  and  quite  a  number  of  the  places  of  busi- 
ness displayed  flags  at  half  mast.  The  weather  was  cloudy,  but 
the  air  was  very  sultry.  A  large  number  followed  the  proces- 
sion, and  through  the  whole  route  great  interest  was  manifested 
by  our  citizens. 

The  procession  formed  at  the  Town  Hall  at  one  o'clock, 
p.  M.  under  the  marshalship  of  Commander  C.  F.  Morse,  in  the 
following  order : 

Marshall  and  Aid  ;  Westboro'  Band ;  Post  43,  G.  A.  E.  under 
command  of  Capt.  Parsons ;  Disabled  Soldiers  and  invited  guests 
in  carriages ;  Torrent  Engine  Co.  No.  1 ;  Okommakarnesit  En- 
gine Co.  No.  2  ;  Union  Hook  and  Ladder  Xo.  1. 

The  order  of  march  was  from  Town  Hall  through  Main 
street  to  cemetery  near  house  of  John  Chipman,  from  thence 
through  Main  and  South  streets  to  Catholic  cemetery,  thence 
through  South  and  Main  streets  to  cemetery  near  Gates  House, 
thence  through  Main  and  Pleasant  streets  to  cemetery  on  Pleas- 
ant street,  thence  through  Pleasant,  Lincoln,  Prospect  and  Main 
streets  to  Town  Hall. 

The  names  of  those  buried  in  town,  and  the  places  of  in- 
terment are  as  follows : 

At  cemetery  near  John  Chipman's,  Myron  Balcom,  Theo. 
Herbert  Goodnow,  Chas.  Edward  Goodnow,  Andrew  J.  Good- 
no  w,  William  L.  Knight,  Stephen  H.  Phelps,  Sylvester  H. 
Rice,  Rufus  C.  Rice,  Zimri  Whitney,  Edward  X.  Welch  ;  in 
Catholic  cemetery,  Michael  Clark,  Thomas  Gallagher  ;  near  the 
Gates  House,  Benj.  S.  Russell,  John  M.  Russell,  Wm.  F.  Brig- 
ham  ;  in  Pleasant  street  cemetery,  J.  Henry  Bri^ham,  Aaron  A. 
Brighain,  Major  Henry  O.  Brigham,  Alfred  Howe,  Henry  H. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  247 

Perry,  Chapin  Bice,  Geo.  Henry  Stowe,  Win.  Frank  Brig- 
ham,  —  twenty-  two  in  all. 

Prayer  was  offered  at  the  cemeteries,  and  at  the  first  and 
last  ones  visited  a  hymn  was  sung.  All  the  graves  were  ten- 
derly strewn  with  bouquets,  wreaths  and  flowers,  and  large 
gatherings  of  friends  and  others  were  present  at  each  place  to 
participate  in  the  interesting  ceremonies. 

The  march  was  long  and  the  sultriness  of  the  air  made  it 
souie\vhat  tedious.  The  procession  arrived  at  the  Town  Hall 
a  little  past  five  o'clock,  too  weary  to  listen  to  any  addresses, 
and  were  dismissed  with  prayer. 

Delegations  from  the  Post  visited  the  cemetery  in  the  east- 
erly part  of  the  town,  and  the  one  at  Robin  Hill  in  the  fore 
part  of  the  day,  where  they  were  met  by  the  friends  of  the 
deceased  soldiers,  and  strewed  the  graves  with  flowers. 


AT  "WoBURN,  MASS. 

Here  the  ceremonies  were  in  charge  of  Post  33,  Col.  Gram- 
mar, commander.  The  Post  and  the  Returned  Soldiers'  Asso- 
ciation and  citizens  formed  a  procession  at  3£  o'clock,  and 
marched  to  the  cemetery,  where  addresses  were  made  by  Rev. 
Messrs.  Lansing  and  Dennan. 

The  services  were  held  near  the  soldier's  lot  containing  19 
graves,  and  these  and  7  other  graves  were  decorated. 

Eight  graves  at  the  Catholic  cemetery  in  East  Woburn 
were  decorated  by  a  detachment  of  this  Post. 

At  Stoneham,  Mass.,  a  procession  composed  of  citizens  and 
children,  was  formed  in  front  of  the  Town  Hall  at  10  o'clock, 
and,  headed  by  the  Stoneham  Band,  proceeded  to  the  cemetery. 
The  exercises  opened  with  prayer  by  Rev.  Mr.  Byington,  an 
address  was  delivered  by  Rev.  Mr.  Fairchild,  and  Rev.  Mr. 
Parklmrst  pronounced  the  benediction.  The  graves,  twenty  or 
thirty  in  number,  were  strewn  with  flowers,  and  the  procession 
re-formed  and  marched  to  the  Town  Hall,  where  a  dismissal 
took  place. 

At  Medford,  Mass.,  a  procession  was  formed  at  2  o'clock, 
under  the  direction  of  Col.  Godfrey  Rider,  Jr.,  consisting  of  Co. 
E  and  Co.  F,  Fifth  Regiment,  and  citizens  generally. 

The  procession  was  headed  by  a  band  of  music,  and  marched 
to  Oak  Grove  Cemetery  where  the  impressive  ceremony  of 
decorating  the  soldiers'  monument  and  the  graves  of  heroes  in 
this  cemetery  was  performed.  The  ladies  of  Medford  con- 
tributed large  quantities  of  flowers. 

Deerfield,  Mass.,  strewed  the  graves  of  her  fallen  heroes, 


248  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

and  gathered  about  her   soldiers'   monument  and   listened  to 
short  addresses  from  Rev.  Dr.  T.  H.  Hawks  and  others. 

There  was  no  public  ceremony  in  Greenfield,  Mass.,  but 
the  graves  of  soldiers  were  covered  with  flowers  by  their  friends. 

IN  DEDHAM,  MASS. 

In  this  town,  in  accordance  with  the  programme  prepared 
by  the  Committee  of  Arrangements  appointed  at  a  public  meet- 
ing of  soldiers  and  citizens,  flags  were  displayed  throughout  the 
day,  and  in  the  afternoon  business  was  generally  suspended. 
Under  the  direction  of  the  Floral  Committee,  the  Allin  Congre- 
gational church,  in  which  the  exercises  were  to  be  held,  had 
been  beautifully  decorated  with  flowers,  evergreens,  and  other 
appropriate  emblems,  the  entrance  to  the  cemetery  surmounted 
with  a  graceful  arch  of  hemlock,  beautifully  entwined  with  flags 
and  flowers,  and  the  graves  of  the  soldiers  appropriately  marked 
with  colors. 

Shortly  before  4  o'clock,  p.  M.,  the  detachment  of  returned 
soldiers,  to  the  number  of  fifty,  bearing  the  American  flag,  and 
preceded  by  the  Bates  Cornet  Band,  marched  to  the  church, 
where  they  were  received  by  the  Floral  Committee,  and  each 
presented  with  a  bouquet  of  choice  flowers.  Entering  the 
church  they  took  the  pews  in  the  center  aisle  directly  in  front 
of  the  pulpit,  which  had  been  reserved  for  their  use.  The  r 3- 
maining  slips  were  filled  with  the  pupils  of  the  public  schools 
and  citizens. 

At  4£  o'clock,  the  services  commenced,  and  were  conduct- 
ed in  the  following  order : 

Voluntary,  by  the  Bates  Cornet  Band. 

Invocation,  by  the  Dedham  Musical  Society,  under  the  di- 
rection of  Mr.  E.  C.  Daniell,  Mr.  Charles  J.  Capen  presiding  at 
the  organ. 

"  But  the  Lord  is  mindful  of  His  own ; 

He  remembers  His  children. 

Bow  down  before  Him,  ye  mighty, 

For  the  Lord  is  near  us ! 

Yea,  the  Lord  is  mindful  of  His  own. 

Selections  from  the  Scriptures,  and  prayer,  by  Rev.  S.  B. 
Babcock. 

"  American  Hymn  "  by  the  Choir. 

Who,  when  darkness  gathered  o'er  us, 

Foes  and  death  on  every  side, 
Clothed  in  glory,  walked  before  ns, — 

Leading  on  like  Israel's  guide? 
'Twas  Jehovah !     He  appearing, 

Showed  His  banner  far  and  wide. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        249 

"When  the  trump  of  war  was  sounding, 

'Twas  the  Lord  who  took  the  field ! 
He  His  people  then  surrounding, 

Made  the  strong  in  battle  yield : — • 
To  tlie  nation  roused  from  slumber, 

He  was  armor,  strength,  and  shield. 

In  the  God  of  armies  trusting, 

'Mid  their  weakness,  void  of  fear, 
Soon  they  felt  their  bonds  were  bursting,— 

Saw  the  dawning  light  appear. 
Clouds  dissolving  in  the  sunbeam 

Showed  the  land  of  Freedom  near. 

Hark !  we  hear,  to  heaven  ascending 

From  the  voices  of  the  free, 
Hallelujahs,  sweetly  blending 

With  the  song  of  Liberty. 
Power  Almighty !  we  the  victory 

Ever  will  ascribe  to  Thee. 

Lo  !  the  dove,  the  olive  bearing, 

Plants  it  on  Columbia's  shore  1 
Every  breast  its  branch  is  wearing 

Where  tlie  buckler  shone  before. 
Praise  th'  Eternal !     He  is  reigning  1 

Praise  Him !     Praise  Him  evermore  I 

General  Thomas  Sherwin,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of 
Arrangements,  then  made  a  brief  and  appropriate  address  to 
his  fellow  soldiers,  and  concluded  by  introducing  Rev.  Jonathan 
Edwards  as  the  orator  of  the  occasion. 

MB.  EDWARDS'  ADDRESS. 
SOLDIKRS,  WHO  HAVE   WON   US   PEACE,    AND  FELLOW-ClTIZENS  : 

When  one  common  sentiment  possesses  a  whole  community, 
but  few  words  are  necessary  to  express  it.  It  is  thought  and 
felt,  rather  than  spoken.  The  assembling  of  a  multitude  like 
this,  speaks.  The  music,  sublime  and  sweet,  of  voice  and  in- 
strument, speaks.  The  readiness  with  which  men  have  left 
their  usual  business,  speaks.  The  loving  interest  of  so  many 
mothers,  and  wives,  and  sisters,  speaks.  The  lifted  flags,  the 
bloom  and  fragrance  of  flowers,  gathered  with  so  much  taste  by 
so  many  lingers  of  old  and  }roung  ;  the  silent  memory,  peopled 
with  the  forms  that  make  us  at  once  sad  and  proud ;  the  tear- 
ful eye  ;  the  exulting  smile  ;  the  long  procession  ;  the  garlanded 
graves ;  the  presence  of  so  many  who  cheerfully  offered,  though 
they  were  not  called  to  lay  down  their  lives  for  their  country  ; 
the  knowledge  that  this  same  ceremonial  is  animating  our  whole 
laud  to-day — these  things  speak.  Yet  it  has  been  deemed 


250  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

fitting  that  a  few  additional  words  be  uttered.  All  classes  of 
our  population  are  here.  All  might  be  well  represented  by  two. 
Soldiers  and  children  together,  within  the  church's  walls,  give  a 
new  meaning  to  the  words — 

"  Strength  and  Beauty  are  in  the  Sanctuary.'1'1 

It  has  sometimes  been  said  that  "  Eepublics  are  ungrateful." 
Such  days  as  this  disprove  the  assertion.  This  entire  scene  is 
the  assurance  that  we  are  grateful — first,  let  us  hope,  to  the 
Lord  our  God,  by  whose  heavenly  providence  we  are  led — but 
then,  in  their  measure,  profoundly  grateful  to  those,  to  all  of 
those,  who  were  willing  to  hazard  their  lives  that  we  might 
have  a  country,  a  whole  country,  a  free  country.  Of  our  soldiers, 
some  fell  for  a  land  in  which  they  were  born.  They  made  their 
own  graves  by  the  side  of  those  of  their  ancestors,  perhaps  of 
many  generations.  These  had  everything  to  lose  by  enlisting  in 
the  war ;  of  ease,  and  inheritance,  and  an  already  established 
place.  But  they  were  ready  to  resign  all  their  own,  in  order  to 
save  it  for  others.  Noble  men  !  They  sacrificed  themselves  for 
the  common  good.  Their  country  will  ever  guard  their  memory 
beside  that  of  the  founders  of  the  Republic.  The  towns  out  of 
which  they  went  forth,  cherish  the  light  their  deeds  reflect  upon 
family  names  of  generations  past.  This  State  points  to  many — 
this  ancient  town  to  some  such, — as  the  select  product  of  its  long 
cultured  institutions.  Precious  fruit  of  household  gardens, 
planted  years  ago  in  this  congenial  soil !  Fit  inheritors  of  such 
as  that  Capt.  Daniel  Fisher,  of  Dedham,  who,  two  hundred 
years  ago,  was  the  first  in  the  neighboring  city  to  beard  the 
Colonial  Governor  who  had  become  a  tyrant ! 

But  a  peculiar  interest  warms  in  our  hearts  towards  a/iwfher 
class  of  our  soldiers.  They  themselves  sailed  like  our  own  dis- 
tant progenitors,  across  the  great  and  wide  sea  that  separates  us 
from  the  old  world.  These  came  here  that  they  might  find  quiet- 
ness and  a  home.  They  came  that  they  might  lay  the  founda- 
tion of  new  homes  in  what  they  fondly  hoped  would  here  be  a 
land  of  plenty  and  a  land  of  peace.  They  had  seen  enough  of 
strife  elsewhere.  Many  of  them  had  left  parents,  brothers, 
sisters, 'or  even  wives  and  children,  upon  the  other  side.  Or 
they  had  just  succeeded,  by  incessant  painstaking  and  changeless 
generosity,  in  bringing  them  over.  They  were  busy  with  new 
wants,  and  new  cares,  as  well  as  new  hopes.  Some  of  them 
could  scarcely  yet  speak  the  dialect  of  their  adopted  country. 
Yet  these,  abandoning  all,  were  among  the  foremost  to  swell  the 
ranks  of  the  National  army.  The  bugle  of  freedom  they  could 
understand.  They  risked  all  their  new-born  anticipations  to 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  251 

rescue  America.  They  could  comprehend  the  words  of  our 
great  martyr,  when,  on  the  Held  of  the  Gettysburg  Cemetery,  he 
stated  the  aim  of  the  conflict  to  be,  that  a  government  of  the 
people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people,  need  not  perish  out  of 
the  world.  On  no  graves  shall  more  fragrant  wreaths  be  laid 
than  on  those  beneath  whose  sod  reposes  the  dust  of  men,  who, 
born  in  Europe,  died  for  the  free  United  States.  And  from  no 
hearts  more  fervently  than  ours  shall  go  up  the  prayer  that 
every  land  from  which  these,  our  adopted  comrades  came  out, 
may  vet  taste  the  perfect  blessings  of  liberty. 

]\lost  of  the  friends  we  lament  to-day  fell  in  their  youth.  A 
long  life  which  they  had  in  prospect  was  lost.  Yet  was  it  lost 
to  either  the^ir  country  or  their  kindred  ?  Nay  !  these  lost  lives 
have  moved  us  more  than  any  other.  They  are  eloquent  in  the 
dust.  They  crowd  about  us  with  all  the  memorials  and  all  the 
incentives  of  honor  and  heroism.  They  will  live  as  long  as  we 
live.  They  survive  in  rebuke  to  every  low  aim,  in  impulse  to 
every  high  resolve.  They  survive  in  our  admiration,  in  our 
love.  But  we  deeply  sympathize  with  their  lonely  relatives! 
Those  who  expected  to  lean  upon  them — the  parent,  that  lost 
his  boy,  the  brother,  sister,  and  dearer  still,  parted  from  their 
treasures — we  weep  with  them.  Many  of  these  relatives  are 
here.  We  fervently  commend  them  all  to  a  higher  than  any 
human  consolation.  Let  us  not  forget,  let  them  not  forget,  to  be 
truly  thankful  that  their  resting-places  are  with  us,  and  not 
with  that  15,000  whose  graves — no !  the  trenches^  where  their 
skeletons  lie — are  just  outside  the  awful  stockade  at  Anderson- 
ville !  Even  those  trenches,  monuments  of  what  a  devotion, 
will  be  decorated  to-day.  The  colored  race,  enfranchised 
through  their  murder,  does  not  forget  its  benefactors.  A  race 
that  has  earned  the  blessed  title — "The  Soldier's  Friend," — will 
see  to  it,  if  no  others  do,  that  flowers,  and  tears,  and  the  heart's 
warm  homage  are  laid  on  the  burial  spots  of  those  through 
whose  death  has  come  their  emancipation.  We  thank  them. 
But  how  glad  we  are  that  these  graves  are  at  home  ! 

But  tliere  are  those  whose  residence  was  never  with  us,  and 
who  only  left  their  ashes  in  our  trust.  It  is  a  feature  of  touch- 
ing beauty  on  this  pensive  gala-day,  that  so  many  strangers  will 
be  remembered  here.  The  hospital  camp  near  by  brought  them 
to  us.  Beneath  the  monument  we  shall  presently  surround,  as 
you  may  see  by  reading  the  inscription,  lies  the  mortal  part  of 
about  sixty  soldiers.  They  are  made  our  brothers  by  the  com« 
mon  cause.  We  hang  flowers  there  for  the  kindred  who  are  not 
here  to  do  it.  Fellow-citizens,  our  soldiers  in  this  great  war  of 
the  Republic,  were  either  consciously  or  unconsciously,  we  now 


252  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

know,  working  out  the  infinitely  benevolent  plan  of  the  infinite 
Kuler.  Many  of  them  were  conscious  of  this.  It  was  what 
gave  them  their  dignity,  and  their  courage,  and  their  fortitude, 
and  their  persistence  to  the  triumphant  end.  On  Him  may 
we  still  rely. 

friends,  of  the  battalion  of  returned  Soldiers  and  Sailors : — 
When,  a  few  years  ago,  you  gave  yourselves  to  your  country, 
and  went  hence,  our  hearts  beat  over  yon  with  mingled  anxiety 
and  approval.  When  we  heard  of  your  deeds  of  renown  or  of 
suffering,  our  hearts  trembled  towards  you  in  sympathy.  When 
you  came  back  to  cheer  the  homes  you  had  saved,  and  to  adorn 
the  country  you  had  preserved,  our  hearts  leaped  towards  you 
with  salutations  of  the  warmest  welcome.  While  we  honor  with 
you,  this  day,  your  comrades  who  are  no  more,  we  fervently 
thank  heaven  for  you  that  remain.  May  you  be  as  great  a 
blessing  to  your  country  in  peace  as  you  have  been  in  war.  May 
not  one  of  your  just  expectations  for  the  glory  of  your  land  be 
disappointed.  May  you  who  served  so  well  under  an  earthly 
banner,  be  good  soldiers  of  a  Divine  Captain. 

I  must  not  detain  you  much  longer  from  the  central  tribute 
by  which  you  are  to  mark  this  floral  day.  It  is  the  soldiers' 
day!  Our  thanks  for  the  immense  service  our  soldiers  have 
rendered  can  be  shown,  first,  in  our  care  to  keep  the  honor,  and 
the  purity,  and  the  usefulness  of  this  whole  nation,  which  some 
died  to  preserve.  But  next,  we  will  not  forget  those  widows, 
those  orphans,  whom  they  are  here  no  longer  to  protect.  De- 
prived of  their  natural  guardians,  these  are  now  the  country's 
wards.  Four  centuries  and  a  half  before  Christ,  it  was  pleaded 
for  such  : — "  They  are  deprived  of  those  who  loved  them,  but 
who,  preferring  virtue  to  every  connection,  have  left  them 
fatherless,  widowed,  and  forlorn.  We  shall  best  honor  the  dead 
by  befriending  the  living.  We  must  assist  and  defend  their 
widows,  protect  and  honor  their  parents,  embrace  and  cherish 
their  orphans."  If  these  things  were  said  in  heathen  Greece, 
how  much  more  should  they  be  done  by  us.  It  shall  be  done. 
We  congratulate  you  that,  in  addition  to  the  flowers  which, 
though  so  beautiful  will  fade  so  soon,  you  have  so  far  learned  it 
is  blessed  to  give  that  you  mean  to  supply  from  the  bounty  col- 
lected this  week,  the  material  wants  of  families  whose  departed 
you  honor. 

Go  then.  Commend  our  country  to  God.  Sprinkle  flowers. 
Comfort  and  assist  the  bereaved.  Kejoice  in  the  spared.  And 
may  tbe  benediction  of  the  Highest  rest  upon  it  all. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  address,  which  was  listened  to  with 
the  deepest  attention  by  all  present,  the  Requiem 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        253 

"  Peace  to  the  memory  of  the  brave, 
Tranquil  may  their  slumbers  be," 

was  sung  by  the  Choir,  after  which  Prayer  was  offered  by  Rev. 
Geo.  G.  lairbanks,  followed  by  the  grand  old  Choral — "A 
Mighty  Fortress  is  Our  Lord,"  by  the  Choir. 

"A  sure  stronghold,  our  God,  is  He, 

A  trusty  shield  and  weapon: 
Our  help  He'll  be,  and  set  us  free 

From  every  ill  can  happen. 
A  crowd  of  deadly  foes 
Our  onward  way  oppose,— 
Base  follies,  fears,  and  cares  ; — 
And  sin  doth  spread  her  snares; 
How  shall  we  nee  from  danger? 

"Through  our  own  force  we  nothing  can, 

Straight  were  we  lost  forever ; 
But  for  us  fights  the  proper  Man, 

By  God  sent  to  deliver. 
Ask  ye  who  this  may  be? 
Christ  Jesus  named  is  he, 
Of  Sabaoth,  the  Lord,— 
Sole  God  to  be  adored, — 
'Tis  he  must  win  the  battle." 

The  services  closed  with  the  benediction,  by  Rev.  J.  W.  P. 
Jordan. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  exercises  in  the  church,  a  procession 
was  formed  under  the  direction  of  General  Sherwin,  consisting 
of  the  returned  soldiers,  committee  of  arrangements,  invited 
guests,  pupils  of  the  schools,  and  citizens,  which,  preceded  by 
the  Band,  marched  to  the  cemetery,  where  the  graves  of  the  sol- 
diers from  Dedham  were  visited  in  succession  and  appropriately 
decorated  by  their  late  comrades,  friends,  and  the  children.  The 
procession  then  proceeded  to  the  State  Lot,  where  lie  buried  the 
remains  of  sixty-tour  soldiers,  who  died  in  the  camp  at  Read- 
ville,  whose  graves  were  all  appropiiately  and  thoughtfully  re- 
membered. The  exercises  of  the  day  were  closed  here  with  the 
singing  of  America  by  the  whole  congregation,  with  the  band 
accompaniment. 

AT  STOUGHTON,  MASS. 

In  Stoughton  the  children  of  the  Universalist  Snnday  School 
and  others,  met  at  the  Town  Hall  at  5  o'clock,  p.  M.,  when  a 
procession  was  formed  and  marched  to  Evergreen  Cemetery, 
with  flowers,  wreaths,  etc.  A  short  address  was  made,  and 
prayer  offered  by  Rev.  Mr.  Chambre,  the  pastor,  formerly  a 
chaplain  in  the  army.  The  children  and  friends  then  joined  in 


254  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

singing  a  hyinn,  after  which  the  procession  proceeded  to  deco- 
rate the  graves  of  fourteen  of  the  fallen  heroes  whose  dust  re- 
poses in  that  quiet  place.  They  had  but  just  finished  when  the 
Easton  Post  with  the  Stoughton  Village  Band  arrived,  having 
performed  a  similar  service  in  Easton.  and  now  come  to  lay  their 
offerings  on  the  graves  of  three  of  their  comrades  here  interred. 
The  dirge  was  played,  prayer  again  offered,  and  the  crowd  dis- 
persed to  their  homes. 

Although  it  was  a  sort  of  impromptu  affair,  hundreds  partici- 
pated ;  many  eyes  were  wet  and  many  hearts  sad,  as  we  thought 
of  our  brethren  here,  and  on  many  a  Southern  field,  and  of  him 
who  went  down  with  the  ill-fated  Cumberland,  and  of  our  three 
martyr  graves  at  Andersonville. 

Ceremonies  of  the  same  general  character  took  place  in  the 
country  towns  throughout  the  State.  In  Barre,  the  principal 
services  took  place  near  the  soldiers'  monument  on  the  Com- 
mon, which  was  erected  in  1866,  but  has  never  hitherto  been 
formally  dedicated.  Addresses  were  delivered  by  Rev.  William 
Crawford,  Mr.  J.  W.  Grosvenor,  and  others,  and  little  girls  hung 
the  monument  with  wreaths.  Parties  of  returned  soldiers  were 
then  detailed  to  visit  all  the  cemeteries  in  the  different  parts  of 
the  town,  and  decorated  the  graves  of  the  soldiers  there  buried 
with  flowers. 

At  Essex  a  procession  was  formed  at  the  North  Church,  un- 
der the  marshalship  of  Lieut.  Edwin  A.  Howes,  and  proceeded 
to  the  Spring  Street  cemetery.  The  procession  consisted  of  dis- 
charged soldiers  and  sailors,  Town  Officers,  Good  Templars, 
children  of  the  public  schools,  and  citizens  generally,  accompa- 
nied by  Procter's  and  Story's  band.  The  exercises  at  the  ceme- 
tery were  quite  interesting,  consisting  of  prayer,  singing,  and  an 
address  by  Rev.  Mr.  Bacon,  after  which  a  committee,  appointed 
for  that  purpose,  visited  and  decorated  the  graves  of  our  de- 
ceased soldiers  who  were  buried  there.  This  being  done,  the 
procession  was  again  formed  and  proceeded  to  the  Old  Burying- 
ground,  decorating  the  grave  of  one  soldier  who  was  there 
buried. 

The  ceremony  of  strewing  flowers  was  fully  carried  out  at 
Ashland,  Mass.,  by  Post  No.  18,  G.  A.  R. ;  the  number  of  com- 
rades participating  was  forty-five ;  cemeteries  visited,  two ;  and 
number  of  graves  decorated,  thirteen.  A  eulogy  was  pronounc- 
ed by  Rev.  George  B.  Potter,  and  the  exercises  were  closed  by 
singing  "  America,"  and  a  benediction.  The  citizens,  generally, 
aided  in  the  memorial  ceremonies. 

At  Holliston,  a  procession  was  formed  at  the  Town  House, 
and  marched  to  Lake  Grove  Cemetery,  where  the  graves  of  the 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        255 

soldiers  were  decorated.  Reforming,  the  procession  returned  to 
the  Old  Burving-ground,  where,  after  the  graves  had  been  dec- 
orated, the  nymn,  "  Toll  the  bell !  the  brave  are  sleeping,"  was 
sung  by  the  quartette.  An  address  was  then  delivered  by  the 
Kev.  Mr.  Best,  after  which  the  following  original  hymn,  written 
by  Prof.  E.  I.  Cutler,  was  sung : 

In  the  south  alone  and  far, 
Or  beneath  the  northern  star — 
Wheresoe'er  onr  soldier  keep, 
Scatter  flowers  upon  his  sleep. 

In  his  death  victorious 
He  gave  all  the  world  for  us. 
Guard  his  name  from  growing  dim; 
Dear  to  us,  the  dear  to  him. 

The  exercises  were  closed  with  prayer  and  benediction. 

AT  WILMINGTON,  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

According  to  orders  from  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  the  graves  of  the  gallant  men 
who  died  to  save  the  nation  were  decorated,  and  a  proper  trib- 
ute of  respect  paid  to  their  memory. 

This  was  rendered  the  more  impressive,  as  the  National 
Cemetery  had  not  been  dedicated,  and  this  ceremony  was  con- 
sequently performed. 

The  procession  started  from  the  City  Hall  at  about  half-past 
two  o'clock  of  May  80th,  in  the  following  order : 

Evans'  City  Band;  Co.  I,  6th  U.  S.  Infantry,  under  com- 
mand of  Lieut.  Mnrdock ;  hearse  and  pall-bearers ;  carriages ; 
Grand  Commander  and  Staff,  G.  A.  K. ;  No.  3  brass  band ; 
Marshal ;  mounted  officers ;  drum  corps ;  Post  No.  3,  G.  A.  R. ; 
civic  societies ;  citizens. 

The  procession  marched  down  Princess  street  to  Front,  down 
Front  to  Market,  and  up  Market  to  the  cemetery.  Arriving  at 
the  cemetery,  the  procession  marched  around  the  graves  and 
halted,  when  the  following  services  were  performed  : 

Dirge  by  No.  3  brass  band;  prayer,  Chaplain  Greene; 
dirge,  Evans'  City  Band  ;  firing  three  vollies,  Company  I,  6th 
II.  S.  Infantry ;  reading  General  Order  No.  11,  G.  A.  R.,  Ma- 
jor Schenck. 


ORATION   BY   GEN.   JOSEPH   0.    ABBOTT. 


OFFICERS  AND  MEMBERS  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE  RE- 
PUBLIC, OFFICERS  AND  SOLDIERS  OF  THE  ARMY  OF  THE  UNITED 
STATES,  AND  FELLOW-CITIZENS  :  While  any  effort  of  the  body  or 


256  MEMORIAL   CEREMONIES 

of  the  intellect  may  attract  to  itself  admiration  and  applause, 
every  effort  of  the  mind  or  body  receives  its  character  from  the 
nature  of  the  effort  itself.  If  trie  act  be  meritorious  in  its  pur- 
poses and  in  its  results,  then  it  should  gather  to  itself  all  the 
commendation  of  a  deed  inherently  good.  But  if  the  act  be 
wrongly  purposed,  and  evil  in  results,  it  ought  to  receive  merely 
the  natural  tribute  bestowed  upon  muscular  exertion  or  intellec- 
tual power.  This  language  is,  indeed,  axiomatic,  and  to  utter 
it  is  but  to  iterate  truisms ;  but  these  distinctions  are  too  often 
forgotten  in  the  honors  which  men  pay  to  the  living  and  to  the 
dead.  Therefore  it  is,  that  in  the  opening  sentences  to  be 
uttered  over  these  green  mounds,  I  think  it  proper  to  indicate 
this  distinction  between  the  deeds  of  men,  so  that,  in  respecting 
the  natural  ties  of  humanity,  we  may  bow  at  the  shrine  ot 
patriotism — so  that  we  may  recall,  not  merely  the  brave  soldier 
whose  martial  figure  strode  over  tne  battle-field,  and  fell  in  the 
combat,  but  that  we  may  bring  here,  with  these  fresh  wreaths, 
the  full  volume  of  homage  to  the  sacredness  of  law,  of  liberty, 
and  of  justice. 

Honor,  then,  to  the  fallen  heroes  of  the  nation !  Gathered 
from  distant  States,  following  the  fortunes  of  great  armies,  they 
sleep  here  at  last  peacefully  within  this  consecrated  enclosure  ! 
Distant  from  homes  where  their  memories  are  still  fresh  in  sad- 
dened hearts,  the  paternal  hand  of  the  nation  has  gathered  them 
to  this  last  repose,  beneath  the  ever-waving  folds  of  the  nation's 
emblem.  Ye,  who  fell  on  Fisher's  flaming  ramparts !  Ye,  who 
moistened  yonder  forests  with  yotir  blood !  Ye,  who  from  the 
accursed  pens  of  Anderson ville-  were  borne  hither,  haggard  with 
famine,  but  to  die !  Brethren  with  us  in  arms !  Companions 
in  a  great  struggle  for  the  preservation  of  a  nation  !  Soldiers 
of  the  yet  invincible  Republic !  Prouder  than  the  sepulchres 
of  kings  are  the  graves  in  which  ye  sleep ! 

To-day  under  that  military  escort  which  the  exigencies  of 
war  had  not  permitted,  to  the  slow  measure  of  the  dirge,  we 
have  performed  these  funeral  ceremonies.  By  solemn  prayer, 
and  the  vollies  of  musketry,  we  have  committed  these  dead 
anew  to  the  earth,  and  they  now  sleep  in  soldiers'  graves. 

In  the  winter  and  Spring  of  1865,  the  bodies  now  deposited 
in  this  cemetery  began  to  collect  in  this  vicinity.  The  first  ex- 
pedition against  the  fortifications  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cape  Fear 
left  but  a  few.  The  second  expedition,  which  was  the  last  and 
successful  one,  furnished  probably  nearly  a  thousand  from 
Terry's  Tenth  Corps  alone.  Soon  after  the  fall  of  Fisher,  and, 
in  consequence,  all  the  other  fortifications  at  the  entrance  to  this 
port,  the  Twenty-third  Corps,  under  Schofield,  arrived,  which 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  257 

also  famished  its  quota  for  this  phalanx  of  the  dead.  On  the 
morning  of  the  22d  of  February,  Terry's  column  entered  the 
city  of  Wilmington,  while  Cox  had  already  appeared  on  the 
Brunswick  side  of  the  river.  Early  in  March  Sherman's  army 
struck  the  Cape  Fear  at  Favetteville,  and  sending  to  this  place 
his  sick  and  wounded,  passed  on  rapidly  to  the  bloody  fields  of 
Bentonville  and  Averysboro',  and  thence  to  Goldsboro'  and 
Raleigh,  from  which  places  the  sick  and  wounded  also  reached 
this  city.  Previous  to  this,  however,  nearly  ten  thousand  Fed- 
eral prisoners  had  been  exchanged  at  this  point,  who  had  been 
collected  from  various  Confederate  prisons,  many  of  them  in  the 
last  stages  of  starvation  and  disease,  and  more  than  a  thousand 
of  whom  were  unable  to  walk.  The  military  hospitals  were 
filled  to  overflowing.  Pestilence,  and  disease,  and  death,  held 
high  carnival,  mocking  alike  at  the  skill  of  surgeons  or  the  care 
of  nurses.  Five  of  the  medical  corps  fell  before  the  deadly 
pestilence.  Meantime  the  scenes  at  Appomattox  Court-House 
and  Durham's  Station  transpired,  and  the  dissolving  armies  of 
Lee  and  Johnston  scattered  nomeward.  The  struggle  was  end- 
ed. Its  victories  and  its  defeats  were  behind  us,  and  the  stern 
visage  of  war  relaxed.  But  the  pestilence  still  kept  its  sway, 
and  the  dead-cart  still  bore  constantly  to  the  common  grave 
those  who,  having  escaped  the  battle-field,  had  famished  in  pris- 
ons until  they  were  ripe  for  disease. 

Thus  it  was  that  there  were  at  that  time  centered  at  this 
then  military  post,  ofiicers  and  soldiers  from  nearly  every  army 
of  the  United  States.  There  were  those  who,  inspired  by  the 
first  enthusiasm,  had  mingled  in  the  anticipations  and  disasters 
of  the  first  Bull  Run.  There  were  those  who  had  advanced 
with  McClellan,  on  the  Peninsula,  and  told  stories  of  Seven 
Pines  and  Malvern  Hill  and  the  Chickahominy.  Old  soldiers 
who  had  fought  with  Joe  Hooker  and  Sumner,  and  who 
inarched  with  Meade  to  the  victorious  height  of  Gettysburg, 
recounted  adventures  with  those  who  charged  in  the  fearful 
assault  at  Wagner.  Also,  there  were  the  bold  and  daring 
Westerners  who  remembered  the  early  days  in  Missouri,  who 
boasted  of  Shiloh,  and  Vicksburg,  ancl  Chickamauga,  mingled 
with  those  who  coursed  through  the  valley  of  Shenandoah  with 
Sheridan,  and  afterwards  encircled  Richmond  and  Petersburg 
with  Grant.  Many  of  these  soldiers  of  the  Republic,  after  an 
experience  which  we  cannot  now  definitely  know,  were  scat- 
tered, some  on  the  sands  of  Federal  Point,  some  in  the  pine 
woods  on  either  side  of  the  Cape  Fear,  near  where  each  might 
have  fallen,  while  others  were  collected  in  the  long  trench  with- 
in the  limits  of  Oakdale.  The  Government,  with  a  tender  re- 
17 


258  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

gard  for  those  who  served  it,  has  prepared  this  last  resting- 
place,  and  within  it  has  collected  all  the  remains  which  could 
be  found.  This  the  Government  has  done,  not  so  much  in  care 
for  the  perishable  earth  which  they  have  become,  as  in  recogni- 
tion of  the  services  rendered  by  these  men  to  their  country,  and 
as  a  testimony,  which  shall  be  imperishable,  to  fidelity  and  loy- 
alty. To-day  we  dedicate  to  this  sacred  purpose  this  National 
Cemetery.  These  hallowed  precincts  shall  ever  hereafter  be 
protected  by  the  national  flag  and  the  national  power.  Sacred 
to  heroism  and  to  patriotism,  no  sacrilegious  foot  shall  tread 
these  paths  or  breathe  this  air,  but  it  shall  remain  like  a  national 
altar,  which  each  patriot  may  in  all  future  time  find  unpolluted. 
And  in  some  long  distant  day,  when  posterity  shall  read  of  these 
bitter  times  as  we  now  read  of  King's  Mountain,  and  shall  re- 
call the  name  of  Sherman  as  we  now  recall  that  of  Greene  or 
Sullivan — -when  this  slender  shrubbery  may  have  become  an 
overarching  shade  of  majestic  trees,  and  these  slopes  peopled, 
may  be,  with  statuary  which  shall  image  the  deeds  of  the  men 
who  rest  beneath  the  turf,  shall  have  become  sacred  from  clus- 
tering memories,  then  still  may  its  green  retreats  be  the  resort 
of  those  who  are  worthy  to  be  called  the  sons  of  the  Republic. 

He  is  justified  who  speaks  thus  at  the  present  time,  because 
these  graves  were  not  here,  this  occasion  would  not  have  been, 
had  not  a  portion  of  the  American  people  ignored  the  plainest 
and  simplest  duties  of  citizens,  and  joined  in  armed  resistance 
to  that  authority  which  demands  of  us,  by  its  own  right,  obedi- 
ence. If  that  resistance  to  this  authority  was  right,  then  we 
ought  to  make  this  an  occasion  of  lamentation  over  the  follies 
of  the  men  whom  we  this  day  honor,  or  of  regretting  that  they 
were  the  deluded  tools  of  tyranny  ;  or,  if  government  is  a 
farce,  and,  as  some  seem  to  believe,  with  no  more  foundation 
than  a  game  of  chance ;  if — which  follows  logically — all  our 
late  miseries  were  but  horrid  and  sanguinary  amusements,  then 
these  men  are  entitled  merely  to  the  respect  due  to  the  fallen 
gladiator.  But  if  this  nation  had  a  right  to  its  own  integrity 
and  existence — I  do  not  mean  merely  the  conventional  right 
derived  from  custom,  or  the  stronger  right  of  compact,  but  the 
profounder  right  in  which  was  involved  the  highest  interests  of 
men,  the  maintenance  of  natural  and  inherent  rights  among 
men,  which  indeed  is  the  basis  of  the  Government  itself — then 
every  grave  around  us  becomes  that  of  a  nation's  defender  and 
of  a  people's  champion.  Nay,  it  becomes  that  of  the  champion 
of  the  highest  principles  of  equity  and  justice. 

This  is  said  thus  emphatically,  because  few  wars  arise  from 
so  profound  a  cause  as  ours.  It  was  not  a  wrangle  between  two 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        259 

monarchies  for  territory  or  power,  or  to  avenge  a  fancied  insult 
of  a  sovereign.  It  was  not  a  war  for  plunder,  nor  to  preserve 
the  balance  of  power.  But  it  was  a  collision  between  two  an- 
tagonistic principles  in  society,  wherein  one  was  being  gradually 
worn  away  by  attrition  with  the  other,  until,  as  if  inspired  with, 
life  and  infuriated  by  the  abrasion,  it  sprung  up  in  resistance. 
Whosoever  imagines  that  our  controversy  ot  arms  arose  from 
any  other  cause,  has  not  read  aright.  I  therefore  draw  a  deep 
and  broad  line  between  combatants  of  such  a  character.  There 
is  a  deep  gulf  fixed  between  them.  We  have  no  right,  now  that 
the  struggle  has  ended,  to  pretend  to  be  ignorant  of  these  dis- 
tinctions, or  of  the  nature  of  this  contest.  We  are  hypocrital, 
and  were,  while  in  armor,  mere  mercenaries,  if  we  do  not  claim 
for  the  Union  dead  that  softer  repose  which  comes  from  superior 
virtue. 

Nor  were  it  necessary  for  me  to  press  this  point  so  bluntly, 
were  this  cemetery  located  in  another  latitude.  But  here,  where 
Treason  still  lurks  in  different  guises,  where  its  insidious  poison 
still  festers  in  society,  and  where  to  have  been  a  soldier  against 
the  Kepublic  is  esteemed  a  merit,  it  would  be  unmanly  and  dis- 
ingenuous in  him  who  drew  his  sabre  for  the  protection  of  the 
Republic,  to  have  withheld  these  expressions.  While  I  say 
this,  I  desire  to  throw  no  contumely  upon  the  graves  of  the 
gallant  dead  who  composed  the  armies  of  the  insurgent  States, 
nor  even  to  impugn  improperly  the  motives  of  the  living  ;  but 
I  mean  that  forever  hereafter,  so  far  as  my  influence  may  go, 
there  shall  be  no  fame,  however  lofty  and  unsullied,  which  shall 
not  blacken  if  yoked  with  Treason  ;  and  no  man  who  can  raise 
his  parricidal  arm  against  the  Republic  which  is  the  common 
parent  and  protector  of  us  all,  and  not  sink  into  ineffable  and 
irretrievable  infamy. 

And  now,  beneath  these  fresh  laurels,  we  leave  these  silent 
comrades  within  the  Nation's  enclosure.  Sadly  we  move  away 
from  this  great  companionship.  We  have  again  seemed  to  look 
upon  the  deep  lines  of  blue;  upon  the  floating  standards,  and 
upon  the  arms  flashing  in  the  sun.  Their  last  march  is  ended. 
They  participate  no  more  in  the  pageantry  of  war.  Here,  where 
neither  tablet  nor  obelisk  records  their  deeds,  they  will  sleep 
until  the  great  reveille  sounds  for  all  men,  but  above  them  shall 
continually  gather  the  affections  of  a  grateful  people. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  oration,  a  hail-storm  burst  upon  the 
vast  crowd  of  spectators,  and  they  dispersed  rapidly,  with  the 
exception  of  the  societies,  who  formed  ranks  and  marched  home 
under  a  discharge  of  hail-stones,  with  the  step  of  tried  veterans 
as  they  are. 


260  MEMORIAL   CEREMONIES 

The  hearse  was  decorated  with  flags  and  crape,  and  bore  on 
its  sides  the  following  motto : 

WE  HONOR 
OUR  NATION'S  DEAD. 

It  was  drawn  by  six  dark  horses,  trimmed  with  rosettes,  and  led 
by  six  members  of  the  G.  A.  R.  Each  member  of  the  G.  A.  R. 
carried  a  cross  covered  with  evergreens  and  flowers,  at  a  shoul- 
der, which  were  placed  at  the  heads  of  the  ranks  of  graves. 
The  cemetery  is  a  large  enclosure  containing  between  two  and 
three  thousand  graves,  arranged  in  columns  and  ranks  as  they 
shot — shoulder  to  shoulder.  Eventually  it  will  become  an  orna- 
ment to  the  liberality  of  the  Government  which  does  not  forget 
its  dead.  Lieutenant  Gibbs,  of  the  8th  U.  S.  Infantry,  deserves 
great  credit  for  the  taste  and  skill  displayed  in  the  arrangement 
of  the  grounds.  The  mound  in  the  centre  of  the  cemetery  was 
adorned  with  the  names  of  many  of  our  fallen  generals,  whose 
heroic  deeds  will  ever  live  in  the  hearts  of  the  American  people. 
Among  them  were  McPherson,  Sedgwick,  Berry,  Kearney, 
Baker,  &c. 

Major  Upham,  Post  Commandant,  contributed  much  to  the 
occasion  by  his  advice  and  assistance.  The  following  order  was 
issued  by  him,  which  was  generally  observed.  Much  of  the 
shipping  displayed  their  colors  at  half-mast,  as  a  proper  tribute 
of  respect.  Many  private  buildings  were  also  adorned  in  like 
manner. 

WILMINGTON,  X.  C.,  May  29,  1868. 
SPECIAL  ORDERS,  ) 
No.  40.          j 

I.  The  30th  of  May  having  been  designated  for  the  dedica- 
tion of  the  National  Cemetery  at  this  Post,  in  tribute  of  respect 
for  the  nation's  dead,  all  military  duty,  except  the  usual  police 
duty  of  the  garrison,  will  be  suspended  during  that  day.     Coun- 
ty and  municipal  offices  will  be  closed  for  the  transaction  of 
public   business,   except  those  pertaining  to  necessary  police 
duties. 

Masters  of  vessels  are  requested  to  display  the  National 
colors  at  half-mast,  from  sunrise  till  sunset. 

II.  Company  I,  6th  Infantry,  will  act  as  escort  to  the  funeral 
cortege,  and  will  be  paraded  on  the  Company  Parade  Ground 
at  half-past  1  o'clock,  P.M.  J.  J.  UPHAM, 

Bretft  Major  U.  8.  A.,  Capt.  6th  Infy,  Commanding  Post. 

AT  RALETGH,  N.  C. 

In  pursuance  of  the  programme,  the  procession  was  formed 
at  the  south  front  of  the  Capitol,  at  2  o'clock,  P.M.  Gen.  Nelson 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  201 

A.  Miles  acted  as  Chief  Marshal,  assisted  by  Col.  Richmond 
Price,  Col.  Andrew  Geddes,  Maj.  C.  13.  Whittemore,  Maj.  John 
D.  Black,  Capt.  Louis  E.  Grander,  and  Maj.  O.  J.  Sweet.  Pre- 
ceded by  the  band  of  the  40th  Infantry,  the  members  of  the 
Grand  Army,  and  other  citizens,  marched  to  the  cemetery, 
where  the  exercises  were  commenced  at  about  half-past  3 
o'clock. 

The  flag  of  the  1st  North  Carolina  Volunteers  was  borne  in 
front  of  the  procession. 

The  order  of  proceedings  was  announced  by  Maj.  T.  A. 
Byrnes.  After  an  eloquent  and  impressive  prayer  by  the  Rev. 
T.  13.  Fiske,  and  the  singing  of  an  ode  appropriate  to  the  occa- 
sion, by  the  large  assemblage,  the  following  odes,  written  by 
request  for  the  occasion,  were  read  by  Geo.  O.  Spooner,  Esq.,  in  S 
the  order  in  which  they  appear  : 

BY  MISS   CABRIB   HALEY. 

With  Nature's  fairest  gifts  we  come, 

To  deck  these  silent,  solemn  mounds ; 
And  though  the  flower's  lips  be  dumb, 

Yet  speak  they  love,  that  hath  no  bounds. 

They  show  that  those  who  bravely  stood 

In  truth's  defence,  in  loyal  might, 
Though  for  this  cause  they've  shed  their  blood, 

They  live  in  hearts  that  love  the  right. 

The  Flag  they  bore  through  conflict's  rage — 

The  Flag  that  o'er  their  dear  dust  waves— 
Oh,  hallowed  Flag  !  may  history's  page 

Ne'er  tell  thou'rt  gone  from  o'er  these  graves. 

Oh,  sacred  dust  of  those  who  fell 

In  gory  strife's  appalling  hour, 
Remembrance  of  their  deeds  shall  well 

Within  our  souls  with  searching  power. 

Our  Father  !  aid  us  well  to  love 

Our  land,  and  its  defenders  true ; 
Teach  all  in  faith  to  look  above, 

And  give  us  strength  the  right  to  do. 

BY   MRS.   W.   R.   RICHARDSON. 

Dead  heroes,  sleep  !  a  nation's  tears 

Flow  o'er  thy  mouldering  dust ; 
All  loyal  hearts,  all  future  years, 

Will  praise  thy  battles  for  the  just. 

'Twas  thine  to  strike,  thy  land  to  save 

For  all  that  man  holds  dear — 
In  battles  fierce,  on  ocean's  wave 

To  smite  the  traitor's  heart  with  fear. 


262  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Thy  work  is  o'er — the  country's  free  ! 

A  grateful  people  deck  the  graves, 
That  tyrants  through  the  earth  may  see 

The  tributes  paid  our  fallen  braves. 

Sleep  on,  brave  freemen — sleep  thy  last, 

Till  from  thy  gory  beds 
Jehovah's  trump  shall  sound  the  blast, 

And  heavenly  wreaths  shall  crown  thy  head. 

THE  UNION  DEAD BY  W.  W.  BOLDEST. 

A  nation  saved  weeps  o'er  the  brave, 

"Who,  faithful  to  its  life  and  laws, 
'Mid  march,  and  siege,  and  suffering,  gave 

Themselves  unto  its  holy  Cause. 

On  rugged  mount,  in  sylvan  shade, 

By  murmuring  stream  and  sounding  deep, 

'Neath  soil  their  valor  classic  made, 
The  heroes  of  the  Union  sleep. 

To  future  Time's  remotest  verge 

Let  votive  offerings  deck  each  grave, 
And  sacred  eulogy  and  dirge 

Lament  them,  bravest  of  the  brave  1 

The  flag  still  soars  towards  the  sun: 

The  Union  fears  no  traitor  now  : 
Freedom  for  all  at  last  is  won, 

Aud  Glory  crowns  the  nation's  brow. 

Half  mast  the  flag ! — the  minute  gun 

Roll  forth  its  heavy  note  of  woe ! 
Their  fame  is  sate, — the  work  is  done 

Of  those  who  calmly  sleep  below. 

War  may  again  his  havoc  make, 

New  actors  fill  their  allotted  part, 
Yet  still  these  memories,  fresh,  shall  wake 

Their  echoes  in  the  nation's  heart. 

The  oration  was  then  delivered  by  Dr.  H.  C.  Yogell.  At 
the  conclusion  of  the  oration,  and  after  benediction  by  the  Rev. 
H.  M.  Tupper,  the  people  dispersed  through  the  grounds  to 
decorate  the  graves. 

The  number  of  graves  is  estimated  at  1,180,  and  the  bouquets 
laid  upon  them  were  not  less  than  2,500.  The  number  of  per- 
sons present  was  not  less  than  4,000. 

Among  other  persons  present  not  above  mentioned,  we  ob- 
served Gen.  Clitz,  Commander  of  the  Post,  Gov.  Holden,  Hon. 
Thos.  Settle,  Hon.  John  T.  Deweese,  C.  L.  Harris,  Esq.,  Wm. 
M.  Coleman,  Esq.,  Prof.  W.  C.  Kerr,  Maj.  Bewey,  Col.  T.  P. 
Johnston,  and  Maj.  Lynn. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        263 

Nothing  occurred  to  interrupt  the  proceedings  or  to  mar  the 
appropriately  solemn  feeling  that  pervaded  the  large  assemblage. 
It  has  been  stated  that  the  procession  "  consisted  mainly  of  col- 
ored persons."  This  is  true.  But  it  is  no  reflection  on  the 
gallant  dead,  and  not  at  all  discreditable  to  the  occasion  that 
the  loyal  people  were  not  backward,  as  others  were,  in  showing 
their  respect  for  the  occasion. 

The  fine  band  (colored)  of  the  40th  Regiment  was  present, 
and  by  its  superior  performances  added  much  to  the  interest  of 
the  occasion. 

ORATION  BY  DB.  H.  O.  TOGELL. 

I  am  persuaded  that  a  common  feeling  of  respect  for  the 
memory  of  the  dead  has  influenced  this  assemblage  to-day.  It  is 
a  tribute  none  should  withhold,  who  are  interested  in  the  sub- 
ject, complicated  with  those  who  lie  within  this  enclosure.  If 
any  class  of  men,  living  or  dead,  deserve  the  consideration  and 
respect  of  their  fellow-citizens,  it  is  the  patriot  soldier  who  has 
periled  or  lost  his  life  in  the  cause  of  his  country.  Men  may 
build  cities,  and  endow  institutions  of  charity,  and  die  remem- 
bered for  their  beneficence,  in  which  they  have  sacrificed  no 
personal  inconvenience  or  comfort,  while  the  soldier  leaves  all 
that  makes  life  valuable,  and  submits  to  the  danger  and  priva- 
tions found  in  camp  and  field,  and  becomes  the  safeguard  and 
defence,  not  of  a  city  but  of  a  nation  ;  a  government  in  whose 
existence  cities  and  charities  are  vested.  These  constitute  the 
soldier's  claim  while  living,  and  his  demand,  when  dead,  to  the 
consideration  and  respect  of  every  loyal  man.  "When  the  people 
cease  to  be  grateful  to  those  whose  strong  hearts  and  muscle 
proved  the  bulwark  of  defense,  when  their  interest  and  liberty 
were  at  stake,  and  danger  threatened  the  final  rupture  of  a 
united  and  prosperous  government,  then  may  the  grass  grow 
rank  and  long  on  the  graves  of  its  victims,  and  human  gratitude 
become  a  myth  of  the  past,  and  sympathy  a  satire  upon 
humanity. 

Kind  acts  like  "  kind  words  never  die."  They  will  live  in 
their  influence  when  generations  have  passed  away,  and  like  a 
ripple  on  the  wave,  they  will  wash  the  sand  on  either  shore  of 
mortality.  True,  the  dead  may  not  feel  the  act  of  to-day  in 

farlanding  these  graves  where  their  bodies  moulder.  There  is, 
owever,  a  sympathy  linking  living  minds  in  the  memory 
awakened  by  the  flowers  which  wreath  the  place  of  their  en- 
tombment It  speaks  a  silent  eloquence  which  reaches  the  heart, 
no  flourish  of  rhetoric  or  metaphor  can  attain,  and  forces  upon 
us  the  feeling — "  Blessed  are  the  dead." 


264  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

It  is  not  merely  what  we  see  around  us  to-day  which  makes 
this  spot  hallowed  ground.  It  is  not  the  flowers  strewn  around 
and  over  these  graves  which  swells  the  heart  with  emotion.  The 
attraction  is  not  found  in  ornamenting  these  walks  and  avenues. 
There  is  something  more  involved  than  the  mere  parade  and 
show  of  bringing  garlands  of  flowers  to  lay  upon  a  strang;er3s 
grave.  These  bones  are  the  nation's  trust.  They  became  so 
under  circumstances  that  will  render  their  graves  a  special  in- 
terest and  care,  when  we  shall  have  passed  away,  and  will  go 
down  to  coming  ages,  a  memorial  of  a  disaffection,  as  causeless 
as  it  was  sad  and  disastrous  to  the  public  interest  and  national 
pride. 

This  cemetery  is  a  striking  comment  on  the  wide-spread 
desolation  which  had  nearly  made  the  existence  of  a  Republic  a 
nullity,  and  wiped  out  the  result  of  our  fathers'  blood  and  toil, 
in  throwing  off  the  yoke  of  a  foreign  despotism,  and  would  have 
reduced  the  confederation  of  States  to  a  feudalism.  But  for  this, 
these  graves  would  not  have  been  made,  and  thousands  of  val- 
uable lives  might  have  been  saved  to  their  country  and  their 
friends.  It  is  often  found  that  blessings  long  continued,  become 
ineffectual  in  producing  contentment.  Desire  becomes  rampant 
for  change,  and  under  the  whip  and  spur  of  excitement  men 
rush  inconsiderately  into  the  conception  of  imaginary  evils 
which  a  little  time  and  patience  would  have  overcome.  There 
are  appropriate  remedies  for  every  wrong.  Wretchedness  and 
ruin  follow  in  the  wake  of  a  causeless  strife.  There  is  a  time 
for  men  to  think  ;  an  hour  when  they  should  "ponder  the  paths 
of  their  feet."  That  time  and  hour  has  been,  and  is  now.  A 
voice  comes  up  from  these  graves  and  from  thousands  of  others 
whose  homes  have  been  made  desolate,  and  could  it  be  heard 
to-day,  it  would  cause  the  hills  and  vales  surrounding  our  once 
quiet  and  happy  homes  to  echo,  and  each  ear  tingle  through  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land  with  the  cries  of  agonized 
mortality. 

Men  of  North  Carolina,  think !  Men  of  the  country,  think  ! 
Not  upon  a  single  blessing  lost.  Not  upon  homes  made  deso- 
late by  mistaken  strife.  Not  upon  the  flattering  speech  of 
demagogues.  Think  for  yourselves,  your  wives  and  children. 
Think  for  posterity,  in  combining  a  true  loyalty  and  patriotism, 
with  industry  and  persevering  toil ;  and  although  it  may  not 
restore  your  dead  to  your  homes  and  your  firesides,  your  posi- 
tions will  become  elevated,  and  your  possessions  will  again  grow 
green  under  your  fostering  care,  and  your  homes  happy  and 
prosperous  under  a  restored  confidence  in  yourselves  and  others, 
with  a  government  saved  from  the  wreck  of  internal  broils. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        265 

That  man  who  is  constantly  harping  upon  technicalities,  and 
confines  his  patriotism  and  loyalty  to  what  was,  or  has  been,  is 
at  fault,  and  is  no  less  untrue  to  his  country  than  himself.  It  is 
not  the  men  whose  sinews  breasted  the  smoke  and  strife  of 
battle,  who  keep  up  this  strife  and  discontent  among  the  masses, 
but  the  loungers  at  home,  whose  sensitive  nerves  evaded  the 
smell  of  gunpowder  and  the  tasting  of  death.  Such  men  may 
make  fair  speeches,  and  call  you  cowards,  for  your  disinclination 
to  follow  their  lead,  but  you  have  faced  the  deadlier  aim  of  the 
shot  and  shell  of  the  battle-field,  and  need  not  fear  to  meet  them 
in  a  war  of  words.  The  advancement  of  intelligence  and  the 
exercise  of  forbearance  with  a  close  application  of  the  means  of 
relieving  the  necessities,  the  past  few  years  have  inaugurated 
will  soon  cover  the  breaches.  Leave  these  "  by-gones  "  with 
their  cause  and  origin,  and  seek  the  recuperation  of  wasted  for- 
tunes and  the  establishment  of  a  true  loyalty  and  patriotism  on 
a  foundation  so  broad  and  deep,  that  future  generations  may 
find  no  cause  for  a  breach  of  their  fealty.  Then  may  the  symbol 
of  our  nationality  rest  secure  and  undisturbed  in  its  majesty  and 
pride  on  its  pinnacle,  and  the  dome  of  freedom  reflect  the  glory 
and  power  of  her  institutions,  and  unfurl  her  banner  to  the 
world  without  the  absence  of  a  single  star. 

The  sacrifice  of  human  life  is  terrible  to  contemplate.  It 
was  a  fearful  price  to  pay,  and  every  section  of  the  country  is 
overshadowded  by  the  gloom  of  the  retrospect.  If  there  is  any 
power  in  a  general  sympathy  arising  from  similar  causes  of  dis- 
tress and  suffering,  to  reunite  and  consolidate  suspended  in- 
terest, then  each  and  all  who  have  become  alienated  from  cir- 
cumstances have  the  panacea  at  hand,  for  the  whole  land  groans 
under  the  burden,  "Joseph  is  not."  Surely  this  cemetery  has 
become  a  favored  spot  where  affection  lingers  over  the  graves  of 
the  loved  and  lost,  and  where  reflection  is  awakened  to  the  un- 
certainty of  earthly  hopes  and  prospects.  This  is  one  of  the 
great  life  lessons  we  have  been,  or  are  to  be  taught,  that  the 
tendency  of  progress,  and  all  with  which  we  have  to  do,  is  to 
decay. 

"  What  does  not  fade  ?    The  tower  that  long  has  stood 
The  crush  of  t!i  under  and  the  warring  winds, — 
The  flinty  pyramids  sind  walls  of  brass, 
Fall  by  the  slow  but  sure  destroyer,  Time : 
Achaia,  Rome  and  Egypt  moulder  down, 
And  all  these  worlds  that  roll  around  the  sun. 
The  sun  himself  shall  die." 

We  little  know  what  is  before  us.     The  past  is  ever  with  us 
-the  future  never.     The  place  of  the  birth  and  burial  are  often 


266  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

widely  apart.  Here  lie  the  representatives  of  nineteen  differ- 
ent States,  whose  homes  have  been  made  desolate,  if  they  are 
not  abandoned.  Who  can  tell  the  days  and  months  of  anxiety 
and  watching  their  absence  has  caused  ?  Who  can  portray  in 
colors  sufficiently  vivid  and  striking  the  wretchedness  and  want 
which  have  followed  their  protracted  absence  ?  The  widowed 
and  burdened  heart,  the  wail  of  helpless  orphanage,  the  whiten- 
ed locks  and  bending  forms,  occasioned  by  the  pressure  of  an 
anxiety  which  marks  the  uncertainty  of  expectation  and  hope 
deferred ;  all  this  and  more  is  involved  in  the  death  of  the  oc- 
cupants of  these  graves. 

Here  is  a  large  field,  in  which  imagination  may  grow  weary 
in  the  vagueness  which  environs  the  history  of  those  on  whose 
tombs  affection  is  not  permitted  to  shed  a  single  tear.  A  solemn 
and  painful  interest  is  thrown  around  this  burial  plot,  from  the 
consideration,  there  are  none  to  watch  them,  who  have  a  per- 
sonal interest  in  it.  They  died  far  from  home  and  kindred. 
Is  one  to  soothe  them  in  their  last  moments.  None  to  close  their 
eves  in  their  final  sleep.  None  to  receive  the  last  thoughts  from 
all  else  withheld.  Strange  hands  administered  to  them  the  re- 
lief their  necessities  required.  Strange  voices  were  around 
them.  Amid  the  din  of  battle,  or  in  the  discomforts  of  a 
soldiers'  hospital,  they  passed  to  their  final  home  ;  and  now  the 
strife  of  conflict  is  over,  the  government  in  whose  interest  they 
fought  and  died,  have  disinterred  and  gathered  their  remains 
from  the  unavoidable  isolation  of  a  first  burial,  and  having  re- 
cased  them,  they  have  placed  them  permanently  in  this  ceme- 
tery under  a  compensated  guardian cy  to  await  the  trump  of  the 
archangel,  in  the  final  resurrection. 

What  matters  it,  though  no  obelisk  points  its  shaft  to  heaven ; 
though  no  broken  column,  emblematical  of  the  quiet  sleeper ; 
though  no  sculptured  rose  drooping  on  its  shattered  stem,  repre- 
senting the  death  of  the  young  and  ardent ;  though  no  stately 
monument  lifts  its  gorgeous  pile  within  this  enclosure,  reared  to 
rank  and  greatness ;  this  shall  be  none  other  than  hallowed 
ground,  where  others  than  ourselves  may  come,  and  receive 
instruction  in  the  silent  and  modest  appeal  of  the  soldier's 
grave.  The  sun  shines,  but  they  hail  not  its  light ;  the  wind 
blows,  but  they  feel  not  the  breeze ;  the  seasons  revolve,  but 
they  heed  it  not ;  the  voice  of  business  and  pleasure  is  as  loud 
as  ever,  but  they  hear  it  not ;  the  voice  of  mercy  is  proclaimed 
and  the  song  of  praise  sung,  and  the  cry  of  prayer  presented, 
but  they  know  it  not.  Thus  hushed  in  death's  last  sleep  lie  the 
former  bone  and  sinew  of  the  nation's  defence. 

Their  graves  have  become  a  legacy  around  which  precious 


AT    THE    SOLDIERS     GRAVES. 


267 


memories  cluster.  Their  epitaphs  are  written  on  tablets  which 
conflagrations  or  inundations  cannot  reach.  History  may  not 
deal  in  individuality,  according  to  each  their  sphere  or  place  of 
action,  in  camp  and  Held,  but  when  the  record  of  the  fearful 
struggle  of  the  last  seven  years  is  written  up,  full  justice  will  be 
done  the  rank  and  tile  of  the  armies  of  the  Kepublic,  and  a  halo 
of  glory  will  wreathe  the  memory  of  those  who  shared  the  toil 
and  danger  of  the  achievement — or  fell  in  the  contest. 

The  best  Generalship  in  the  world  (and  ours  was  second  to 
none),  could  not  have  been  substituted  for  those  who  backed  the 
knapsack  and  carried  the  musket,  persevering  through  mud  and 
dust  on  the  weary  march,  or  breasting  the  combat,  firmly  and 
until inchingly  contesting  the  advance  or  pursuit,  or  recoil,  and 
at  hazard  of  life  and  limb,  bearing  the  old  flag  back  to  its 
original  position.  Their  devotion  to  the  caiise  was  equal,  if  not 
more  than  equal  to  the  history  of  ancient  or  modern  warfare. 

Instances  of  the  most  thrilling  interest  were  witnessed. 
Said  a  man  wounded  in  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  "  Boys,  I 
am  shot,  don't  wait  for  me ;  just  open  the  folds  of  the  old  flag, 
let  me  see  it  once  more,"  and  while  the  film  of  death  was  on  his 
eye,  he  caught  it  in  his  hand,  pressed  it  to  his  lips,  and  under 
the  booming  of  cannon  and  fire  of  musketry,  the  noble  spirit  of 
Captain  Ferry  sought  a  fairer,  purer  sky. 

"  He  sleeps  his  last  sleep,  he  has  fought  his  last  battle, 
No  sound  can  awake  him  to  glory  again." 

Among  the  1,178,  who  are  entombed  in  these  grounds,  conse- 
crated by  the  government  as  a  soldiers'  cemetery,  545  are  un- 
known. No  trace  is  left  to  mark  their  birth-place  or  parentage. 
No  human  power  can  trace  their  history — all  is  a  blank,  unknown. 

"  Like  dew  on  the  mountain, 

Like  foam  on  the  river, 
Like  a  bubble  on  the  fountain, 
They  are  gone,  and  forever." 

They  were  doubtless  the  pride  of  some  mothers'  hearts! 
They  were  probably  the  stay  and  staff  of  a  father's  hope. 
Around  them  loving  arms  were  entwined  in  wifely  or  sisterly 
affection.  The  burden  of  their  absence  lies  heavily  on  some 
inind.  Where — where,  in  the  universe  of  God,  was  the  place 
of  their  abiding  ?  Tell  me  !  Oh  tell,  ye  spirit  of  the  slumber- 
ing dead,  What  is  thy  name,  and  where  is  the  bosom  that 
nourished  thee  ?  Break,  break  the  deathly  silence  of  thy  tomb, 
and  unravel  the  painful  mystery  involved  in  thy  death  and 
burial.  Speak  !  thy  country  calls  thee  to  thy  reward.  Speak ! 
this  is  the  nation's  memorial  day,  for  her  buried  dead,  her 


268  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

slaughtered  millions.  They  do  not  answer.  "  After  life's  fitful 
fever,  they  sleep  well."  Wrapt  in  the  mysterv  of  the  grave,  all 
speculation  is  unavailing.  We  must  leave  tnem  in  the  dead 
quiet  of  their  graves,  until  the  sea  yields  us  her  quota  with  the 
earth,  and  the  "  dead,  small  and  great,  stand  before  God."  Of 
them  and  their  friends  it  may  be  said  : 

"  The  heart,  the  henrth  is  desolate,  the  fire  is  quenched  and  gone, 
That  into  happy  childhood's  eyes,  once  brightly  laughing  shone ; 
The  place  where  mirth  and  music  met,  is  Imshed  through  day  and  night, 
O,  for  one  sunny  face  of  all  that  there  shed  light." 

In  your  prosperity  and  enjoyment  of  peace,  forget  not  those 
whose  plaintive  notes  went  up  around  the  camp  tire  and  from 
the  battle-field,  "  Who  will  care  for  mother  now  ?"  Speak 
kindly  of  the  soldier.  Infuse  cheer  into  the  home  he  has  left 
desolate.  Let  not  your  eyes  look  coldly  on  the  vacant  chairs 
the  war  has  occasioned ;  give  your  influence  and  patronage  to 
those  who  were  the  means  of  preserving  your  country.  Unnum- 
bered generations  must  pass  away  before  these  will  cease  to  in- 
vite your  kindest  regards.  Because  a  soldier  is  maimed  and 
crippled,  it  is  no  reason  why  he  should  be  cast  aside.  Give  to 
him  some  business,  where  one  arm  and  one  leg  will  serve  him  in 
obtaining  a  subsistence. 

To  deck  these  graves  with  flowers  is  a  very  small  affair,  and 
only  a  trifling  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  dead.  If  our  sym- 
pathy is  limited  to  the  acts  of  to-day,  it  will  be  a  poor  return 
for  periled  life.  It  would  be  a  sad  comment  upon  humanity, 
should  any  withhold  such  a  contribution  to  a  stranger's  grave,  and 
more  sad  still,  if  any  should  wish  to  mar  what  death  has  left  of 
frail  mortality,  and  carry  out  the  instinct  of  the  hyena  in  attack- 
ing defenceless  bones  to  satisfy  a  sectional  prejudice.  The  inno- 
cent cause  of  such  a  feeling  can  well  aftord  to  do  without  a 
flower  grudgingly  withheld.  Can  such  a  spirit  succeed  by  en- 
gendering strife  and  recrimination  ?  Will  such  a  spirit  bear  the 
scrutiny  of  offended  justice  ?  It  is  a  burlesque  upon  humanity 
and  civilization.  "  From  such  a  spirit,  angels  and  ministers  of 
grace  defend  us !"  Oh,  that  God  would  open  for  the  nation  a 
JBethesda  in  which  this  moral  leprosy  of  the  people  might  be 
cured  !  O,  for  the  spirits  of  a  former  day.  Where  are  the  Clays  ! 
and  Websters  !  andJacksons!  and  their  cotemporaries,  whose 
firm  integrity  and  indomitable  courage  rose  above  the  strife  of 
conflict  and  party  or  sectional  prejudice  ? 

"  Their  words  were  bonds,  their  oaths  were  oracles, 
Their  love  sincere,  their  thoughts  immaculate, 
Their  tears  pure  messengers,  sent  from  their  hearts, 
Their  hearts  as  far  from  fraud  as  heaven  from  earth  I" 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        269 

There  is  such  a  thing  as  "  withholding  more  than  is  meet, 
and  it  tendeth  to  poverty."  Those  of  narrow  minds  and  limited 
conceptions,  are  rarely  capable  of  sufficient  self-denial  and  self- 
sacrifice  to  maintain  and  labor  for  the  public  good. 

The  men  of  a  former  period  knew  a  dearer  name  than  self, 
and  owned  a  greater  fear  than  death.  When  the  anthem  of  the 
free  is  lost  in  the  clank  of  new-forged  chains,  how  that  clarion 
of  '98 — that  blast  for  universal  freedom  will  ring  over  the  years, 
and  over  the  graves,  and  over  the  silence  of  ten  thousand  nights, 
along  the  corridors  of  half  a  century !  They  who  aforetime 
stood  hard  by  the  helm  of  the  Ship  of  State  have  gone  aloft, 
but  the  tones  of  the  lookout  come  down  to  the  rocking  deck, 
like  light  from  the  solemn  stars. 

Consecrated  and  devoted  in  their  eloquence  and  power  to 
the  general  interests  of  the  country,  they  rose  above  the  limit  of 
sectional  prejudice  and  party  lines,  and  bent  their  whole  ener- 
gies in  maintaining  reciprocity  of  feeling  and  union  of  action. 
These  are  the  spirits  now  demanded,  who  would  not  stoop  to  a 
mean  act  to  gratify  a  personal  pique,  or  subvert  the  dignity  of  a 
true  humanity  to  cultivate  animosity  and  hate.  Men  may 
honestly  and  conscientiously  differ  in  their  religion  and  politics, 
without  cultivating  exclusiveness,  and  shutting  out  the  kindlier 
properties  of  heart  and  mind  : 

"  Great  God !  when  the  spirit  of  freedom  shall  fail, 
And  the  sons  of  the  pilgrims  in  sorrow  hewail, 

Their  religion  and  liberty  pone  ; 

Oh,  send  back  the  form?,  that  shall  stand  as  they  stood, 
Unsubdued  by  the  tempest,  unmoved  by  the  flood 

And  tu  Thee  be  the  glory  alone." 

The  true  and  false  intermingle  in  society  like  clouds  skirting 
a  clear  skv,  and  the  selfish  often  become  spots  on  the  feast  of 
charity.  With  such,  the  best  motives  are  impugned,  and  the 
purest  objects  which  can  ennoble  and  dignify  humanity,  are 
treated  with  scorn  and  contempt.  Wherever  this  element  ex- 
ists, under  whatever  garb,  the  influence  is  disastrous,  and  fatal 
to  the  best  interest  of  society.  There  is  no  better  maxim  for 
the  practical  purposes  of  life,  than  that  uttered  centuries  since, — 
"A  soft  answer  turneth  away  wrath."  "He  that  ruleth  his 
spirit  is  better  than  he  that  taketh  a  city."  "  There  are  six 
things  doth  the  Lord  hate ;  yea,  seven  are  an  abomination  unto 
him :  A  proud  look,  a  lying  tongue,  and  hands  that  shed  inno- 
cent blood ;  a  heart  that  deviseth  wicked  imaginations ;  feet 
that  be  swift  in  running  to  mischief;  a  false  witness  that  speak- 
eth  .lies,  and  he  that  soweth  discord  among  brethren."  In 
moulding  our  spirits  after  this  model,  and  in  yielding  ourselves 


270  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

to  its  teaching,  our  influence  will  become  reformatory  in  check- 
ing the  turbulency  and  restlessness  of  misguided  passion ;  and 
the  gold  of  the  refiner  will  not  be  purer  than  its  effect  upon  the 
public  mind. 

On  a  dark  night,  when  a  storm  was  on  the  deep,  and  dark 
clouds  "  hung  thick  athwart  the  sky  "  and  settled  with  increas- 
ing gloom  where,  lone  and  cold,  the  brave  hearts  of  centuries 
were  entombed,  a  vessel  had  long  been  struggling  to  gain  a  place 
of  safety.  The  starboard  and  larboard  tack  had  been  made 
without  success.  Weary  and  worn,  the  occupants  of  that  reel- 
ing craft  were  about  yielding  to  the  inevitable  doom  to  which 
their  helplessness  consigned  them.  Hope  had  well-nigh  yielded 
to  despair,  and  there  seemed  nothing  left  to  that  exhausted 
band,  but  to  throw  aside  all  thoughts  of  human  safety,  of  home 
and  friends,  and  prepare  for  that  long-dreaded  moment,  a  grave ; 
the  waves  were  opening  for  them,  the  storm-cloud  for  their 
mantle,  the  winds  for  their  vigils,  and  they  seek  for  their  fainting 
spirits,  far  starward,  a  home  in  the  great  Pacific  of  God. 

By  one  of  those  strange  interpositions  by  which  the  Divine 
mind  provides  for  the  extremes  of  human  weakness,  a  cry  from 
the  lookout  brought  hope  and  joy  to  the  fainting  crew.  They 
were  saved.  It  was  the  light  reflected  upon  the  foaming  surge, 
from  the  tower  erected  on  that  dark  and  treacherous  coast, 
warning  the  unwary,  and  pointing  to  a  place  of  safety.  On 
bended  knee  and  with  grateful  hearts,  on  that  night  of  storm, 
the  crew  blessed  God  for  the  light  so  opportunely  sent  to  meet 
the  crisis,  if  not  to  quell  the  power  of  the  storm. 

What  the  light-house  is  to  the  sailor  amid  the  perils  of  his 
outward  and  homeward  bound,  humanity  is  to  man  in  the  exer- 
cise of  its  sympathetic  and  social  properties.  It  is  this  which 
conduces  to  smooth  the  roughness  of  the  way  we  tread,  and 
straighten  the  crookedness  of  human  paths.  The  pressure  of 
the  storm  is  lessened  by  the  sympathy  accorded  us  in  passing 
through  it.  The  social  properties  of  the  heart,  like  oil  cast 
upon  the  angry  waves,  breaks  the  power  of  the  life-struggle  to 
the  tempted  and  tried.  There  is  power  and  majesty  in  the  sym- 
pathy of  a  well-disciplined  humanity  in  blunting  the  keenness 
of  disappointed  hope,  and  in  alleviating  human  wretchedness 
and  sorrow ;  taming  the  rage  and  thunder  of  human  passions, 
and  in  quelling  the  spirit  and  power  of  anarchy  and  despotism. 
Human  sympathy  well  regulated  and  properly  directed,  consti- 
tutes for  society  and  the  country, 

"  Nature's  storm-proof  fortresses, 

By  Freedom's  children  trod, 
Man's  invulnerable  walls, 
The  Masonry  of  God." 


AT    THE    SOLDIERS     GRAVES. 

It  is  pleasant  to  the  eye,  and  grateful  to  the  heart,  to  behold 
the  light  of  a  single  star,  on  a  dark  and  stormy  night.  It  is 
the  promise  of  Hope ;  but  Hope  bursts  into  a  reality,  when  the 
rainbow  spans  the  heavens,  reflected  from  the  dregs  of  the  pass- 
ing storm.  So  does  the  Great  Architect  of  the  universe  make 
the  wrath  of  man  contribute  to  his  praise,  causing  truth  to 
sparkle  and  brighten  under  the  prejudices  that  bound  it,  and 
break  forth  into  noontide  splendor  and  meridian  glory.  Truth 
gathers  strength  from  the  pressure,  as  love  warms  into  life,  and 
the  social  and  domestic  relations  tighten,  under  the  impediments 
which  environ  it. 

The  intrinsic  value  of  Faith  is  in  the  trial,  and  being  "  well- 
founded,  fears  no  danger."  The  country  has  had  her  days  of 
darkness.  Clouds  have  settled  upon  her  prospects,  her  progress 
has  been  retarded,  her  very  existence  threatened,  yet  above  the 
din  of  conflict  she  rose,  and  the  spirit  and  heart  of  the  Repub- 
lic sought  refuge  in  a  purer  atmosphere.  Faith  ascended  with 
the  violence  of  the  storm.  Hope  nerved  the  heart  to  breast  the 
conflict,  while  charity  spanned  the  Heavens  in  robes  dipped  in 
sunlight. 

The  rolling  cloud,  the  sulphurous  glare,  the  howling  storm, 
are  passed,  and  the  eapitol  of  the  nation  stands  forth  in  its 
strength  and  beauty,  bright  and  glittering,  with  dome  and  shaft 
and  architrave  lighted  by  the  rays  of  the  morning  sun,  while 
the  truth  and  principles  of  her  foundation  is  marching  step  by 
step  to  the  eternal  skies. 

"  Long  may  it  live  and  every  blast  defy, 
Till  Time's  last  whirlwind  sweeps  the  vaulted  sky." 

AT  NEWBERN,  NORTH  CAROLINA. 

The  procession  was  formed  on  Broad  street,  right  resting  on 
Craven,  at  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

General  James  E.  Fleming,  who  had  been  selected  as  Chief 
Marshal,  was  assisted  by  the  following  officers. 

The  DivisionCommander : 

1st  Division,  Col.  Stephen  Moore ;  2d  Division,  Maj.  A.  R. 
Dennison ;  3d  Division,  Capt.  J.  H.  Porter.  The  Aids  and 
Staff  Officers :  Col.  Thomas  B.  Hunt,  Col.  R.  P.  Smith,  Maj.  A. 
Coats,  Surgeon  J.  K.  Fleming,  Surgeon  Jno.  B.  White,  Surgeon 
Henry  J.  Menninger. 

Capt.  John  F.  Kulifson,  Capt.  H.  H.  Hitchcock,  Lieut.  Sidney 
Tuttle,  Capt.  E.  C.  Tunis  and  Mr.  F.  M.  Pierson  acted  as  aids 
to  the  division  commanders. 

The  procession  moved   down   Craven  street  to  Pollok,  up 


272 


MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 


Pollok  street  to  George,  and  up  George  to  the  Cemetery,  in  the 
following  order :..  Chief  Marshal  and  Aids;  Staff  Officers 
mounted ;  Reverend  E.  M.  Forbes,  Chaplain ;  Hon.  W.  H.  S. 
Sweet,  Orator;  His  Honor,  Major  Win.  L.  Palmer,  Mayor. 

FIRST  DIVISION. — Band ;  Company  C,  40th  U.  S.  Infantry, 
under  command  of  Capt.  Walter  S.  Long;  officers  and  soldiers 
of  the  U.  S.  army ;  officers  and  men  of  the  U.  S.  Marine,  coast 
survey,  and  revenue  service. 

SECOND  DIVISION. — Ex-officers  and  soldiers  of  the  army; 
ex-officers  and  sailors  of  the  navy ;  patriotic  organizations. 

THIRD  DIVISION. — Ladies  in  carriages;  wagons  containing 
flowers,  wreaths,  garlands,  crosses  and  other  decorations;  citi- 
zens. 

The  procession  was  large  and  imposing.  From  the  head  of 
the  column  to  the  long  array  of  carriages,  a  space  of  over  half 
a  mile  was  occupied.  The  colored  people  followed  the  proces- 
sion in  great  numbers.  It  is  estimated  that  there  were 
between  two  and  three  thousand  persons  in  line.  Many  of  the 
mounted  citizens  carried  Guidon  flags  furled  and  draped  in 
mourning,  making  a  beautiful  effect.  A  number  of  the  car- 
riages in  line  carried  the  following  mottoes,  lettered  in  gold 
upon  blue  silk : 

"  Enjoy,  but  forget  not  the  price  of  Liberty." 

"  Kemember  the  Gallant  Dead." 
"  Our  love  of  Country  stronger  than  our  love  of  Home." 

As  the  procession  passed  the  camp  of  the  40th  Infantry,  the 
garrison  flag  was  lowered  to  half-mast,  where  it  remained  until 
after  the  completion  of  the  ceremonies.  Arriving  at  the  ceme- 
tery, the  head  of  the  column  halted  until  the  ladies  had 
alighted  from  the  carriages.  The  gentlemen  dismounted,  after 
which  the  procession  passed  into  the  enclosure.  The  work  of 
decorating  the  graves  was  then  commenced. 

Twenty-one  minute  guns  were  fired  by  a  detachment  of  the 
40th  Infantry,  under  command  of  Capt.  Hargous.  The  number 
of  guns  corresponds  with  the  number  of  States  having  repre- 
sentative dead  in  the  cemetery : 

Maine.  New  Hampshire,  Connecticut,  New- York,  Pennsyl- 
vania, North  Carolina,  Indiana,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Missouri, 
Vermont,  Massachusetts,  Rhode  Island,  New  Jersey,  Maryland, 
Ohio,  Illinois,  Iowa,  Michigan,  Kentucky. 

THE   DECORATIONS. 

At  the  entrance  to  the  Cemetery  an    arch   was  erected, 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  273 

covered  with  evergreens,  and  bearing  a  motto  in  box-leaves 
upon  dark  ground, 

"  UNION  DEAD." 

There  being  over  three  thousand  graves,  it  was  impossible  to 
decorate  all  the  individual  ones. 

Twenty-six  crosses  had  been  constructed,  wound  with  ever- 
greens ana  flowers.  One  of  these  crosses  was  placed  over  each 
one  of  the  lots  occupied  by  the  dead  of  the  aboved-named 
States,  and  over  those  of  the  regular  army,  the  navy,  the  signal 
corps,  the  Quartermaster's  employees,  and  the  construction 
corps.  A  large  reverse  of  each  cross  bore  upon  its  cross-arm 
the  name  of  the  State,  in  white  letters,  upon  back  scroll. 
Besides  these  general  decorations,  many  of  the  grave's  received 
individual  attention  of  mourning  friends  and  relatives,  promi- 
nent among  which  was  an  arch  erected  over  the  graves  of 
the  3d  N.  Y.  Cavalry,  bearing  the  well  known  and  appropriate 
inscription : 

Dulce  et  decorum  est  pro  patria  mori. 

On  the  south  side,  and  opening  upon  the  cemetery,  a  large 
platform  and  a  number  of  canvass  shelters  had  been  erected  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  assemblage. 

The  decorating  of  the  cemetery  and  graves  being  over,  the 
meeting  was  organized,  and  opened  with  prayer  by  the  Rev.  E. 
at  M.  Forbes. 

Doctor  H.  J.  Menninger  then  introduced  Capt.  "W.  H.  S. 
Sweet,  who  spoke  as  follows : 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  —  Friends  of  the  Union  Dead: 
It  has  been  said  that  the  sense  of  justice  is  so  strong  in  the 
human  breast,  that  no  form  of  law  or  institution  can  long 
remain  unchallenged,  if  it  does  not  conform  to  the  demands  of 
this  perpetual  Dictator  over  civil  governments ;  that  each  gene- 
ration beholds  the  enormity  with  new  indignation,  and  enters 
fresh  protest  against  it,  until  finally  Wrong  goes  down  before 
the  moral  force  of  Right.  Humanity,  perfected  in  justice,  is 
the  consummation  of  human  government. 

It  is  the  sad  reflection  of  this  occasion  that  the  adjustment 
of  our  laws  to  a  practical  recognition  of  this  truth  should  have 
demanded  the  outpouring  of  an  ocean  of  fraternal  blood. 

Seven  years  ago,  the  peace  of  our  country  was  rudely 
disturbed  by  the  shock  of  civil  war.  The  beautiful  constellation 
upon  our  nati<kial  banner  was  suddenly  obscured  by  the  lower- 
ing cloud  of  rebellion  —  rebellion  so  thoroughly  organized, 
militarily  and  politically,  that  ten  States,  embracing  a,  large 
portion  of  our  national  domain,  and  one-third  of  our  entire 
18 


274  MEMORIAL   CEREMONIES 

population,  were  torn  from  their  moorings  in  the  Union  before 
we  were  fully  awakened  from  our  dream  of  a  future  as  peaceful, 
prosperous  and  glorious  as  had  been  the  past. 

A  long  rumbling  sound,  like  the  roll  of  a  muffled  drum,  is 
said  to  precede  and  announce  a  volcanic  eruption;  but  this 
people  were  hurled  into  the  seething  maelstrom  of  a  terrible 
civil  war  almost  without  premonition.  It  seems  that  in  this 
precipitation  of  the  conflict  a  kind  Providence  designed  to 
magnify  our  national  trial,  in  order  that  self-government  might 
be  more  conclusively  vindicated  against  open  and  secret  foes  at 
home  and  abroad. 

The  war  of  the  American  revolution  settled  the  theory  of 
self-government.  This  theory  has  been  nearly  a  century  in 
ripening  into  a  tangible,  consistent  fact.  During  this  transition 
period,  there  militated  against  this  theory  of  self-government,  as 
enjoyed  by  one  portion  of  our  people,  an  antagonistic  practice 
as  endured  by  another  portion  of  our  people.  This  theory  was, 
and  is,  based  upon  the  broad,  enduring  basis  of  humanity.  It 
recognizes  brotherhood  in  the  human  family.  Just  as  an  object 
cast  upon  the  bosom  of  a  placid  stream  becomes  the  centre 
of  concentric  ripples,  each  reproducing  itself  in  enlarged  pro- 
portions while  the  inner  are  dying  away,  so  the  lump  of  clay, 
animated  with  the  breath  of  God,  and  cast  by  His  hand  upon 
the  bosom  of  the  stream  of  time,  is  the  centre  extinct  of 
concentric  circles  of  human  existences  sustaining,  each  toward 
the  other,  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect.  Radiating,  ramified 
lines  of  descent  bind  centre  to  circumference.  If  there  could  be 
a  simultaneous  and  successful  effort  on  the  part  of  every  family 
in  the  land  to  trace  out  their  lines  of  descent,  their  departing 
footsteps  would  echo  along  converging  pathways  tending  to 
a  common  centre,  and  thence  to  the  throne  of  God.  As 
•with  our  forefathers,  so  with  us,  this  thought  of  universal 
brotherhood  enlarges  our  conception  of  the  whole  duty  of  man 
by  giving  prominence  to  the  idea  of  the  unity  of  the  human 
race  in  our  great  family.  Our  forefathers  were  philanthropists. 

The  coexisting  antagonism  to  which  we  have  adverted,  un- 
fortunately survived  our  revolutionary  struggle,  and  insinuated 
itself  into  the  new  Government ;  because  might,  ever  tenacious, 
never  concessive  of  power,  temporarily  withstood  moral  force, 
and  finally  it  arrogated  to  itself  the  very  perversion  of  the  Gov- 
ernment from  its  original  character. 

Tame,  craven  submission,  or  patriotic,  bloody  resistance, 
were  the  dread  alternatives. 

I  kave  thus  merely  adverted  to  some  of  the  phases  of  our 
earlier  history,  so  as  to  revive  your  recollection  of  the  circum- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  275 

stances  under  which  one  and  a  half  million  of  patriotic  young 
men  sprang  into  arms  in  defense  of  their  country. 

As  our  forefathers  secured  the  theory  of  self-government  by 
the  bayonet  and  bullet  between  Lexington  and  Yorktown,  so, 
by  the  bayonet  and  bullet  between  Sumter  and  Appomattox, 
have  their  descendants  secured  the  embodiment  of  that  theory 
in  all  the  ramifications  of  our  Government. 

After  four  years  of  bloodshed  and  carnage,  of  agony  and 
gloom,  our  people  joyfully  beheld  the  smoke  of  battle  floating 
away,  and  our  beautiful  land  once  more  bathed  in  the  glorious 
sunlight  of  peace. 

The  painful  alternations  of  the  public  mind  between  the 
buoyancy  of  hope  and  the  depression  of  despair — untold  wealth 
dissipated  as  the  morning  dew — and,  far  above  and  greater  than 
all,  an  unnumbered  host  of  dead — these  represent  the  cost,  men- 
tal and  material,  of  effecting  this  happy  issue  out  of  our  na- 
tional troubles. 

National  patriotism,  when  inspired  by  the  magnetic  influ- 
ence of  human  sympathy,  is  the  noblest  of  enthusiasms. 

We  have  assembled  here  to-day  to  commemorate  the  valor 
arid  patriotism  of  the  heroes  whose  dust  has  been  piously  gath- 
ered from  the  battle-fields  of  eastern  North  Carolina  and  de- 
posited in  this  cemetery  consecrated  to  them  by  the  Govern- 
ment for  whose  salvation  they  laid  down  their  lives.  They 
rescued  our  fair  fabric  of  Government,  created  by  the  purest 
and  most  patriotic  men  of  any  age  or  clime,  not  only  from  a 
well-organized  and  powerful  rebellion,  but,  under  Providence, 
from  the  humiliation,  degradation,  and  subjugation  sought  to  be 
imposed  upon  us,  in  the  dark  hour  of  our  struggle,  by  our  an- 
cient and  common  foreign  enemy. 

AVlien  Napoleon  marched  his  army  into  Egypt?  he  urged  his 
troops  to  deeds  of  valor  with  the  appeal,  "  Soldiers,  forty  cen- 
turies look  down  upon  you  from  these  pyramids." 

This  precious  slumbering  dust,  when  animate,  leaving  the 
peaceful  pursuits  of  life,  sundering  the  tender  ties  of  friendship 
and  love,  and  assuming  the  habiliments  of  the  soldier,  incurred 
exposure,  hardship,  fatigue,  danger,  death,  inspired  by  no  such 
love  of  glory,  but  rather  by  the  consciousness  which  animated 
the  hero  of  Trafalgar — "  Our  country  expects  every  man  to  do 
his  duty." 

When  the  Indian  king  inquired  of  the  great  Athenian  phi- 
losopher who  \As  the  happiest  among  men,  his  response  was, 
that  "  No  man  should  be  pronounced  happy  till  his  death." 
Thrice  happy,  then,  he  who  incurs  death  because  his  lov<5  of 
country  is  so  broad  as  to  embrace  humanity. 


276  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

This  inclosure  was  purchased  pursuant  to  act  of  Congress 
ratified  February  22d,  1867,  the  135th  anniversary  of  the 
Father  of  his  Country,  and  consecrated  for  all  time  to  the  patri- 
otic and  Christian  purpose  of  interring  Union  dead.  All  that 
was  mortal  of  3,380  patriot  soldiers,  representing  twenty-one 
States  of  the  Union  and  every  branch  of  the  service,  has  been 
gathered  here  ;  and  here,  patriots  will  repair  and  mournfully 
linger  as  long  as  exalted  patriotism  and  valor  can  command  the 
unbought  homage  of  the  heart. 

Our  comrades  who  here  sleep  their  last  sleep  have  fallen  at 
the  threshold  of  life,  in  the  vigor  of  early  and  promising  man- 
hood. Each  of  these  numerous  mounds  represents  a  vacant 
chair — a  desolate  hearth-stone — an  afflicted  father — a  broken- 
hearted mother — an  affectionate  sister  or  a  loving  wife,  the  depth 
of  whose  sorrow  no  human  consolation  can  reach. 

While  we  would  not  disturb  the  repose  in  which  the  patriot 
soldier  sleeps,  our  sympathy  for  the  afflicted  and  surviving  kin- 
dred is  as  deep,  as  strong,  as  ineffaceable  as  is  our  regret  that  so 
costly  sacrifices  were  rendered  necessary  to  preserve  our  Union 
undivided,  and  our  starry  flag  undimmed  in  its  lustre. 

In  the  presence  of  this  sacred  dust  we  involuntarily  think  of 
the  events  connected  with  the  occupants  of  these  silent  tombs. 
The  reluctance  with  which  parental  love  yielded  to  love  of 
country  and  consecrated  a  son  to  its  salvation — the  suffused 
eyes  which  looked  a  "  good-by  "  which  the  tongue  could  not 
utter,  as  the  manly  form  of  the  youthful  hero  parted  with  loved 
ones  at  home — the  perfecting  of  military  discipline  and  drill — 
the  hurried  march  to  the  front — the  bivouac — the  exposures  and 
hardships  of  forced  marches — the  exchange  of  fire  on  the  skir- 
mish line — the  general  engagement — the  rattle  of  musketry  and 
the  thunderings  of  artillery — the  death  wound — such,  doubtless, 
is  the  history  of  most  of  those  who  sleep  within  this  sacred  in- 
closure. 

Their  earthly  career  is  ended.  No  reveille  disturbs  the 
quiet  in  which  they  repose.  Peacefully  commingling  with  the 
dust  of  their  foes,  each  "  lies  like  a  warrior  taking  his  rest." 

May  we  who  survive  gather  from  this  a  lesson  of  wisdom. 
Refraining  from  crimination  and  recrimination,  may  we  all, 
representing  as  we  do  every  shade  of  sentiment  in  the  deadly 
conflict  of  the  recent  past,  exercise  the  Christian  virtues  of  for- 
giveness, and  doing  good  unto  those  who  despitefully  use  us. 

We  have  not  the  power  of  rolling  away  as  a  scroll  the  great 
curtain  which  hides  the  future  from  the  present.  We  are  pro- 
foundly ignorant  of  what  events  of  gladness  or  sadness  lie 
athwart  our  national  pathway.  But  should  our  country  ever 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  277 

again  be  precipitated  into  the  clash  and  conflict  of  arras  to 
pivserve  its  integrity  against  foes,  foreign  or  domestic,  may 
Almighty  God  continue  His  kind,  beneficent  favor  toward  us  as 
a  nation  by  supplying  the  places  of  our  departed  patriots  who 
slumber  in  the  national  cemeteries,  and  whose  patriotism  and 
valor  and  virtues  are  this  day  being  commemorated  in  every 
section  of  our  country  where  they  repose.  Let  us,  on  the  occa- 
sion of  this  floral  tribute  of  respect  to  their  memory,  by  fair 
hands,  re-dedicate  "our  lives,  our  fortunes,  and  our  sacred 
honor  "  to  the  cause  for  which  unnumbered  hosts  so  recently 
sealed  their  devotion  with  their  life's  blood. 

CEREMONIES  IN  PENNSYLVANIA. 


AT   GLENWOOD   CEMETERY. 


About  half-past  4  P.  M.,  Post  No.  8  appeared  marching  in 
procession,  accompanied  by  the  Washington  Band.  The  cere- 
monies were  opened  by  a  number  of  young  ladies  from  the 
vicinity  of  Twelfth  and  Oxford  Streets,  who  marched  over  and 
between  the  graves,  chanting  a  mournful  dirge.  The  Rev.  J. 
"Walker  Jackson  was  then  introduced,  and  made  the  following 
remarks : 

I  felt,  a  few  days  ago,  when  asked  to  make  some  remarks 
upon  this  solemn  occasion,  as  if  it  wonld  be  a  work  entirely  un- 
necessary. I  felt,  as  it  was  said  of  a  beggar  a  little  while  ago, 
who  was  sitting  by  the  wayside,  uttering  but  few  words,  but 
stretching  out  his  maimed  arm  toward  those  who  passed  by  in 
silence.  Some  one  said :  "  Why  don't  you  ask  for  what  you 
want  ?  Speak  !  "  He  lifted  up  his  arm,  and  said,  "  So  I  do. 
My  rags  speak ;  my  wounds  speak ;  my  crutches  speak ;  my 
crooked  limbs  speak — every  thing  about  me  speaks  ! 

I  feel  at  this  hour  as  if  every  thing  about  us  speaks.  These 
graves  speak  to  us  of  sacred  suffering,  of  silent  and  heroic  en- 
durance. These  graves  speak  to  us  of  men  who,  being  dead, 
yet  speak  to  us  of  the  great  work  accomplished  for  us.  You 
know,  as  you  enter  Laurel  Hill  Cemetery,  there  is  a  beautiful 
picture  in  stone  that  will  entrance  you.  At  the  very  entrance 
of  the  city  of  the  dead  a  great  artist  has  put  there  in  marble  an 
incident  that  gave  Sir  Walter  Scott  a  name  for  one  of  his 
novels,  in  which  he  immortalized- Robert  Pattieson,  of  Scotland, 
under  the  name  of  Old  Mortality.  There  is  Old  Mortality, 
with  the  animkl  that  carried  the  implements  standing  by  his 
side,  and  Sir  milter  Scott  talking  to  him,  while  he  is  renewing 
the  inscription  on  the  tomb  of  some  old  Carneronian  hero  who 
fell  hi  the  wars  of  that  land. 


278  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

We  are  meeting  here  today  with  Old  Mortality  brighten- 
ing the  names  and  heroic  sacrifices  of  those  heroes  who  fell  in 
the  greatest  struggle  known  for  agus.  You  are  bringing  their 
names  back  with  the  name  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  that  great 
man,  who  grows  greater  as  the  days,  weeks,  and  months  roll 
into  years,  since  that  terrible  night  of  his  taking  away  from  us, 
when  the  country  lost  the  purest  of  its  statesmen,  the  wisest  of 
its  rulers,  the  most  magnanimous  of  its  men  of  State.  He  said, 
at  Gettysburg,  while  looking  on  the  graves  of  the  soldiers  dedi- 
cated there  :  "  It  is  not  for  us  to  dedicate  this  spot.  The  brave 
men  who  fought  here,  and  who  fell  here — the  brave  men  who 
bled  here — have  consecrated  this  place.  It  is  left  for  us  to  con- 
secrate our  lives  to  the  service  of  proving  that  the  Government 
of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people,  shall  not  perish 
from  the  face  of  the  earth." 

We  are  not  here  only  to  decorate  these  graves,  but  to  dedi- 
cate our  lives  to  their  unfinished  work,  and  resolve  that  all  men, 
from  the  rising  to  the  setting  sun,  shall  be  free  now  and  forever. 
We  meet  here  for  that  purpose.  I  speak  the  name  of  that  great 
General,  of  whom  all  present  will  say  he  is  the  grandest  captain 
of  the  age,  and  say  for  ourselves  that  we  mean  to  fight  it  out  on 
this  line  if  it  takes  all  summer,  until  the  whole  laud  is  free. 

As  I  stand  here,  my  mind  goes  back  to  the  past.  I  think  of 
the  14th  day  of  April,  1861,  when,  in  this  city  and  all  over  the 
North,  in  every  village,  town,  and  hamlet,  there  was  a  great 
uprising  when  the  flag  was  insulted  in  Charleston  harbor,  as  it 
floated  over  the  walls  of  Sumter.  When  the  news  came  that 
the  flag  had  been  surrendered  into  the  hands  of  rebels,  all  rose 
as  a  man  to  put  the  rebellion  down,  and  it  is  now  known  in  our 
history  and  perpetuated  by  their  sacrifices.  The  rebels  fought 
by  making  trinkets  of  the  bones  of  our  prisoners,  by  starving 
them  to  death  at  Anderson ville  and  Libby,  hunting  them  with 
bloodhounds,  and  shooting  them  dowrn  in  cold  blood.  The  peo- 
ple rose  all  over  the  land,  and  a  result  followed  that  was  only 
foreseen  by  a  few  far-sighted  persons.  This  rebellion  unfettered 
every  slave,  and  made  him  free.  Glory  to  the  Lord  of  hosts  ! 
Let  us  give  glory  to  God  the  King — the  Saviour  who  spoke,  and 
the  people  were  free. 

We  meet  here  to  strew  these  graves  with  flowers.  Men  die 
indeed  who  die  in  a  bad  cause.  None  search  for  their  graves 
to  strew  them  with  flowers  ;  but  those  who  die  in  a  good  cause, 
live.  They  who  have  died  in  this  good  cause,  live  in  the  hearts 
of  the  people.  Those  who  die  in  this  cause,  grow  with  the 
years  and  grow  bright  in  the  memories  of  those  who  remember 
the  service  they  rendered  in  the  good  cause.  They  redeemed 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        279 

the  country,  and  will  live  in  the  history  of  the  country.  Tablets 
will  preserve  their  memories.  Their  children  will  talk  of  them 
hen-after ;  younger  brothers  will  speak  of  the  death  of  their 
brothers,  and  speak  with  reverence  when  they  say,  "  He  was  a 
soldier/' 

Their  orphans  are  now  and  forever  the  children  of  the  Re- 
public. They  hover  around  us  by  night  and  by  day.  They 
speak  louder  than  we  can  do  that  universal  language  that 
touches  all  hearts,  thrills  us  to  the  soul.  Here  golden  images 
will  be  placed.  Here  some  one  else's  mothers,  children,  broth- 
ers, or  sisters  are  meeting  around  the  graves  of  your  fathers, 
children,  or  brothers,  that  died  that  all  families  mignt  live — that 
died  for  the  universal  brotherhood  of  man,  that  it  might  live 
over  the  whole  land. 

Whilst  we  honor  these,  will  we  not  honor  the  wounded  who 
live  ( — who  speak  in  our  streets — who  say  to  us,  We  have  been 
wounded  ;  we,  too,  have  suffered  in  that  great  cause  ?  There 
will  come  a  time  in  the  history  of  the  country  when  a  wound 
will  be  brighter  than  a  star  upon  the  breast  of  a  soldier.  When 
the  mountains  are  worn  out  and  the  rivers  cease  to  flow,  the 
names  of  these  men  will  be  kept  fresh  in  the  book  of  the  na- 
tional remembrance.  Honor  to  the  mothers,  fathers,  and  chil- 
dren of  the  slain !  Brave  men  !  they  look  down  upon  us,  and 
brave  men  catch  the  inspirations  of  the  dead  who  look  down. 

When  Mr.  Jackson  had  concluded,  the  choir  of  Green  street 
Methodist  Episcopal  church  sang  a  dirge  for  the  gallant  dead, 
and  the  ladies  present  took  the  flowers,  of  which  a  large  quan- 
tity were  on  the  ground,  and,  opening  the  bunches,  strewed 
them  over  the  graves  at  the  lower  end  of  .the  cemetery.  The 
band  played  a  dirge,  after  which  the  procession  re-formed,  and 
marched  to  the  upper  end,  where  lie  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  other  graves.  The  ladies  again  marched  around,  singing, 
"  My  country,  'tis  of  thee." 

The  ladies  then  strewed  the  flowers,  when  Rev.  J.  Walker 
Jackson  said :  It  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  speak  here  again. 
All  soldiers  who  fell  in  defence  of  the  flag  are  made  sacred  to 
us  by  the  great  struggle  through  which  we  have  passed.  Though 
dead,  they  still  speak  to  us,  because  we  feel  the  sacredness  of 
the  cause.  We  feel  that  there  should  be  a  public  sentiment  in- 
spired and  kept  alive,  and  the  fires  of  patriotism  kept  burning 
on  the  home  altar.  It  still  burns..  This  land  is  dear  to  us  all. 
It  is  made  doufcly  dear  by  the  precious  blood  of  our  companions 
who  died  to  recteem  the  land  from  bondage. 

The  Rev.  John  Clothier,  formerly  chaplain  of  the  88th 
Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  then  said :  How  precious  it  is  for  the 


280  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

mothers  and  sisters  of  the  dead  to  have  the  spot  marked  where 
they  can  come  and  shed  sympathizing  tears  1  These  men  died 
nobly  in  defence  of  the  country  and  the  land  which  held  their 
homes.  May  it  teach  us  to  feel  how  dependent  we  are  upon 
the  Lord.  May  we  live  in  the  faith  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  be  thankful  to  Him  that  He  has  preserved  those  who  have 
survived  the  great  peril.  May  Jesus  Christ  guard  us  all  here- 
after. 

Rev.  Mr.  Jackson  then  delivered  the  benediction. 

Each  grave  was  marked  with  a  miniature  flag,  and  many 
were  surrounded  by  those  to  whom  the  deceased  had  evidently 
borne  close  relationship.  Some  were  weeping  bitterly,  while 
others  wore  an  aspect  that  tears  would  have  much  relieved. 
The  solemn  scene  seemed  to  impress  every  one  ;  even  there  the 
most  reckless  and  gayest  at  times  felt  its  saddening  influence. 
The  words  of  the  speakers  fell  with  great  force  on  the  sombre 
multitude,  and  many  could  not  resist,  but  were  compelled  to 
give  way  to  their  feelings ;  even  strong  and  brave  men  wept,  as 
perhaps  they  had  not  for  years  before. 

Many  a  veteran  felt  the  tears  rolling  down  his  bronzed 
cheeks  as  he  looked  upon  the  simple  headboard  that  bore  the 
name  of  a  comrade  near  and  dear  to  him,  with  whom  he  had 
beguiled  many  a  weary  hour  of  the  camp,  and  perhaps  sudden- 
ly missed  from  his  side  in  the  smoke  and  clangor  of  battle,  with 
the  shrieking  shell  and  deadly  minie  howling  and  whistling  over 
his  head.  Many  were  present  from  curiosity,  and  were  as  much 
affected  as  the  relatives  of  the  dead  ;  for  it  is  a  hard  heart  in- 
deed that  does  not  have  some  sympathizing  feeling  in  the  midst 
of  such  scenes  as  these. 

At  the  head  of  each  grave  stands  a  simple  pine  headboard, 
without  paint  or  ornament,  with  the  name  and  regiment  of  the 
deceased  soldier  rudely  cut  in  with  a  knife.  These  boards  can- 
not, in  their  present  condition,  long  withstand  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  weather,  and  should  at  least  have  several  coats  of 
paint.  There  are  men  in  this  city,  noble  and  generous  philan- 
thropists, who  were  foremost  in  lending  a  helping  hand  to  the 
soldier  when  alive  ;  and  surely  they  could  now  step  forward  and 
see  that  such  an  act  of  true  Christian  benevolence  is  attended 
to.  Many  of  the  men  interred  at  this  place  are  from  other 
States,  their  bodies  resting  far  from  the  place  of  their  homos,  in 
a  strange  city,  and  the  time  may  arrive  when  relatives  will  come 
in  search  of  them,  and,  if  this  duty  is  not  attended  to,  find  no 
record  to  mark  the  spot  where  lie  the  dear  departed  ones. 

A  portion  of  the  G.  A.  R.  visited  the  Lafayette  Cemetery, 
where  the  bodies  of  the  brave  soldiers  who  died  at  the  hospitals 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  281 

of  the  Union  Volunteer  Refreshment  Saloon  were  interred. 
The  ladies  associated  with  the  Union  Volunteer  Refreshment 
Saloon,  assisted  by  ninety  young  ladies  and  gentlemen,  commit- 
tee of  the  Refreshment  Saloon,  together  with  the  Soldiers  of  the 
Republic,  decorated  with  flowers  the  graves  of  the  brave  de- 
parted who  are  buried  there.  A  number  of  speeches  were  made, 
by  the  officer  in  command  and  other  gentlemen. 

AT  LANCASTER,  PA. 

The  ceremonies  in  this  city  proved  very  solemn  and  interest- 
ing. The  day  was  very  beautiful — clear  and  bright — one  of  the 
pleasantest  of  the  new  summer.  At  1  o'clock  the  bells  of  the 
various  churches  commenced  tolling,  and  continued  until  the 
close  of  the  ceremonies.  At  about  the  same  hour,  Post  No.  84, 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  one  hundred  strong,  under  the 
command  of  Post  Adjutant  J.  K.  Barr,  and  preceded  by  the 
City  Cornet  Band,  entere'd  the  Court-House,  where  they  re- 
ceived the  crosses,  wreaths,  bouquets,  and  decorations  from  the 
hands  of  the  ladies  who  had  arranged  them.  The  Post  then 
marched  to  Orange  street,  literally  covered  with  flowers  with 
which  to  decorate  the  graves  of  their  dead  comrades.  The  pro- 
cession immediately  passed  into  the  graveyard  of  the  Episcopal 
church,  where  it  filed  around  the  graves  of  Capt.  Thomas  B. 
Barton,  of  Company  B,  1st  Pennsylvania  Reserves,  and  Capt. 
Robert  M.  Jeffries,  Company  F,  115th  Regiment,  P.  Y.  While 
the  wreaths  were  being  placed  upon  their  graves,  the  members 
uncovered.  The  procession  then  returned  to  Duke  street,  where 
it  was  joined  by  the  Junior  American  Mechanics,  delegations 
from  several  of  the  senior  lodges  of  the  American  Mechanics, 
and  also  delegations  fr«m  the  American,  Hook  and  Ladder, 
Friendship,  and  Sun  Fire  companies.  The  procession  moved 
up  Duke  street  to  the  Lancaster  cemetery,  the  several  fire  com- 
panies on  the  route  displaying  their  colors  at  half  mast  or  draped 
in  mourning.  On  approaching  the  cemetery  the  band  per- 
formed a  funeral  march  with  a  peculiarly  sad  effect.  Long 
before  the  procession  had  arrived,  however,  many  hundreds  of 
people  had  preceded  it,  and  the  scene  was  both  sad  and  brilliant. 
The  procession  tiled  around  the  lot  in  which  rests  the  remains  of 
Maj.-Gen.  John  F.  Reynolds,  who  fell  at  Gettysburg.  Col. 
Milton  Weidler,  *'ho  served  under  that  gallant  soldier  up  to  the 
time  of  his  deatb\entered  the  inclosure  and  placed  a  cross,  ex- 
quisitely adorned  Avith  flowers,  against  the  monument ;  two  other 
crosses,  of  smaller  size,  were  also  placed  on  the  grave,  one  on 
each  side  of  the  larger  one.  During  this  ceremony  the  band 


282  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

performed  a  solemn  dirge.  The  graves  to  be  decorated  Lad 
each  previously  been  marked  by  a  small  American  flag,  and  in 
casting  the  eyes  over  the  cemetery,  these  little  flags  were  seen 
fluttering  in  every  direction.  Many  friends  and  relatives  of  the 
dead  heroes  were  present,  and  sad  memories  were  called  up  by 
the  scene.  The  procession  then  passed  from  grave  to  grave  and 
performed  the  mission  for  which  they  were  deputed. 

The  cortege  then  proceeded  to  St.  Mary's  Catholic  Cemetery, 
and  from  thence  to  Woodward  Hill  Cemetery.  At  both  of 
these  places  the  graves  of  the  soldiers  were  decorated.  Zion's 
Cemetery,  adjoining  Woodward  Hill,  was  also  visited,  and  the 
following  graves  decorated :  John  McCracken,  Co.  — ,  1st  P.  Y. 
K.  C. ;  Jacob  Kiel,  Co.  I,  21st  Pa.  Cavalry ;  Abram  Grofl'; 
George  Presterly,  79th ;  Frederick  A.  Weller,  Co.  E,  1st  Pa. 
Artillery ;  Jacob  Coonley,  Co.  H,  122d ;  William  Hoffman ; 
John  veagley;  Herman  Bechler.  The  procession  next  pro- 
ceeded to  St.  Joseph's  Cemetery,  in  St.  Joseph  street.  The  bell 
in  the  church  tower  tolled  so'lemnfy  as  it  approached,  while 
flags,  draped  in  mourning,  hung  from  the  windows,  as  well  as 
from  the  windows  of  adjoining  houses.  The  ceremony  of  dec- 
oration was  again  gone  through  with  over  the  graves  of  the 
following  soldiers :  Lieut.  Matthias  Hart,  Co.  A,  203d,  killed  at 
Fort  Fisher,  January  15,  1865  ;  Corporal  Joseph  Delzeit,  Co.  C, 
99th,  killed  at  Gettysburg,  July  3d,  1863 ;  Frank  M.  Flur,  Co. 
K,  77th ;  Frank  J.  Schmied,  Co.  K,  79th ;  James  J.  Hawkes- 
worth,  Co.  K,  77th.  The  next  and  last  place  visited  was  Shrei- 
ner's  Cemetery,  corner  of  Chestnut  and  Mulberry  streets,  where 
the  graves  of  John  Jones,  Co.  G,  99th,  and  Edwin  M.  Shreiner, 
the  only  two  soldiers'  graves  in  the  place,  were  appropriately 
decorated.  The  procession  then  disbanded,  each  of  the  organi- 
zations taking  part  separating  for  their*  respective  quarters.  In 
the  evening,  at  8  o'clock,  a  large  number  of  citizens  assembled 
in  the  Court  House  to  listen  to  an  address  by  Rev.  J.  Isidor 
Mombert,  of  St.  James'  Episcopal  Church.  The  address,  which 
was  a  very  able  effort,  occupied  about  an  hour  in  its  delivery, 
and  enchained  the  audience  by  the  graphic  descriptions  given  of 
many  of  the  most  prominent  scenes  of  the  war.  The  speaker 
referred,  at  the  opening,  to  the  significance  of  the  ceremonies 
performed  during  the  day,  and  then  proceeded  to  a  history  of 
the  organization  of  the  crude  volunteer  forces  in  1861,  and  their 
gradual  transformation  into  accomplished  and  brilliant  soldiers. 
The  address  abounded  in  many  striking  passages,  and  also  touch- 
ing eulogies  on  some  of  the  heroes. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  283 

AT  CARLISLE,  PENN. 

Col.  William  M.  Penrose  was  announced  to  open  the  cere- 
monies at  2  o'clock,  with  an  address,  and  at  that  hour  the  Court 
House  was  filled  to  its  utmost  capacity.  The  officers,  soldiers 
and  band  from  Carlisle  Barracks,  the  clergy  of  our  town,  the 
Union  Philosophical  Society  of  Dickinson  College,  the  public 
schools,  together  with  Post  No.  Ill,  G.  A.  R.,  and  a  large  num- 
ber of  ladies  and  gentlemen,  constituted  the  very  large  and  in- 
telligent audience.  After  an  earnest  prayer,  by  the  Rev.  W. 
R.  Mills,  pastor  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  Capt.  J.  D.  Adair  intro- 
duced to  the  audience  Col.  Penrose,  who  proceeded  to  deliver  a 
very  able  and  interesting  address,  showing  the  peculiar  fitness 
and  beauty  of  the  ceremony  about  to  be  inaugurated,  and  call- 
ing upon  all  patriotic  citizens  to  aid  by  precept  and  presence  in 
its  observance.  The  address  concluded,  the  procession  was 
formed  in  the  following  order:  Members  of  Post  No.  114,  G. 
A.  R. ;  clergy ;  Carlisle  Barracks  Band ;  officers  and  soldiers 
from  Carlisle  Barracks ;  U.  P.  Society  from  Dickinson  College ; 
the  public  schools ;  the  public  generally.  The  procession  first 
moved  to  the  Old  Grave  Yard,  the  band  playing  a  solemn  dirge 
and  the  church  bells  tolling  during  the  entire  march.  Here  the 
graves  of  the  dead  heroes  were  decked  with  the  choicest  and 
most  fragrant  flowers  of  the  season.  Many  an  eye.  was  moisten- 
ed, and  many  a  bosom  swelled  with  emotions,  alike  of  sadness 
and  pride,  at  this  touching  testimonial  that  the  Nation's  Heroes 
are  held  in  most  grateful  memory.  Alter  similar  exercises  at 
the  Catholic  Church  Yard  and  Ashland  Cemetery,  the  procession 
returned  to  the  Court  House,  where  Gen.  R.  M.  Henderson  de- 
livered the  closing  address.  Gen.  Henderson's  remarks  were  of 
a  character  most  appropriate  to  the  occasion,  and  were  delivered 
in  a  most  eloquent  manner.  The  Divine  benediction  was  then 
pronounced,  by  Rev.  Wm.  C.  Leverett,  and  the  audience  dis- 
missed. 

AT  JERSEY  SHORE,  PESTN. 

In  compliance  with  the  request  of  the  committee  of  arrange- 
ments, those  of  the  citizens  having  flags  in  their  possession  dis- 
played them  at  8  A.  M.  There  was  a  large  flag  stretched  across  the 
street  from  the  headquarters  of  the  G.  A.  R.  A  salute  was  fired, 
which  was  continued,  at  intervals  of  fifteen  minutes,  until  1 
o'clock.  At  2  o'cl|ck,  the  church  bells  were  rung  for  the  assem- 
bling of  the  citizens,  large  numbers  of  whom  were  already  as- 
sembled. The  procession  was  formed  as  follows :  1st.  band ;  2d. 
soldiers'  widows  and  orphans ;  3d.  members  of  G.  A.  R. ; 
4th.  clergy  and  invited  speakers ;  5th.  soldiers,  not  members  of 


284  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

the  G.  A.  R.,«  and  citizens.  Arriving  at  the  cemetery,  the  pro- 
cession halted,  and  a  most  beautifully  appropriate  prayer  was 
offered  by  Rev.  J.  H.  Grier.  Order  No.  11  was  read  by  James 
Jones,  after  which  the  procession  visited  each  soldier's  grave  in 
succession,  strewing  flowers,  garlands,  wreaths,  &c.,  upon  each 
one.  It  was  stated  that  the  G.  A.  R.  designed  to  pay  equal  re- 
spect to  each  soldier,  but  that  relatives  and  friends  of  the  de- 
ceased might  pay  such  additional  honors  to  them  as  they  saw 
proper.  These  ceremonies  having  been  concluded,  every  grave 
naving  been  visited,  the  procession  halted  at  the  mound,  and  the 
following  exercises  took  place : 
Singing,  by  the  Glee  Club, 

Nightwinds  are  mournfully  sweeping, 

Whispering  oak  branches  wave  I 
Where  your  loved  ashes  are  sleeping, 

Forms  of  the  true  and  the  brave  1 
Silence  reigns  breathless  around  you, 

All  your  stern  conflicts  are  o'er, 
Deep  is  the  sleep  that  hath,  bound  you, 

Trumpet  shall  rouse  you  no  more. 

Sweet  and  serene  be  your  slumber ! 

Hearts  for  whose  freedom  ye  bled, 
Millions,  whom  no  man  can  number, 

Tears  of  sad  gratitude  shed. 
Never  shall  morn  brightly  breaking 

Enter  your  chambers  of  gloom, 
Till  the  last  trumpet  awaking 

Sound  through  the  depths  of  the  tomb. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  singing,  the  Rev.  "W.  TV.  Meech, 
A.  IVf.,  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Church,  late  a  chaplain  in  the  U. 
S.  Army,  proceeded  to  deliver  the  following — 

ORATION. 

The  Cemetery  where  we  are  assembled  is  a  fit  place  for  the 
burial  of  our  citizen  soldiers  who  were  brought  home  from  the 
fields  of  their  glory  to  rest  with  their  kindred.  This  May  day 
is  a  fitting  time  for  us  to  come  to  their  graves  with  our  floral 
offerings.  The  reflections  suggested  by  the  occasion  of  such 
honors  paid  to  their  memory,  are  eminently  becoming  and  pro- 
fitable. 

The  landscape  spread  out  before  us  is  rich  in  the  combina- 
tion of  natural  beauties ;  and  rich  in  its  historic  associations. 
It  combines  in  one  view  the  Bald  Eagle  mountains  on  the  right, 
and  the  Muncy  Hills  on  the  left,  both  stretching  far  away  in 
the  distance,  and  almost  at  our  feet  glide  the  waters  of  the  west 
branch  of  the  Susquehanna,  with  its  green  banks  spread  into 
beautiful  fields  surrounding  our  homes  and  the  borough  of 
Jersey  Shore,  itself  on  the  very  spot  where  the  early  settlers  put 


AT   THE    SOLDIERS     GRAVES. 

to  flight  the  rude  savages  in  the  days  of  the  Revolution.  Antes 
Fort,  just  across  the  river,  is  a  reminder  of  the  heroism  of 
Colonel  Henry  Antes  and  his  little  band  of  militia,  who  built 
in  the  summer  of  1776,  and  from  it  protected  the  settlers 
against  the  incursions  of  the  wily  Indians,  then  incited  to 
hostility  by  the  British. 

This  fruitful  valley  you  now  behold  had  long  been  a  kind  of 
paradise  to  the  aborigines.  The  red  men  in  their  native  sim- 
plicity built  wigwams  in  its  shady  dells,  roamed  through  its 
primeval  forests,  hunted  game  on  its  mountain  sides,  danced 
before  the  Great  Spirit  to  the  music  of  their  war  songs,  and 
paddled  their  light  canoes  over  the  crystal  waters  of  the  gentle 
Otzinachson.*  But  another  race  was  to  occupy  it.  The  hand 
of  industry  was  to  change  the  wild  wood  to  a  scene  of  cultiva- 
tion. The  waters  of  the  Otzinachson  and  its  tributaries  were  to 
become  a  power  for  human  industry.  The  canal,  the  railroad, 
and  the  telegraph,  were  successively  to  be  introduced  as  indices 
of  progress  in  the  facilities  of  living,  moving,  thinking  beings, 
till  populous  towns  and  villages  now  mark  their  courses. 

Our  present  position  and  prosperity  are  not  the  results  of  a 
day  nor  a  year,  secured  without  toil  and  privations.  It  has  re- 
quired many  long  years  of  patient  labor  and  suffering  in  sun- 
shine and  storms  to  attain  the  blessings  and  privileges  we  this 
day  enjoy.  Our  fathers  exhibited  a  self-denying  patriotism  that 
created  us  a  nation.  In  prayers,  and  tears,  and  blood,  they  laid 
its  firm  foundations ;  and  in  departing,  they  committed  to  us 
the  care  of  the  noble  superstructure  of  a  State  proclaming  as  its 
religious  creed  the  doctrine  "  Soul  liberty,"  and  as  its  political 
thesis,  "  All  men  are  created  free  and  equal."  Under  the 
working  of  these  principles  in  religion  and  politics  our  land  has 
become  an  asylum  for  the  oppressed  of  all  lands,  the  hope  of 
republicanism  throughout  the  world. 

We  learned  in  the  days  of  childhood  to  revere  the  memory 
of  the  patriots  of  that  mighty  struggle  which  made  us  an  inde- 
pendent nation.  In  our  youth  AVC  admired  the  specimens  of 
their  eloquence  in  behalf  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  to  secure 
which  they  pledged  their  lives,  their  fortunes,  and  their  sacred 
honor.  From  year  to  year,  we  have  met  on  the  ever  glorious 
4th  of  July  to  celebrate  our  independence,  and,  with  hearts 
aglow  with  gratitude  and  gladness,  we  have  recounted  their 
toils,  their  trials,  aid  their  triumphs.  Many  long  years  passed 
ere  their  hope  of  av'ree  and  prosperous  country  was  a  full  and 
crowned  reality.  But  it  came,  when  by  the  ordering  of  an  all- 
wise  Providence  it  would  be  most  secure.  It  requires  but  a  glance 

*  The  Indian  name  of  the  West  Branch. 


286  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

at  the  history  of  nations  to  see  that  our  past  is  without  a  paral- 
lel in  the  increase  of  population,  in  the  development  of  all  the 
resources  of  material  prosperity,  in  the  progress  of  scientific 
research,  in  the  production  of  literature,  in  the  embellishments  of 
art,  and  in  the  perfection  of  their  civil  institutions. 

Within  the  memory  of  our  oldest  inhabitants  we  have  in- 
creased from  13  to  36  States,  and  from  3,000,000  to  over 
30,000,000  of  inhabitants.  Many  years,  from  immigration  alone, 
we  have  increased  over  a  thousand  a  day.  With  most  marvelous 
rapidity  we  have  leveled  forests,  and  tunneled  mountains.  Vil- 
lages and  cities  have  sprung  up  as  by  magic,  and  valleys  vast  as 
empires  have  been  turned  from  a  wilderness  to  beautiful  fields, 
to  "  bud  and  blossom  as  the  rose."  Our  mountain  streams 
have  been  madp  a  power  for  mills  and  factories,  and  then  to 
bear  on  their  bosoms  to  the  ocean  the  products  of  our  industry, 
and  the  fruits  of  our  land.  We  have  dug  from  the  bowels  of 
the  earth  a  mineral  wealth  of  untold  value.  For  our  aid  in  all 
the  departments  of  agriculture,  manufactures,  and  commerce, 
we  have  created  facilities  by  the  fertility  of  our  inventions  that 
lessen  much  of  our  toil.  By  the  increase  of  our  channels  of 
intelligence  the  school-boy  of  to-day  may  compete  with  the  sages 
of  antiquity.  With  every  demand  for  statesmanship  we  have 
found  the  men  to  conduct  us  in  our  onward  progress,  till  high 
above  all  the  evidences  of  our  wealth  and  power,  above  all  the 
beauties  and  benefits  of  our  country  and  climate  has  towered  up 
this  crowning  fact,  that  the  teeming  millions  of  our  people  are 
the  freest,  happiest  on  the  earth ;  and  that  they  enjoy  in  larger 
measure  than  the  world  has  ever  before  known  the  privileges 
and  prerogatives  of  true  manhood. 

In  an  evil  hour  the  spirit  of  disunion  spread  its  blighting  in- 
fection through  the  South.  The  doctrine  of  State  rights  was 
proclaimed,  and  efficient  measures  adopted  to  weaken  the  senti- 
ment of  nationality  so  strong  at  the  North.  The  plan  proposed 
by  Calhoun  in  his  time,  was  adopted,  to  "  fire  the  Southern 
heart "  with  the  determination  to  secede  from  the  General  Gov- 
ernment, and  set  up  a  Confederacy  of  their  own.  But  when 
they  adopted  the  Montgomery  Constitution,  and  actually  in- 
augurated war  upon  the  U.  S.  Government  by  the  bombard- 
ment of  Fort  Sumter,  the  loyal  masses  of  the  North  awoke  to 
the  importance  of  the  crisis,  and  rushed  to  arms  for  the  protec- 
tion of  their  Capital,  and  the  preservation  of  the  Union  estab- 
lished by  their  patriot  fathers.  After  eighty  years  of  unparal- 
leled prosperity,  the  Government  was  called  on  to  defend  its 
life  against  "  States  discordant,  belligerent."  The  national  flag 
was  dishonored  by  men  who  had  solemnly  sworn  to  defend  it.  The 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        287 

American  Congress  was  beleaguered  by  an  armed  force  of  rebels, 
while  assembled  to  adopt  means  for  the  salvation  of  the  country 
from  the  parricidal  hands  of  its  own  misguided  children.  Well 
do  some  of  us  remember  looking  in  on  that  Congress  on  the 
fourth  of  July,  1861,  as  they  met  in  solemn  and  determined 
counsel  to  devise  ways  and  means  to  suppress  the  rebellion.  It 
was  a  stern  lesson  for  us  to  learn.  But  the  course  of  the  rebels 
in  arms  soon  taught  us  that  if  we  had  peace  again  it  must  be 
secured  by  an  inglorious  surrender  or  a  victorious  prosecution 
of  the  war.  The  whole  people  were  aroused.  The  respor.se  to 
the  first  call  of  the  President  for  troops  exceeded  all  expecta- 
tions. Like  -the  old  heroes  and  heroines  so  justly  celebrated  in 
history,  our  fathers  and  mothers  freely  gave  up  their  best  be- 
loved on  the  altar  of  their  country.  ,' 

"  Then  said  the  mother  to  her  son, 

And  pointed  to  his  Shield; 
Come  with  it,  when  the  battle's  done, 
Or  on  it  from  the  field." 

In  the  issues  thrust  upon  us,  we  were  made  to  feel  that  we 
were  so  forced  into  the  conflict  that  we  could  not  avoid  the  war 
without  unutterable  dishonor ;  that  if  we  failed  to  subjugate  the 
rebels  with  the  men  and  means  at  our  command,  we  should 
justly  expose  ourselves  to  the  contempt  of  all  nations.  In 
short,  we  believed  that  no  army  ever  fought  in  a  more  just  and 
righteuiH  cause,  and  that  every  battle  would  add  value  to  our 
national  history.  But  for  this  conviction  of  the  righteousness 
of  our  cause,  how  could  we  comfort  the  many  mourners  who 
sent  forth  the  very  jewels  of  their  households  to  die  that  the  na- 
tion might  not  perish  ? 

"We  fought,  not  for  empire,  nor  for  power,  nor  for  the  love 
of  martial  glory,  nor  for  the  gratification  of  a  vindictive  passion, 
nor  even  for  the  abolition  of  slavery — that  great  system  of  wrong 
which  underlay  the  education  of  caste,  and  fostered  an  oligarchy 
that  would  never  rest  till  it  culminated  in  the  rebellion.  We 
fought  simply  to  preserve  our  own  from  destruction,  that  the 
Union  might  live.  But  God  included  in  the  results  the  liberty 
of  the  bondmen,  of  whom  he  said  by  his  providence,  "  Let  my 
people  go  that  they  may  serve  me."  Accordingly  he  gave  little 
success  to  our  arms  |ill  emancipation  was  proclaimed,  not  only 
as  a  measure  of  military  necessity,  but  as  an  act  of  justice. 
Regarding  the  situation,  and  the  use  our  enemies  made  of  these 
bondmen,  a  soldier  said :  "  We  are  not  fighting  to  free  the  ne- 
groes, but  we  are  freeing  the  negroes  to  stop  the  fight." 

While  we  fought  to  preserve  our  nationality,  the  Divinity 


288  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

that  shapes  our  ends  determined  the  result  should  embrace  as 
one  people,  living  under  one  government  established  by  the 
people  and  maintained  for  the  people,  the  whole  territory  from 
the  chain  of  lakes  on  the  North,  to  the  great  gulf  on  the  South, 
and  reaching  from  the  Atlantic  wave  to  the  Pacific  surge  ;  and 
that  this  whole  country  should  be  called  the  United  States  of 
America.  With  the  guiding  hand  of  Providence  so  manifest 
in  our  national  history  as  it  has  been  from  the  time  when  our 
ancestors  landed  on  Plymouth  Rock  or  planted  the  settlement 
at  Jamestown,  we  could  but  go  forward,  appealing  to  the  God 
of  battles,  pouring  out  our  treasure  and  our  blood  till  a  restored 
Union  spread  the  protection  of  our  flag  from  East  to  West,  from 
North  to  South.  The  first  year  of  the  war  a  patriot  poet  wrote 
of  that  flag : 

"  All  nature  sings  wildly  the  song  of  the  free, 
The  red  white  and  blue  float  o'er  land  and  o'er  sea : 
The  white  in  each  billow  that  breaks  on  the  shore 
The  blue  in  the  arching  that  canopies  o'er 
The  land  of  our  birth,  in  its  glory  outspread, 
And  sunset  dyes  mingle  the  stripes  of  the  red. 
Day  fades  into  night  and  the  red  stripe  retires, 
But  the  stars  on  the  blue  light  their  sentinel  fires ; 
And  though  night  be  gloomy  with  clouds  overspread, 
Every  star  keeps  its  place  in  the  arch  overhead  : 
When  the  storm  is  dispelled  and  the  tempest  is  through, 
We  shall  count  every  star  on  the  field  of  the  blue." 

Our  democratic  institutions  demand  an  equality  of  rights  for 
all  the  people,  especially  their  rights  to  "  life,  liberty,  and  the 
pursuit  of  happiness."  These  can  never  be  enjoyed  except  as 
the  requirements  of  the  Constitution  are  fulfilled,  guaranteeing 
a  republican  form  of  government  to  every  State  of  the  Union. 
It  is  true,  that  since  the  last  armed  force  of  the  rebels  surren- 
dered to  our  victorious  army,  the  Ship  of  State  has  been  tossed 
on  a  stormy  sea.  But  our  faith  in  the  Constitutional  Republic, 
as  a  ship  of  safety,  must  never  waver  so  long  as  the  star  flag 
waves  from  her  mast-head,  and  she  is  manned  by  so  many  brave 
and  true  men.  In  our  weal  and  in  our  woe,  may  God  be  our 
help. 

"  Thou,  too,  sail  on,  0  ship  of  State. 
Sail  on,  O  Union,  strong  and  great! 
Humanity,  with  all  its  fears, 
With  all  the  hopes  of  future  years, 
Is  hanging,  breathless,  on  thy  fate. 
We  know  what  Master  laid  thy  keel, 
What  workmen  wrought  thy  ribs  of  steel ; 
Who  made  each  mast  and  sail  and  rope ; 
What  anvil  rang,  what  hammers  beat ; 
In  what  a  forge,  and  what  a  heat, 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  289 

Were  spread  the  anchors  of  thy  hope. 
Fear  not  each  sudden  sound  and  shock ; 
'Tis  of  the  wave,  and  not  the  rock : 
'Tis  but  the  flapping  of  the  s.-iil ; 
And  not  a  rent  made  by  tlie  gale! 
In  spite  of  rock  and  tempest's  roar, 
In  spite  of  false  .ights,  on  the  shore, 
Sail  on !  nor  fear  to  breast  the  sea: 
Our  hearts,  our  hopes,  are  all  with  thee ; 
Our  hearts,  our  hopes,  our  prayers,  our  tears, 
Our  faith  triumphant  o'er  our  fears, 
Are  all  with  thee,  are  all  with  thee." 

God  teaches  men  and  nations  by  His  word,  and  by  the  voice 
of  His  providence  in  accordance  with  that  word.  Many  lessons 
are  never  learned  till  experience  teaches  them  by  its  stern  pro- 
cesses. When  the  war  was  upon  us,  we  felt  that  it  would  be  a 
reproach  to  our  courage,  our  patriotism,  our  intelligence,  and 
the  high  moral  tone  of  our  community,  if  we  did  not  our  utmost 
to  maintain  the  righteousness  of  our  cause.  It  is  still  a  time 
for  the  deepest  convictions  of  the  heart  to  find  full  expression. 
Men  must  be  what  they  seem.  Their  acts  must  be  approved  or 
condemned  as  they  accord  with  our  sense  of  justice.  Motives 
of  self-interest  or  mere  worldly  prudence  must  give  place  to  the 
majestic  duty  of  the  hour.  The  blessings  of  a  free  Govern- 
ment must  be  handed  down  to  the  future  generations  who  are 
to  people  this  vast  country. 

Excellence  comes  from  patient  thought  and  persevering 
labor.  Sufferings  are  antecedents  of  success.  Our  Saviour 
"for  the  joy  that  was  set  before  him  endured  the  cross  and  des- 
pised the  shame  "  of  his  humiliation.  Recognizing  the  Divine 
relation  of  hardness  endured  to  victory  secured,  let  us  pay  due 
honors  to  the  memory  of  the  patriots  of  1861  to  '65,  who  by 
their  sacritices  preserved  the  Union  founded  by  the  heroes  of 
the  Revolution  in  1776  to  '83.  Let  it  be  seen  that  the  living 
men  and  women  of  to-day  "  embalm  their  names  with  equal 
honor  and  a  common  love  ;  " 

M  And  they  who  for  their  country  die 

Shall  fill  an  honored  grave ; 
For  glory  lights  the  soldier's  tomb, 

And  beauty  weeps  the  brave." 

I  never  see  a  returned  soldier  in  the  army  blue  but  I  think  of 
him  as  a  comrade  imarms.  I  never  see  the  maimed  hero  on  his 
crutches  or  with  his  empty  sleeve,  but  my  sympathies  are  stir- 
red for  a  companion  in  perils.  I  never  see  the  wife  made  a 
widow  and  the  children  orphans  by  the  patriotic  devotion  of  a 
husband  and  father,  without  my  heart  being  moved  to  syrnpa- 
19 


290  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

thize  with  them  in  their  loss.  Well  may  the  soldier's  orphans 
prize  the  names  they  inherit,  and  the  Government  their  fathers 
died  to  save  make  them  the  pensioners  of  its  bounty.  They  are 
the  children  of  the  Republic.  God  has  made  the  nation  their 
guardians.  We  are  the  trustees  of  the  fair  fame  of  their  honor- 
ed parents.  What  a  trust !  Let  us  honor  them  in  their  pat- 
riotic devotion,  in  the  hardships  they  endured  as  good  soldiers 
for  their  country,  in  the  death  they  died  as  martyrs  to  freedom, 
and  in  the  graves  where  rest  their  mortal  remains,  many  of  them 
far  from  the  graves  of  their  kindred. 

Fellow  citizens,  the  returned  soldiers  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic  are  with  you  here  to-day,  to  pay  just  honor  to  the 
memory  of  their  fallen  companions.  We  are  here  to  strew  flow- 
ers on  their  graves,  to  recall  their  heroic  self-devotion  to  their 
country's  service  in  the  hour  of  its  peril.  We  are  here  to  honor 
the  trust  they  left  us  as  a  rich  legacy,  to  perpetuate  the  glory  of 
their  names  in  our  nation's  history ;  and  to  get  our  hearts  re- 
impressed  with  all  those  patriotic  excellencies  that  so  much 
adoni  humanity.  In  his  address  delivered  at  the  consecration 
of  the  soldiers'  cemetery  at  Gettysburg,  Everett  said :  "  It  was 
appointed  by  law  in  Athens,  that  the  obsequies  of  the  citizens 
who  fell  in  battle  should  be  performed  at  the  public  expense, 
and  in  the  most  honorable  manner.  Their  bones  were  carefully 
gathered  up  from  the  funeral  pyre,  where  their  bodies  were 
consumed,  and  brought  home  to  the  city.  There,  for  three  days 
before  the  interment,  they  lay  in  state,  beneath  tents  of  honor, 
to  receive  the  votive  offerings  of  friends  and  relatives, — flowers, 
weapons,  precious  ornaments,  painted  vases  (wonders  of  art, 
which  after  two  thousand  years  adorn  the  museums  of  modern 
Europe) — the  last  tributes  of  surviving  affection.  Ten  coflins 
of  funeral  cypress  received  the  honorable  deposit,  one  for  each 
of  the  tribes  of  the  city,  and  an  eleventh  in  memory  of  the  un- 
recognized, but  not  therefore  unhonored,  dead,  and  of  those 
whose  remains  could  not  be  removed.  On  the  fourth  day  the 
mournful  procession  was  formed ;  mothers,  wives,  sisters, 
daughters,  led  the  way,  and  to  them  it  was  permitted,  by  the 
simplicity  of  ancient  manners,  to  utter  aloud  their  lamentations, 
for  the  beloved,  and  the  lost ;  the  male  relatives  and  friends  of 
the  deceased  followed ;  citizens  and  strangers  closed  the  train. 
Thus  marshalled,  they  moved  to  the  place  of  interment  in  that 
famous  Ceramicus,  the  most  beautiful  suburb  of  Athens,  which 
had  been  adorned  by  Cimon.  the  son  of  Miltiades,  with  walks 
and  fountains  and  columns  ;  whose  groves  were  filled  with  altars, 
shrines,  and  temples ;  whose  gardens  were  ever  green  with 
streams  from  the  neighboring  hills  and  shadecl  with  trees  sacred 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  291 

to  Minerva,  and  coeval  with  the  foundation  of  the  city ;  whose 
circuit  enclosed 

"  The  olive  grove  of  Academe, 
Plato's  retirement,  where  the  Attic  bird, 
Trilled  his  thick-warbled  note,  the  summer  long ;  " 

whose  pathways  gleamed  with  the  monuments  of  the  illustrious 
dead,  the  work  of  the  most  consummate  masters  that  ever  gave 
life  to  marble.  There  beneath  the  over-arching  plane  trees, 
upon  a  lofty  stage  erected  for  the  purpose,  it  was  ordained  by 
law,  that  a  funeral  oration  should  be  pronounced  by  some  citi- 
zen of  Athens,  in  the  presence  of  the  assembled  multitude. 
"Such  were  the  tokens  of  respect  required  by  law  to  be  paid  at 
Athens  to  the  memory  of  those  who  had  fallen  in  the  cause  of 
their  country."  It  is  no  less  appropriate,  that  we  as  Ameri- 
cans, native  and  naturalized,  come  to  these  graves  of  our  citi- 
zen soldiers  in  this  solemn  procession,  and  with  appropriate 
services  adorn  their  low  graves  with  our  floral  offerings. 

The  custom  of  decorating  graves  with  flowers  prevailed 
among  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  Simonides  wrote  for  Sopho- 
cles' epitaph, 

"  Wind  gentle  evergreen  to  form  a  shade 
Around  tlie  tomb  where  Sophocles  is  laid, 
Sweet  ivy,  wind  thy  boughs  and  intertwine 
With  blushing  roses  and  the  clustering  vine ; 
So  shall  thy  lasting  leaves  with  beauty  hung, 
Prove  a  fit  emblem  for  the  lays  he  sung." 

This  custom  is  still  observed  in  England,  Wales,  Germany,  and 
the  United  States.  It  is  a  custom  full  of  eloquent  appeals  to 
the  hearts  of  sorrowing  survivors,  and  is  fraught  with  such  asso- 
ciations as  induce  an  elevation  of  sentiment,  and  a  poetry  of 
feeling  adapted  to  modify  our  grief  and  invest  the  sepulchre 
with  the  kindly  emotions  of  hope  and  immortality. 

u  On  the  earth,  the  thorns  and  roses  are  blending 
And  beauty  immortal  awakes  from  the  tomb." 

The  bridal  and  the  burial  have  alike  sought  their  richest  em- 
blems among  these  fairest  symbols  of  beauty  and  decay.  The 
old  Romans  not  only  used  flowers  for  personal  decoration  but 
made  them  the  accessories  of  religion.  These  delicate  em- 
blems adorned  their  priests,  altars  and  sacrifices.  Their  statues' 
were  crowned  with  them.  Hence  Venus  was  represented  wear- 
ing roses,  Juno  with  the  lily,  and  Ceres  with  her  hair  en- 
twined with  wheat  and  poppies.  With  cypress  they  decked 
the  dwellings  of  the  dead,  because  if  once  cut  down  it  will  not 


292  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

spring  np  again.  It  had  a  true  significance  with  them,  because 
they  neld  death  to  be  an  eternal  sleep.  With  a  more  cheering 
faith,  we  plant  in  its  ste^d  the  evergreen  and  those  redolent 
flowers,  whose  roots  being  buried  rise  again. 

"  The  little  flowrets  raise  their  heads, 
And  bloom  as  gayly  on  the  grave, 
As  if  reposing  on  such  beds, 

As  nature  to  her  children  gave." 

Our  minds  are  involuntarily  disposed  to  pensive  musings  when 
we  stand  beside  these  morfnds  decorated  with  the  floral  emblems 
of  affectionate  remembrance.  We  dwell  in  fondest  recollections 
on  the  excellencies  that  adorned  the  character  of  the  loved  and 
lamented.  But  the  highest  hopes  of  this  life  are  often  like  the 
brightest  of  earth's  flowers,  the  soonest  faded.  The  rosy  light 
of  youth's  soft  cheek  is  gone,  the  mystic  charm  is  broken,  the 
vital  tide  ceases  to  flow,  and  the  idols  of  our  hearts,  "  the  war- 
rior and  the  son  of  song,"  are  laid  beneath  the  sod.  The  song 
of  joy  is  changed  to  dirge-like  strains.  The  heart-strings  are 
swept  by  mournful  emotions.  The  eye  is  dimmed  by  tears  of 
sorrow;  and  sadness  fills  the  home  of  the  bereaved.  Then  do 
we  invoke  the  -symbolic  language  of  Flora,  as  the  most  eloquent 
of  all  tongues,  and  with  her  oratory  of  perfumed  silence  tell 
alike  of  a  mother's  love  or  a  sister's  affection.  No  word  spoken 
can  rival  the  delicacy  of  sentiment  expressed  by  this  vocabu- 
lary. 

"  In  Eastern  lands  they  talk  in  flowers. 

And  they  tell  in  a  garland  their  loves  and  cares ; 
Each  blossom  that  blooms  in  their  garden  bowers, 
On  its  leaves  a  mvstic  language  bears." 

The  flowers  on  the  grave,  bright  and  fresh,  or  faded  and  wither- 
ing, speak  to  the  heart  in  language  too  plain  to  be  misunder- 
stood, and  tell  of  the  changing  nature  of  all  things  here,  where 
"  we  all  do  fade  as  a  leaf."  The  words  of  men  die  away  and  are 
forgotten.  The  tones  of  the  minstrel  and  the  cadences  of  the 
orator  are  fleeting  as  the  song  of  summer  birds.  But  the  great 
truths  which  God  has  written  upon  the  flowers  with  which  we 
deck  these  graves,  are  everlasting. 

On  the  eve  of  triumph,  Nelson  flung  to  the  breeze  from  the 
mast-head  of  his  ship  this  memorable  signal,  "  Westminster 
Abbey  or  Victory."  It  was  an  appeal  to  the  deep  sanctities  of 
the  human  heart,  for  there  rested  the  ashes  of  their  heroes. 
When  our  fallen  braves  said,  "  Give  us  liberty  or  give  us  death" 
they  too  appealed  to  the  highest  instincts  of  humanity.  Let 
this  cemetery  where  their  sacred  dust  is  entombed,  by  the  sweet 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        293 

gliding  Otzinachson,  be  our  Westminster  Abbey.  Hither  mav 
we  come  from  year  to  year,  as  on  this  May  day  when  the  earth 
is  in  its  richest  sunlight,  and  the  beauty  and  bounty  of  nature 
unite  -to  impress  us  with  the  fitness  of  all  God's  handiwork 
— here  may  we  come,  laden  with  the  bright,  beautiful  flowers, 
and  a>  we  strew  them  upon  the  graves  of  our  heroic  dead, 
repeat  the  story  of  their  self-sacrificing  devotion.  Let  us  re- 
count their  services  and  their  virtues.  The  eye  shall  kindle 
at  tlie  remembrance.  The  lip  shall  quiver  at  the  thought.  The 
heart  shall  leap  with  the  emotion.  And  from  these  and  other 
soldiers'  sepulchres  shall  go  out  a  succession  of  patriot  heroes, 
that  shall  perpetuate  their  virtues  while  they  immortalize  their 
glorious  names. 

"  They  never  fail  who  die 

In  a  crent  cause  :  the  block  may  soak  their  gore, 

Their  heads  may  sodden  in  the  sun  ;  their  limbs 

]>e  >trung  to  city  jiates  or  castle  walls  ; 

But  still  tlieir  spirit  walks  abroad.     Though  years 

Eiapso,  and  others  share  as  dark  a  doom, 

They  but  augment  the  deep  and  sweeping  thoughts 

"Which  overspread  all  others,  and  conduct 

The  world  at  last  to  freedom." 

May  He  who  gave  to  our  fathers  a  Washington,  and  to  us 
a  Lincoln,  make  us  all  worthy  of  his  favors.  May  He  preserve 
our  country  through  all  coming  time  as  an  asylum  for  the  op- 
pressed of  all  lands ;  and  make  us  worthy  of  the  patriotism  by 
which  our  liberties  were  secured  and  maintained. 

"Let  Spain  boast  her  treasures  that  grow  in  her  mines, 
Let  Gallia  rejoice  in  her  olives  and  vines ; 
In  bright  sparkling  jewels  let  India  prevail, 
With  her  odors  Arabia  perfume  every  gale. 
'Tis  Columbia  alone  that  cm  boast  of  the  soil 
"Where  the  fair  fruits  of  virtue  aud  liberty  smile." 

After  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Meech's  oration,  a  song  was 
sung  by  the  Glee  Club.  After  a  very  brief  address  by  Rev.  B. 
F.  Stevens,  and  music  by  the  band,  the  benediction  was  pro- 
nounced by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Sherlock,  of  Baltimore,  and  the  party 
retired  from  the  cemetery. 

AT  HUNTINGDON,  PENN. 

The  procession  was  organized  at  the  Court-House.  It  was 
preceded  by  the  Huntingdon  Silver  Cornet  Band,  followed  by 
the  Officers  of  the  Post  and  others  with  appropriate  badges  of 
mourning,  the  clergymen  of  the  place,  and  a  large  portion  of 
our  citizens,  and  to  the  music  of  the  muffled  drum,  the  band 


294  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

playing  the  dead  march,  and  the  mournful  tolling  of  the  bells 
-  from  every  church-tower  in  the  place,  the  solemn  and  impressive 
march  was  taken  toward  the  city  of  the  dead. 

On  arriving  at  the  cemetery,  a  prayer  was  offered  by  Rev. 
J.  W.  Plannett,  after  which  a  brief  address  to  the  assemblage 
was  delivered  by  Hon.  John  Scott,  substantially  as  follows : 

SOLDIERS  AND  CITIZENS  :  When  called  upon,  an  hour  or  two 
ago,  to  deliver  a  short  address  to  the  people  assembled  here  to- 
day, my  answer  was,  that  upon  such  an  occasion  I  could  not 
say  "  no ; "  and  I  almost  felt  as  though  I  ought  not  to  say 
"  yes."  But,  upon  reflection,  perhaps  it  is  as  well  that  he  who 
addresses  you  to-day  should  not  have  been  called  upon  to  think 
— for  really,  what  is  to  be  said  is  more  a  matter  of  feeling  than 
of  thought ;  and  the  struggle  with  me  is  to  suppress  that  feeling, 
and  find  words  to  give  utterance  to  appropriate  thoughts  on  this 
occasion.  We  are  met  as  citizens,  at  the  request  of  the  surviving 
soldiers,  for  the  purpose  of  doing  honor  to  the  memory  of  their 
comrades  who  have  given  their  lives  as  a  sacrifice  on  the  altar 
of  their  country,  and  in  the  sentiment,  if  not  in  the  language  of 
the  address  read  in  our  hearing,  as  "  the  price  of  an  undivided 
Republic."  And  is  it  not  fitting  to  thus  assemble?  is  it  not 
recognizing  a  feeling  that  has  animated  every  people  and  every 
nation  that  has  ever  been  worthy  to  claim  and  enjoy  a  place  and 
a  name  amongst  the  people  and  nations  of  the  earth  ?  When 
we  look  abroad,  we  find  that  England  has  her  Westminster 
Abbey,  where  her  honored  dead,  in  literature,  in  arms,  and  from 
every  condition  and  walk  of  life,  find  an  honored  place;  and 
when  we  cross  the  Channel,  we  find  the  streets  of  Paris  adorned 
with  the  statues  of  those  whose  names  have  been  rendered  fa- 
mous by  fighting  the  battles  of  their  country.  There  trophies 
of  victory  are  cast  into  monuments  to  hand  down  to  posterity 
the  names  of  those  who  have  achieved  those  victories,  and  thus 
serve  to  indicate  the  gratitude  of  the  natio^  even  after  the  na- 
tion itself  has  gone  down  to  dust ;  while  the  citizens  who  love 
their  memory  gather  annually  to  strew  flowers  upon  their 
tombs.  Is  it  not  right  that  among  the  boys  and  girls  that  sur- 
round me  here  to-day,  the  feeling  be  inspired,  that  if  their  coun- 
try needs  their  services,  they  go  to  the  discharge  of  a  high  duty 
— an  honored  one  if  they  survive  it,  and  a  glorious  death  if  they 
fall  ?  Is  it  not  right  that  the  boys  here  to-day  be  taught  this 
sublime  sentiment,  as  they  stand  around  the  flag  with  those  who 
scatter  flowers  on  the  graves  of  those  that  have  died  in  defence 
of  that  flag  ;  and  can  it  be  possible  that  there  are  any  who  are 
unwilling  that  it  should  be  so  taught  ?  I  do  not  believe  that 
any  are.  It  is  proper — it  is  right.  We  come  here  to-day,  not 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  295 

so  much  to  mourn  over  the  dead,  as  to  inculcate  their  example 
and  give  encouragement  to  those  who  survive.  Oh,  the  price 
we  have  paid  for  the  peace  we  this  day  enjoy  !  How  long  since 
trembling  hearts,  now  in  the  enjoyment  of  security  and  peace, 
were  listening  for  the  roar  of  hostile  cannon  to  come  up  through 
the  gaps  of  our  mountains  from  the  Shenaudoah  and  the  Poto- 
mac '.  "\Ve  are  now  in  the  enjoyment  of  tranquillity  and  peace ; 
and  to  whom  do  we  owe  it?  Can  you  believe  it — I  could  Dot, 
till  told,  a  few  minutes  ago,  by  one  of  the  surviving  friends — 
that  twenty-seven  of  the  young  men  who  went  out  from  our 
midst  a  few  years  ago,  to  stand  between  us  and  the  enemy,  this 
day  lie  sleeping  in  this  cemetery  ?  What  would  we  say  to-day, 
if  asked  to  offer  up  twenty-seven  of  the  living  who  stand  around 
us  as  a  sacrifice  for  any  earthly  object  ?  And  when  you  scatter 
this  all  over  this  broad  land,  from  every  viljage  and  every  haua- 
let  and  every  city  ;  when  you  multiply  the  great  host  that  have 
gone  down  to  the  city  of  the  dead,  that  we  to-day  might  stand 
here  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  liberties  for  which  they  fought,  oh, 
how  great  the  sacrifice !  Is  there  not  a  lesson  of  encourage- 
ment to  their  surviving  comrades  ;  and  is  there  not  a  lesson  of 
endurance  and  patriotism  to  those  who  are  enjoying  the  fruits 
of  the  sacrifices  and  toils  of  the  dead  ?  These  men  have  buried 
their  comrades  ;  they  are  here  to-day  -to  do  them  honor.  There 
are  those  around  us  who  have  buried  sons,  brothers,  and  hus- 
bands ;  and  oh,  what  a  price  have  they  paid  for  this  security  ! 
And  ought  it  not  to  be  a  shame,  a  blistering  shame,  when  we 
look  at  the  price  that  only  one  of  those  bereaved  ones  have  paid 
in  dropping  a  tear  over  the  graves  of  the  departed  dead,  ought 
it  not  to  be  a  shame  for  any  man  to  grumble  when  called  upon 
to  pay  a  small  tax  in  dollars  and  cents  to  support  the  Govern- 
ment for  which  these  men  died?  This  is  another  lesson  which 
should  sink  deep  into  the  hearts  of  the  boys  here  to-day,  that,  if 
another  war  should  come  in  defence  of  the  old  Flag,  that  the 
race  of  soldiers  is  not  run  out.  We  come  to  learn  this  lesson 
and  to  pay  this  tribute  of  respect  and  reverence  to  the  mem- 
ory of  the  dead  ;  and  while  we  mourn  that  they  are  dead,  we 
come  to  do  them  honor,  not  merely  to  mourn  for  them,  although 
the  flag  is  clad  in  mourning,  and  a  badge  of  sorrow  is  on  each 
soldier's  arm.  ThAe  men  have  gone  down  as  soldiers ;  and 
there  are  some,  too,  Vho  have  gone  down  as  soldiers,  whose  re- 
mains are  not  here — some,  who  went  away  buoyant  with  life, 
but  whose  friends  have  not  even  the  poor  consolation  of  know- 
ing that  their  remains  are  here ;  but  although  their  mortal  re- 
mains are  not  here,  they  are  here  in  spirit  to-day,  and  we  are 
here  to  do  them  honor,  too.  Oh,  there  is  many  a  battle-field, 


296  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

every  turf  of  which,  to  borrow  the  language  of  another,  is  a 
"  soldier's  sepulchre  ;  "  and  as  the  people  come  to  strew  flowers 
over  the  graves  of  these  that  are  here,  they  are  now  planting 
laurels  all  over  the  Wilderness  and  the  battle-fields  of  the  South, 
that  will  bring  forth  fruits  of  patriotism  in  the  future,  when  this 
shall  be,  as  it  will  be,  an  undivided  Republic.  No,  we  come 
not  to  mourn  these  men. 

"  They  have  been  mourned  as  brave  men  mourn  the  brave, 
And  wept  as  nations  weep  their  cherished  dead — 
With  bitter,  but  proud  tears  ;  and  o'er  their  heads 
The  eternal  flowers,  whose  root  is  in  the  grave, 
The  flowers  of  fame,  are  beautiful  and  green, 
And  by  their  grave's-side  pilgrim  feet  have  been, 
And  blessings  pure  as  men  to  martyrs  give, 
Have  there  been  breathed  by  those  they  died  to  serve. 
They  lived  as  mothers  wished  their  sons  to  live  ; 
They  died  as  fathers  wished  their  sons  to  die  ;  " 

and  having  done  so,  we  are  not  here  simply  to  mourn  their  loss, 
but  to  reverence  their  memory  and  to  Ijpnor  them  for  their 
deeds,  with  the  desire  that  the  Government  which  they  lived 
and  labored  and  died  for  should  long  continue  to  recognize  the 
debt  of  gratitude  it  owes  them,  and  those  they  have  left  behind 
them  ;  and  in  this  spirit,  fellow-citizens,  let  us  come  and  offer 
"  flowers,  sweet  flowers,"  over  the  graves  of  the  departed. 
When  God  made  man,  He  placed  him  in  the  Garden,  and  the 
first  book  from  which  he  read  God's  love  was  the  pure  leaves 
and  bright  foliage  of  the  flowers ;  and  when  He  drove  him  out 
from  the  Garden  and  from  His.  presence,  He  gave  as  a  compen- 
sation those  bright  flowers  which  come  up  everywhere  to  bud 
and  blossom  and  open  toward  heaven.  Let  us  now  go  and  scat- 
ter these  sweet  memorials  over  the  graves  of  our  honored  dead, 
that  their  fragrance  may,  mingled  with  our  prayers  for  the  land 
they  died  to  save,  ascend  heavenward. 

The  list  of  fallen  soldiers  interred  in  the.cemetery  was  then 
announced  by  Mr.  M.  S.  Lytle,  Senior  Vice-Commander,  as 
follows:  Yalentine  Bearing,  Co.  F,  125th  P.  Y.  I.;  Alfred 
M'Allister,  Co.  H,  do. ;  Ulric-h  Paul,  Co.  F,  do. ;  Benjamin  Wil- 
liams, Co.  C,  do. ;  Leonard  Moebus,  Co.  K,  do. ;  George  Africa, 
Co.  C,  do. ;  William  Friedley,  Co.  F,  do. ;  William  Corbin,  Co. 
H,  do. ;  James  D.  Cunningham,  Co.  B,  do. ;  William  K.  Rohm, 
Co.  B,  do. ;  Col.  J.  Blanchard  Miles,  do. ;  G.  Alfred  Westbrook, 
Co.  D,  do. ;  David  Lamp,  do. ;  William  H.  Long,  Co.  B,  147th 
P.  V.  I. ;  William  Glazier,  Co.  B,  do. ;  J.  H.  Thompson,  Co. 
1),  5th  P.  Y.  I. ;  Edward  K.  Nash,  do. ;  Maj.  William  H.  Rus- 
sell ;  John  Fletcher,  Bat.  D,  1st  P.  Y.  Art. ;  Wilbur  H.  Kins- 
ley, 145th  P.  Y. ;  George  D.  White,  Co.  I,  5th  Pa.  Reserves ; 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  297 

Surgeon  H.  K.  Neff,  8th,  do. ;  John  M.  Beamer,  Co.  A,  110th 
P.  V .  I.  ;  Joseph  Leftard,  Co.  D,  148th,  do. ;  Jonathan  Mor- 
gan ;  John  Corbin ;  William  P.  Anderson,  U.  S.  A.  ;  William 
J'>arrick;  Fred'k  Snyder,  Napoleon's  army;  Maj.  D.  McMur- 
trio.  After  which  the  procession  of  soldiers  was  re-formed, 
every  soldier's  grave  visited  in  turn,  and  every  funeral  mound 
garlanded  with  a  wreath  of  laurel  and  bouquet  of  wild  flowers. 

AT  WASHINGTON,  PENN. 

The  soldiers  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  and  other  soldiers,  formed  im- 
mediately at  1  o'clock  P.  M.,  in  front  of  their  hall  on  Beau 
street,  and,  preceded  by  the  Marshals,  the  brass  band,  and  mar- 
tial music,  proceeded  to  the  two  graveyards  situated  in  the  lim- 
its of  the  borough.  On  arriving  there,  the  graves  were,  under 
the  direction  of  General  Hall,  one  of  the  Executive  Committee, 
and  Capt.  J.  S.  Stocking,  in  command  of  the  company,  properly 
decorated  with  flowers  and  pine  wreaths.  After  which,  a  salute 
of  three  rounds  was  tired  over  the  graves  by  the  company. 
During  the  decoration,  while  the  soldiers  in  line  were  marching 
from  grave  to  grave  in  pursuance  of  their  sad  duty,  the  band 
discoursed  appropriate  music.  The  ceremony  over,  the  pro- 
(•i'>-ion  marched  back  to  the  Court-House,  when  it  was  joined 
by  the  Union  Literary  Society  of  Washington  and  Jefferson 
College,  and  citizens.  Each  soldier  in  line  having  been  pre- 
senU-il  with  a  beautiful  pine  wreath  and  bouquet,  the  whole  pro- 

-:<>n  now  marched  for  the  cemetery.  On  arriving  there,  the 
exercises  were  opened  with  prayer  by  Rev.  Dr.  Brownson, 

The  ladies  then  sang  a  beautiful  song. 

I^ev.  Dr.  Davidson  delivered  the  following  speech : 

SOLDIERS  or  THE  GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC,  AND  FEL- 
LOW-CITIZENS :  In  accepting  the  invitation  to  address  you  on  this 
occasion,  I  imposed  upon  myself  a  task,  to  the  adequate  per- 
formance of  which  I  now  find  I  am  wholly  incompetent.  Its 
demands  have  proved  to  be  far  greater  than  I  had  anticipated. 
Moreover,  I  am  painfully  conscious  that  what  I  may  say  will 
fall  far  short  of  meeting  the  expectations  which  are  necessarily 
created  by  the  novelty  and  importance  of  the  occasion,  and  the 
solemnity  of  the  pAce.  I  must  therefore  earnestly  ask  your 
indulgence,  and  beg  you  to  hear  me  with  clemency.  First  of 
all  permit  me  to  say,  that  the  place  of  our  assembling  to-day  is 
not  only  peculiar,  but  it  is  well  calculated  to  peculiarly  impress 
U8.  to  make  us  more  than  ordinarily  serious  and  thoughtful. 
We  are  here,  in  this  quiet  and  beautiful  cemetery — this  lovely, 
consecrated  resting-place  of  the  dead.  We  dare  not  be  trifling 


298  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

if  we  would.  Every  thing  here  is  inviting  us  to  the  observance 
of  the  strictest  decorum — is  bidding  us  both  speak  and  hear 
with  gravity,  with  reverence,  and  with  awe.  Above  us  is  the 
deep  blue  vault  of  heaven,  down  from  which  the  all-seeing  eye 
of  Jehovah  is  looking  directly  upon  us ;  and  other  eyes  also, 
perhaps.  Around  us  are  these  mute  yet  loudly  speaking  monu- 
ments and  remembrancers  of  our  own  frailty  and  mortality. 
Beneath  us  is  the  very  ground  in  which  the  graves  of  some  of 
us  will  shortly  be  dug — graves  around  which  our  Mends  will 
mournfully  and  weepingly  gather,  while  over  our  bodies,  then 
cold  and  silent,  will  be  solemnly  said,  "  Earth  to  earth,  ashes  to 
ashes,  dust  to  dust."  How,  then,  can  we  be  otherwise  than  seri- 
ous and  solemn?  But  the  object  of  our  assembling  is  also 
peculiar.  Never  before  were  we  here,  in  an  associated  capacity, 
for  a  similar  purpose.  On  other  occasions  when  we  came,  it 
was  to  bury  the  dead ;  now  we  are  here  to  revive  and  honor  the 
memory  of  those  already  buried — those  over  whose  sleeping- 
places,  in  most  cases,  the  green  grass  has  now  been  growing  for 
more  than  one  summer.  We  are  here,  actuated,  we  trust,  by 
the  spirit  of  true  patriotism,  to  scatter  flowers  on  the  graves  of 
Union  soldiers — the  graves  of  our  nation's  martyred  heroes. 
Those  brave  and  noble  men  who  fought  and  bled  in  freedom's 
cause ;  men  who  cheerfully  and  heroically  laid  their  lives  as  a 
sacrifice  on  their  country's  altar ;  men  who,  when  they  saw 
their  country's  flag  smitten  down  and  trailed  in  the  dust  by 
traitors'  hands,  impelled  by  the  same  spirit  of  patriotism  that 
fired  the  hearts  and  nerved  the  arms  of  our  Revolutionary  fath- 
ers, sprang  to  arms,  and  rushed  to  the  field  to  rescue  that  flag  ; 
and  there,  amid  the  smoke  and  thunder  of  battle,  did  rescue  it, 
and,  lifting  it  up,  once  more  planted  it  on  the  ramparts  of  Free- 
dom, where  it  now  waves  more  gracefully  and  proudly  than 
ever  before, 

"  O'er  the  land  of  the  free, 
And  the  home  of  the  brave." 

It  is  to  do  honor  to  the  memory  of  these  glorious  champions, 
these  immortal  heroes,  that  we  are  here  to-day.  By  the  simple 
act  we  perform,  chiefly  through  the  patriotic  and  tasteful  min- 
istrations of  fair  hands — by  this  appropriate,  expressive,  happily- 
conceived  ceremony,  we  purpose,  not  only  to  make  beautiful 
and  render  fragrant  the  graves  in  which  these  heroes  sleep,  but 
to  so  revive  and  enshrine  their  deeds  and  memory  in  our 
hearts,  that  we  may  be  able  to  cherish  them  there  as  long  as  we 
live,  and  then  transmit  them  as  a  rich  legacy  to  our  children 
after  us.  What  we  here  do,  then,  is  not  only  peculiar,  but  it  is 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  299 

commendable — highly  commendable.  It  is  the  plain,  the 
obvious  dictate,  not  only  of  humanity  but  of  religion.  It  is  but 
the  fitting  tribute  of  an  enlightened  and  sanctified  patriotism. 
It  is  not  political,  but  patriotic ;  it  is  not  partisan,  but  national. 
It  must,  therefore,  commend  itself  to  the  cordial  approval  of 
every  truly  loyal  citizen  of  the  nation,  no  matter  to  what  section 
of  the  country  he  belongs,  nor  with  what  political  party  he 
stands  identified.  It  challenges  our  credulity  to  the  utmost,  to 
believe  that  any  one,  save  a  rebel  by  name,  or  a  rebel  in  heart, 
can  disapprove  of  what  we  here  do.  Who  that  loves  his  coun- 
try, who  that  prizes  constitutional  liberty,  who  that  honors  the 
"  dear  old  flag,"  does  not  reverence  in  his  heart  of  hearts  the 
memory  of  those  heroic  men  by  whose  valor,  and  blood,  and  life, 
we  to-day  have  a  country  to  love,  constitutional  liberty  to  prize, 
and  the  "dear  old  flag  "  around  which  we  may  yet,  thank  God, 
rally ;  around  which  we  do  rally  ;  around  which  we  will  ever 
rally.  Lives  there  a  man  among  us,  who  from  hostility  to  the 
cause  for  which  our  brave  men  gave  their  lives,  refuses  to  join 
us  iu  the  ceremonies  of  this  day  ?  who  will  not  bring  his  garland 
of  flowers  to  decorate  their  graves  ?  Lives  there  such  a  man  ? 
If  so,  God  pity  him,  God  pity  him.  Verily  he  deserves  not  the 
name  of  an  American  citizen.  I  was  about  to  say,  and  I  will 
say  it,  that  man  is  "  tit  for  treason,  stratagems  and  spoils — trust 
him  not."  The  liberties  of  the  country  are  not  safe  in  his 
hands  ;  not  safer  than  is  the  life  of  a  man  in  the  hands  of  the 
midnight  assassin.  Such  an  oue  deserves  not  to  share  the  ben- 
edictions of  this  glorious  land — he  ought  to  be  expatriated. 
And  if  there  be  one  spot  on  God's  footstool  more  barren  than 
another ;  if  there  be  one  country  in  which  despotism  andx  anar- 
chy reign  in  their  most  fearful  forms,  'tis  there  he  deserves  to 
live,  and  there  he  deserves  to  die.  We  now  repeat  it,  the  object 
for  which  we  are  assembled  is  a  commendable  one — highly  com- 
mendable. It  must  command  the  cordial  approval  of  every 
loyal  heart  in  the  country.  Our  nation  is  indebted  for  its  exis- 
tence, under  God,  to  every  loyal  State  in  the  Union ;  but  to 
none  more  deeply  than  the  good  old  Keystone  State  of  which 
we  are  proud  to  be  called  citizens.  As  from  the  beginning, 
Pennsylvania  has  had  the  honor  of  being  the  Keystone  of  that 
beautiful  arch  on  \Jfcich  the  Federal  Union,  has  thus  far,  so 
securely  rested,  so  now  she  has  the  additional  honor  of  having 
been,  during  our  late  national  struggle,  the  wall  of  adamant,  the 
wall  of  fire,  beyond  which  the  armed  host  of  secession  could 
never  pass.  Twice  they  tried  it ;  but  twice  they  failed.  The 
God  of  battles  seemed  to  have  said  to  them,  "  Thus  far  shall  ye 
go  but  no  farther,  and  here  shall  your  devastating  march  be 


300  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

stayed."  Gettysburg  proved  to  be  the  fatal  Waterloo  to  the 
Confederate  armies.  There  victory  turned  on  the  side  of  the 
Union  cause ;  there  freedom  throttled  despotism,  and  there  lib- 
erty triumphed  gloriously.  On  that  famous  battle-Held,  now 
transformed  into  a  national  cemetery  for  Union  soldiers,  it 
was  decided,  by  a  three  days'  sanguinary  struggle,  that  "  the 
government  of  tlie  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people, 
shall  not  perish  from  the  face  of  the  earth."  Gettysburg  is 
henceforth  to  be  immortal.  But  Pennsylvania  was  not  only  the 
wall  of  adamant,  the  wall  of  fire,  to  the  Union  cause ;  not  only 
furnished  the  soil  on  which  the  great  decisive  battle  of  the  war 
was  fought ;  but  she  also  furnished  her  full  quota  of  both  men 
and  means  to  prosecute  the  war.  Of  her  record  in  this  regard, 
she  may'be  justly  proud.  No  officers  in  the  whole  army  were 
more  gallant  than  hers  ;  no  soldiers  more  brave.  They  fought 
hard  and  well.  They  made  for  themselves  an  honorable  record. 
Their  deeds  of  valor  are  inscribed  on  a  scroll  that  is  imperisha- 
ble. Their  fame  is  destined  to  be  perpetuated  as  long  as  Amer- 
ican Independence  endures.  And  God  grant  that  may  be  while 
the  world  stands.  But  in  all  this  glory  of  Pennsylvania,  our 
own  patriotic  county  claims  no  meager  share.  Her  men  and 
her  means  were  freely  given.  She  sent,  in  all,  more  than  twenty- 
five  hundred  men ;  the  equivalent  of  two  full  regiments  and  a 
half  of  her  best  sons  to  swell  the  ranks  of  the  Union  army. 
These  did  brave  work ;  heroically  endured  the  fatigue  of  the 
march,  the  privations  of  the  bivouac  and  camp,  and  stood  by 
their  colors  in  the  fierceness  of  the  battle.  Many  of  these, 
through  God's  kind  providence,  lived  to  see  the  cause  for  which 
they  fought  triumph,  and  to  return  in  peace  to  their  homes  and 
friends,  bearing  on  their  brows  the  laurels  of  victory.  Most  of 
them  remain  with  us.  A  goodly  number  participate  in  these 
ceremonies.  Not  a  few  bear  about  with  them  the  visible  marks 
and  scars  of  their  valor  and  daring.  Honor  to  them  all,  immor- 
tal honor !  And  Heaven's  richest  benedictions  be  theirs  now 
and  forever ! 

But,  alas !  alas !  many  of  her  twenty-five  hundred  never 
came  back.  Poor  fellows  !  some  of  them  fell  in  beittle,  some 
lingered  and  died  in  hospitals,  and  a  few  perished  in  those  ac- 
cursed Southern  prisons — in  all,  not  much  short,  if  any,  of  eight 
hundred.  Only  think  of  that !  Eight  hundred  of  our  noblest 
citizens  sacrificing  their  lives  to  save  the  country — to  save  the 
country  for  us !  Immortal  honors  to  these  immortal  heroes ! 
Some  of  them  sleep  in  these  graves  here  before  us ;  some  in 
other  parts  of  this  cemetery ;  and  others  in  various  burying- 
grouncls  throughout  the  country.  It  is  on  these  and  similar 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        301 

graves  all  over  this  great  .Republic  that  a  loyal  people  to-day 
scatters  flowers.  We  gladly  join  these  loyal  millions ;  and 
\vhile  we  make  beautiful  and  render  fragrant  the  graves  of  our 
sleeping  heroes,  we  would  at  the  same  time  catch  the  inspira- 
tion of  their  sublime  patriotism,  and  swear  eternal  hostility  to 
treason  and  rebellion,  in  every  form  and  in  every  place.  Here 
would  be  a  fitting  place  to  close  these  remarks,  but  a  few  words 
more  must  be  added.  When  the  brave  ones  fell  at  whose 
graves  we  to-day  gather,  many  a  heart  was  made  to  bleed ; 
many  a  father  and  many  a  mother  uttered  bitter  lamentations  ; 
many  a  wife  was  doomed  to  the  darkness  and  desolation  of  wid- 
owhood ;  many  a  child  to  the  helplessness  of  orphanage.  To 
all  these  let  our  profoundest  sympathies  be  extended.  And 
may  the  day  never  come  when  the  gratitude  of  this  nation  shall 
allow  these  widows  or  these  orphans  to  want  for  any  thing. 
The  flowers  we  strew  to-day  will  soon  wither  and  die.  To-mor- 
row they  will  be  gone.  We  need,  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of 
our  heroic  dead,  something  more  enduring — something  that  the 
summer's  sun  cannot  consume  nor  the  winter's  frost  destroy. 
That  something  is  a  beautiful  monument  or  memorial  chapel, 
erected  on  that  eligible  spot  in  this  cemetery  appropriated  to 
that  purpose.  All  that  is  needed  is  the  money.  That  the  peo- 
ple of  the  county  have.  A  part  of  it  has  already  been  secured. 
Four  thousand  dollars  have  been  collected,  and  are  invested  in 
Government  bonds.  Two  thousand  more  are  subscribed,  and 
can  be  had  when  needed.  But  these  six  thousand  dollars  are 
little  more  than  half  enough  to  build  such  a  monument  or  chapel 
as  your  committee  think  will  be  worthy  of  the  object  contem- 
plated, or  will  satisfy  the  wishes  of  the  people  of  the  county. 
A  cheap  one  can  be  erected  with  the  money  already  secured  ; 
and,  we  are  authorized  to  say,  it  will  be,  unless  measures  are 
promptly  inaugurated  to  increase  the  fund.  If  this  is  done  we 
shall  all  be  sorry  ;  we  shall  be  heartily  ashamed  of  ourselves. 
Will  not  some  one  move  again  in  this  cause  ?  An  earnest  ap- 
peal to  the  people  is  all  that  is  needed.  The  money  will  be 
forthcoming.  We  commend  the  subject  to  all  concerned,  but 
most  earnestly  and  confidently  to  the  soldiers  of  the  G.  A.  R. 
If  they  undertake  the  work  in  good  earnest,  it  will  be  done. 
riiicn,  on  some  may-day  a  year  hence,  if  we  live,  we  shall  gather 
hcTcf  again,  not  only  to  strew  flowers  on  the  graves  of  our  heroic 
dead,  but  to  dedicate  a  monument  on  which,  or  a  chapel,  on  the 
tablets  of  which  shall  be  inscribed  the  name  of  every  deceased 
Union  soldier  of  the  county — a  monument  or  a  chapel  on  which 
we  ourselves  may  look  with  pleasure  and  pride ;  and  on  which 
generations  coming  after  us  may  also  look  with  pleasure  and 


302  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

pride,  while  they  contemplate  it  as  the  tribute  of  the  hearts  and 
the  work  of  the  hands  of  their  patriotic  ancestors. 

And  now,  peace  to  the  ashes  of  all  the  soldiers  of  the  Union 
who  sleep  in  their  graves  ;  and  to  all  who  still  survive,  prosper- 
ity and  happiness  here,  and  glory  immortal  hereafter.  And 
thou,  *'  dear  old  Flag,"  around  which  we  rally,  still  beautiful 
with  thy  stripes  and  bright  with  thy  stars,  wave  on,  wave  on, 
peacefully  and  proudly, 

"  O'er  the  land  of  the  free, 
And  the  home  of  the  brave." 

After  Dr.  Davidson  closed,  the  ladies  sang  another  song,  and 
the  decoration  of  the  graves  was  proceeded  with.  The  number 
of  soldiers'  graves  decorated  was  forty,  one  of  the  graves  being 
that  of  Lieut.  Joseph  Irons,  of  the  1st  U.  S.  Artillery  (an  officer 
on  General  Cadvvallader's  staff  at  the  battle  of  Churubusco), 
who  fell  August  19,1847.  Lieutenant  Irons  was  as  brave  a 
soldier  as  ever  drew  a  sword,  was  known  everywhere  as  a  daring 
man,  beloved  by  officers  and  men,  and  it  was  fitting  to  strew 
his  grave  with  flowers.  A  beautiful  motto,  "  Honor  their  Mem- 
ory," the  letters  being  covered  with  pine,  was  placed  over  the 
Cemetery  gateway.  A  most  beautiful  banner  was  placed  over 
the  gate  of  J.  S.  Young,  Esq.,  photographer,  who  lives  on  the 
cemetery  road.  It  consisted  of  a  picture  of  Mr.  Lincoln  draped 
in  mourning,  surrounded  by  festoons  of  flags  and  ribbons.  The 
soldiers,  on  passing,  saluted  it  with  appropriate  marks  of  re- 
spect. A  cannon  placed  in  the  cemetery  was  fired  every  five 
minutes  during  the  march  of  the  procession,  and  while  the  deco- 
ration was  proceeding  in  the  borough  graveyards. 

AT  SHIPPENSBURG,  PENN. 

According  to  the  programme,  at  half-past  5  o'clock,  p.  M.,  the 
procession  was  ordered  to  move.  In  a  short  time  subsequent, 
the  Chief  Marshal,  assisted  by  Captains  Baughman,  Landis,  and 
Snow,  formed  the  procession  in  the  following  order :  Band  ; 
officiating  clergymen  ;  twenty-seven  little  girls  with  flowers, 
wreaths,  decorations,  &c. ;  colors  of  130th  and  202d  Regiments ; 
soldiers ;  citizens.  The  procession  first  visited  the  Public 
Graveyard,  where  rest  the  remains  of  R.  C.  Moore,  Co.  K,  201st 
Pennsylvania  Regiment.  After  decorating  the  grave,  the  band 
played  "  Pleyel's  Hymn."  Prayer  by  Rev.  Mr.  Hassler.  The 
procession  then  moved  to  the  Lutheran  graveyard,  where  the 
strewing  of  flowers  was  again  gone  through  with  upon  the  fol- 
lowing graves  :  Samuel  Golden,  Co.  H,  3d  Pa.  Cav. ;  "William 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        303 

• 

Gulp,  Co.  A,  7th  Reserves  ;  George  Brenizer,  Co.  D,  130th  Pa. 
Inf.  Prayer  by  Rev.  Mr.  Price.  Music — Dirge,  by  the  band. 

The  procession  then  proceeded  to  Spring  Hill  Cemetery. 
The  church-bells  tolled  a  mournful  requiem,  while  at  regular 
intervals  a  gun  was  discharged,  as  the  procession  moved  along. 
The  entrance  to  the  Cemetery  was  artistically  festooned  with 
wreaths,  flowers,  and  drooping  flags.  The  graves  to  which  the 
honors  were  to  be  paid  had  been  previously  marked  with  minia- 
ture flags.  On  arriving  at  the  centre  of  the  Cemetery,  and 
after  an  impressive  and  eloquent  prayer  by  Rev.  Mr.  Glessner, 
the  committee  of  arrangements  divided  the  little  girls  into 
squads,  and  proceeded  to  place  the  wreaths  and  flowers  upon 
the  graves  previously  designated,  during  which  ceremony  the 
band  performed  a  requiem.  The  following  soldiers  are  buried 
in  the  Cemetery :  Capt.  Samuel  Speese,  Co.  F,  13th  Pa.  Cav. ; 
Lieut.  William  Duncan,  do. ;  Capt.  David  Harper,  4th  Iowa 
Inf. ;  Lieut.  W.  W.  Harper,  Co.  K,  7th  Pa.  Reg. ;  Lieut.  Sam- 
uel Patchell,  Co.  D,  130th  Pa.  Reg. ;  George  M'Lean,  do ; 
Henry  Miller,  do. ;  Joseph  Matthews,  do. ;  William  Grabill, 
do. ;  Nicholas  Lenhar,  do. ;  Jacob  Coover,  do. ;  George  Fry, 
Co.  B,  107th  Pa.  Reg. ;  David  Shugars,  do. ;  George  Koser, 
do.  ;  William  Mariner,  75th  Pa.  Reg.  ;  Abner  Trone,  Co.  H, 
3d  Pa.  Cav. ;  Josiah  Gamble,  do. ;  W.  S.  Seavers,  Co.  F,  17th 
Pa.  Cav.  ;  Samuel  Speese,  Jr.,  Co.  F,  21st  Pa.  Cav.  ;  Robert 
M'Farland,  Quartermaster's  Department ;  James  Mifflin,  do. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Houck  then  addressed  the  vast  assemblage. 
His  allusions  were  well-timed,  and  proper  tribute  and  words 
were  spoken  in  memory  of  the  fallen  heroes.  Most  solemn, 
indeed,  were  the  exercises,  and  there  were  but  few  who  did  not 
drop  a  tear  over  the  resting-places  of  the  loved  and  lost  martyrs 
to  Liberty's  holy  cause.  The  band  played  "Old  Hundred," 
after  which  the  exercises  were  closed  with  Divine  benediction, 
when  the  audience  retraced  their  steps  to  town,  where  they 
were  dismissed. 

AT  READING,  PENN. 

In  Reading,  the  decorative  ceremonies  were  witnessed  by  at 
least  six  thousa\^i  people.  For  hours  the  roads  leading  to  the 
cemetery  were  lined  with  men,  women,  and  children.  The  day, 
too,  was  beautiful,  though  the  morning  augured  an  unpropitious 
afternoon.  At  precisely  1  o'clock  the  procession  moved  in  the 
following  order :  Guard  of  Honor,  uniformed  and  equipped, 
bearing  the  American  flag  draped  in  mourning ;  members  of 
Post  No.  16,  G.  A.  R.,  each  bearing  a  wreath,  bouquet,  and 


304  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

cross  ;  soldiers  and  sailors  generally  ;  ambulances  with  crippled 
and  maimed  soldiers ;  Perseverance  Council,  U.  A.  M.,  preceded 
by  a  large  American  flag  carried  by  twelve  boys  ;  Ladies'  Com- 
mittee in  carriages  ;  citizens.  The  procession  moved  up  to  the 
head  of  Penn  street,  where  it  divided  into  two  or  three  parties, 
each  of  which  was  designated  to  visit  the  cemeteries  in  that 
direction.  The  graves  therein  having  been  visited,  the  line  was 
again  formed,  and  the  entire  procession  marched  to  the  Charles 
Evans  Cemetery,  where  the  ceremonies  were  solemnly  impres- 
sive. After  a  prayer  bt  the  Rev.  J.  F.  Meredith,  and  a  dirge 
by  the  band,  the  vast  audience  was  addressed  as  follows : 

REV.  j.  F.  MEREDITH'S  ADDRESS. 

MY  FRIENDS,  COMRADES,  AND  FELLOW-COUNTRYMEN  :  It  is 
some  embarrassment  to  me  to  arise  in  this  presence  to  speak  on 
this  never-to-be-forgotten  day — a  day  which  inaugurates  a  cus- 
tom not  to  be  neglected  while  the  American  people  appreciate 
patriotism  or  breathe  the  spirit  of  liberty.  I  could  desire  that 
the  choice  of  the  committee  of  arrangements  had  fallen  on  some 
one  more  able  than  myself  to  discharge  this  duty.  But  being 
invited  to  speak  on  behalf  of  my  former  friends  and  comrades 
in  arms,  I  am  here  to  do  the  work  as  best  I  can. 

I  congratulate  you,  my  countrymen  and  comrades,  on  the 
auspicious  dawning  of  another  national  holiday,  to  take  its 
place  with  the  4th  of  July  and  the  1st  of  January.  The  30th 
day  of  May  will  be  looked  forward  to  in  coming  years  as  the 
4th  of  July  is  now,  only  with  other  feelings,  deeper  and  more 
profound.  "We  now  hail  the  summer  holiday  as  the  anniversary 
of  the  nation's  birth — the  day  when  the  Continental  Congress 
declared  that  the  Colonies,  of  a  right,  ought  to  be  free,  inde- 
pendent States,  and  to  secure  that  result  they  (the  signers) 
pledged  their  lives,  their  fortunes,  and  their  sacred  honor.  This 
spring-time  holiday  will  remind  the  nation  of  those  hundreds 
and  thousands  of  the  best  and  bravest  of  the  nation's  sons,  who 
poured  out  then-  blood  like  water  that  the  nation  might  not  only 
be,  but  continue  to  live  through  all  coming  time.  The  summer 
holiday  reminds  the  nation  that  there  is  one"  shrine — the  old 
State  House  in  Philadelphia — around  which  the  national  heart's 
tender  affections  twine ;  and  who  does  not  feel  inspired  with  a 
deeper  love  of  liberty  as  he  looks  upon  the  room  and  its  decora- 
tions where  the  immortal  Declaration  was  first  announced  ? 
This  spring-time  holiday  will  remind  all  that  there  are  more 
than  five  hundred  thousand  shrines,  each  as  precious  as  the  hall 
where  the  Declaration  was  born,  at  which  the  nation  loves  to 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  305 

bow.  These  shrines  we  to-day,  for  the  first  time,  consecrate  to 
the  cause  of  human  freedom,  by  decorating  them  with  ever- 
greens and  flowers,  in  the  name  of  the  survivors  of  that  grand 
army  which  settled  the  question  (for  the  present  century  at 
least),  that  the  American  people  ought  all  to  be  free  and  have 
the  right  of  self-government.  Two  hundred  thousand  green 
graves,  two  hundred  thousand  altars,  two  hundred  thousand 
sacrifices  as  offerings  to  human  freedom,  to  the  great  cause  of  all 
time,  the  cause  of  oppressed  humanity,  the  cause  of  human 
rights,  the  cause  of  truth,  purity,  honesty,  justice,  and  progress. 
"We  come  to-day  with  music  and  banners — with  garlands  of 
sweet  and  beautiful  natural  flowers,  woven  into  wreaths  and 
bouquets  by  the  delicate  hands  of  honored  and  lovely  ladies,  to 
decorate  and  embalm  the  graves  of  the  precious  dust  of  those 
we  knew,  those  we  honored,  those  we  loved,  those  who  stood  up 
in  the  great  fight  of  the  ages,  those  who  went  forth  at  their 
country's  call  to  defend  their  country's  cause,  to  defend  that 
beautiful  and  glorious  flag  from  the  insults  thrown  upon  it  by 
foul  traitors'  hands.  There  is  scarcely  a  grave  of  a  fallen  sol- 
dier who  was  interred  within  the  Union  lines,  that  has  not  been 
at  some  time  honored  with  flowers ;  but  it  was  done  by  private 
hands,  and  by  some  loved  one  who  wept  in  silence  and  loneli- 
ness. But  to-day  the  great  body  known  now  in  history  as  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  destined  to  be  more  exten- 
sively known  and  felt,  conies  forth  to  do  honor  to  the  memories 
of  the  heroic  dead.  And  what  more  fitting  could  they  do  ? 
They  might  erect  monuments  of  marble,  iron,  and  of  bra.-s,  that 
would  stand  through  coming  years  as  evidences  of  power  and 
appreciation,  but  these  would  not  show  that  tender  love  for 
these  persons,  their  deeds  and  their  memories,  as  these  fresh  and 
fragrant  flowers  of  May.  This  is  a  national  act;  this  is  an 
ffffi.ci.al  act.  This  shows  the  thousands  of  widows  and  orphans 
of  the  land  that  their  dear  ones  are  not  forgotten  by  their  living 
comrades,  and  that  their  death  was  not  in  vain.  No,  my  coun- 
trymen, their  death  was  not  in  vain.  They  died  that  you  and  I 
might  live — that  we  might  live  in  peace,  and  quiet,  and  happi- 
ness— that  our  children,  and  their  children,  on  through  future- 
generations,  might  have  a  free  school,  a  free  church,  and  a  free 
Bible.  SupposiSy.they  had  refused  to  die ;  suppose  that  those 
hundreds  of  thousands  who  are  with  us — who  are  now  here — 
had  refused  to  sacrifice  life,  and  had  at  once  surrendered  to  the 
rebels,  as  that  large  class  who  stayed  at  home  during  the  war 
and  did  all  they  could  against  the  soldier  and  his  cause,  wanted 
they  should  ;  suppose  they  had  accepted  the  dogma  of  the  sage 
of  Wheatland — that  we  had  no  right  to  coerce  a  State  to  do 
20 


306  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

right — that  all  the  States  had  a  right  to  go  out,  and  that  we 
could  not  compel  them  to  stand  by  the  Constitution  ; — suppose, 
I  say,  that  those  thousands  had  refused  to  resist  with  their  lives 
this  dogma,  what,  to-day,  would  our  country  have  heen  ?  What 
should  we  have  been  ?  Our  Stars  and  Stripes  would  have  been 
swept  away,  and  the  "  Stars  and  Bars  "  would  have  floated  in 
their  stead.  Our  free  schools,  and  free  Bibles,  and  free  pulpits, 
and  free  ministers,  and  free  people,  all,  all. would  have  been 

fane — gone  to  chains  and  a  vassalage  worse  than  that  of  ancient 
gypt,  Babylon,  or  Rome ;  and  to-day,  instead  of  decorating 
the  graves  of  our  comrades  fallen  in  glorious  and  honorable 
battle,  we  should  have  been  weeping  in  silence  at  the  grave  of 
Liberty  herself. 

When  we  look  at  our  vast  country,  with  all  its  resources  of 
wealth  and  power,  at  our  system  of  free  government,  with  all 
the  appliances  for  further  advancement  in  greatness  and  intelli- 
gence, reaching  as  it  does  from  ocean  to  ocean,  with  its  fields, 
and  mines  and  streams,  its  hills  and  valleys,  smiling  in  the  sun- 
light of  freedom,  inviting  the  poor  and  oppressed  of  all  lands  to 
come  and  occupy  them,  to  plow  and  reap,  to  build,  and  grow 
and  be  happy — when  we  look  at  all  this  and  think  what  we 
would  have  been  had  the  rebellion  proved  a  success,  we  feel  that 
our  comrades  did  not  die  in  vain,  and  we  feel  that  this  is  but  a 
small  token,  indeed,  of  the  love  that  we  ought  to  show  their 
memories.  What  tender  emotions  are  awakened  to-day  in  our 
minds  as  we  bend  over  the  silent,  yet  eloquent  mounds,  where 
the  American  soldier  sleeps  his  last  sleep. 

My  comrades,  we  remember  the  dark  days  of  the  rebellion  ; 
we  remember  the  march,  the  camp,  the  bivouac,  the  battle,  the 
hospital,  the  burial.  All  these  things  come  fresh  to  us  to-day, 
and  with  these,  the  familiar  faces,  and  voices  and  songs  of  those 
whose  death  we  lament  to-day  even  as  much  as  the  day  they 
fell  at  our  side.  Many  of  those  who  sleep  in  these  graves  that 
have  just  been  visited  and  garlanded  were  personally  known  to 
me,  and  most  of  them  to  you,  and  may  I  beg  your  indulgence 
while  I  refer  to  some  of  them,  for  time  would  fail  to  mention 
all. 

Here  lies  the  dust  of  the  brave  and  noble  BRENHOLTZ,  who 
went  forth  in  the  youth  of  his  manhood  to  battle  for  the  right. 
The  Union  cause  had  no  warmer  friend  nor  more  earnest  advo- 
cate, and  could  he  have  been  spared  to  his  country  and  the  army, 
he  would  have  risen  to  high  distinction  in  both,  for  he  was  both 
brave  and  eloquent,  qualities  which  are  popular  with  soldiers 
and  citizens.  Here,  too,  sleeps  CLEVELAND,  the  generous,  the 
cheerful  youth,  who,  in  the  darkest  day  and  on  the  most  difficult 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  307 

and  dangerous  work,  had  a  kind  word  and  a  bright  smile  for  all. 
He  was  loved  by  his  men  because  he  loved  them  in  turn.  Green 
grow  the  grass  and  bright  bloom  the  flowers  over  the  graves  of 
such  youthful  heroes.  Here  slumbers  MC!LVAIN,  who  fell  at 
Sulphur  Springs,  Virginia,  while  guarding  the  passage  of  the 
army  trains  from  the  guns  of  Jackson.  He  was  accomplished 
and  prepared  to  have  taken  high  rank  among  the  young  soldiers 
of  Pennsylvania,  but  while  discharging  his  duty  he  fell  for  his 
country.  Here  repose  KNODERER,  and  ANDREWS,  and  GEIES, 
and  LANTZ,  and  TOTHEKO,  and  FINNLY,  and  many  others,  whose 
names  I  have  not  time  to  mention,  all  as  noble  and  as  worthy 
as  those  names  I  have  called,  men  who,  on  the  fields  of  the  war, 
stood  up  for  the  holy  cause  of  truth  and  against  falsehood  and 
violence. 

But  who  will  place  flowers  on  the  graves  of  McLEAN,  and 
PAKKER,  and  RUSH,  and  that  long  list  of  those  who  were  buried 
in  the  sands  of  the  distant  South  on  the  field  of  their  glory,  and, 
in  consequence,  their  graves  unknown  ?  We  cannot  visit  them 
to-day ;  we  cannot  formally  decqrate  them  ;  but  we  do  it  in  our 
hearts,  and  the  surviving  friends  of  those  of  our  comrades  who 
thus  fell  and  whose  resting-places  remain  unknown  will  be 
pleased  to  know  that  we  include  them  in  this  day's  celebration. 
We  mean  to  honor  the  graves  of  all,  from  the  highest  rank 
among  the  officers  to  the  humblest  drummer-boy  of  the  army, 
nor  will  we  be  circumscribed  as  to  nationality  or  condition.  It 
is  enough  for  the  Grand  Array  to  know  that  the  sleepers  fell  in 
defence  of  our  country  and  her  flag. 

The  survivors  of  the  American  army  which  has  saved  this 
country  have  come  home  to  the  peaceful  walks  of  business  with 
broader  minds  and  higher  views  of  life  and  duty  than  they  had 
when  the  war  broke  upon  us.  There  were  many  great  questions 
which  we  had  not  thought  much  upon  before  the  war.  Among 
those  questions  was  human  rights.  That  was  the  question,  the 
main  question  underlying  the  struggle ;  and  that  was  the  great 
question  which  was  settled.  The  war  declared  that  all  men 
who  live  on  this  continent  shall  live  freemen  and  not  slaves ; 
that  the  few  shall  not  govern  the  many,  but  that  the  major- 
ity shall  rule ;  afcd  that  no  man  shall  be  deprived  of  his  natural 
and  God-given  rights  because  of  his  nationality,  religion,  or 
color.  And  as  an  organization,  we  repudiate  all  such  narrow 
views  as  those  advocated  by  the  soldiers'  enemies  —  I  mean 
those  men  who  stayed  at  home  during  the  war  and  slandered 
those  that  were  in  the  field,  and  refused  to  give  them  the  right 
to  vote,  because  they  were  fighting  the  battles  of  their  country 
—those  who  went  prowling  around  whining,  "  This  is  a  white 


308 


MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 


man's  government."  My  comrades,  we,  to-day,  at  the  graves 
of  our  fallen  brethren,  hurl  our  rebuke  to  all  such  narrow-mind- 
edness and  unfairness,  and  declare  that  we  believe  in  the 
largest  liberty  for  all  men,  irrespective  of  nation  or  color.  We 
say  that  this  country  is  a  government  of  the  people,  by  the 
people  and  for  the  people,  and  we  mean  all  the  people.  We 
do  not  mean — if  we  can  prevent  it — that  any  particular  class 
shall  rule.  We — the  American  soldiers — are  opposed  to  class 
rule :  we  mean  that  the  people  shall  rale ;  we  mean  that  the 
ballot-box  shall  be  the  free  and  full  expression  of  the  people — 
here  the  people  are  to  speak  and  their  expression  here  shall  be 
the  supreme  law  of  the  land,  "  accidental  Presidents "  and 
faltering  Senators  to  the  contrary,  notwithstanding.  We  want 
all  the  great  national  issues  decided  here.  We,  the  soldiers, 
are  not  afraid  of  the  people — we  can  trust  them,  for  we  know 
that  those  who  stood  by  us  during  the  dark  days  of  the  war  will 
not  desert  us  now. 

We  have  been  disappointed  in  the  past — our  country  is  not 
yet  what  we  have  reason  to  hope  it  would  have  been  by  this 
time.  There  are  thousands  of  our  comrades  who  are  in  suffer- 
ing circumstances — many  men  without  feet  and  without  arms 
are  seen  every  day  in  our  large  cities  grinding  at  hand-organs 
or  carrying  heavy  burdens,  who  ought  to  be  provided  for  by  the 
National  Government,  and  who  doubtless  would  have*  been 
looked  after  if  our  great  Lincoln  could  have  been  allowed  to 
live, — but  the  slave  power  put  him  to  death — and  the  same 
power  spared  the  life  of  his  successor  that  it  might  once  more, 
through  him,  get  possession  of  the  National  Government,  to  be 
used  in  behalf  of  the  fallen  fortunes  of  the  rebels.  That  has 
been  done.  Jefferson  Davis  could  not  have  done  us  any  more 
harm  in  the  White  House,  with  the  present  Congress  at  his 
back,  than  Andrew  Johnson  has  done — and  perhaps  not  as 
much — because  we  should  not  have  looked  for  any  mercy  from 
him,  and  should  therefore  have  been  prepared  for  the  worst. 
Look  at  what  Johnson  has  done.  He  has  repudiated  Congress, 
violated  the  plain  enactments  of  the  House  and  Senate,  refused 
to  admit  the  rebellious  States  back  again  unless  the  rebels  and 
traitors  could  have  the  power,  has  insulted  and  degraded  Sheri- 
dan and  Sickles — two  of  the  bravest  generals  of  the  army.  He 
has  tried  to  so  complicate  the  way  of  the  General-in-Chief  of 
the  army  that  he  could  destroy  the  confidence  of  the  people  in 
him,  and  so  break  down  his  chances  as  his  successor;  he  has 
pardoned  and  patronized  the  vilest  counterfeiters  of  the  land ; 
consorted  with  the  vilest  and  most  wicked  secessionists;  has  re- 
fused to  use  his  influence  and  prevent  the  murder  of  innocent 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  309 

Union  men  and  returned  Union  soldiers;  in  short,  he  has  used 
all  liis  power  and  patronage  to  undo  all  the  .Grand  Army  did 
tor  the  country  and  humanity  during  the  tive  years  of  war.  In 
Andrew  Johnson  we  have  been  disappointed  and  most  shame- 
fully betrayed  ;  but  that  was  not  the  worst.  We  have  been  dis- 
appointed  and  betrayed  in  the  United  States  Senate;  the  sol- 
diers have  been  outraged,  and  the  graves  of  these,  our  own  dead 
companions,  have  been  dishonored,  the  day  that  those  seven  men, 
wlmia  we  thought  were  with  us  and  for  us,  refused  to  condemn 
Johnson  for  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors,  for  which  the  whole 
world  declared  he  was  guilty;  the.  graves  of  Ellsworth  and 
Greble,  and  Baker,  and  Lyon,  and  Reynolds,  Sedgwick,  Sum- 
ner,  Mansfield,  Stevens,  Reno,  Smith,  Foote,  and  Lincoln,  and 
the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  the  rank  and  file,  were  dishonored 
and  condemned.  If  Andrew  Johnson  is  right,  and  if  those 
Senators  voted  right,  then  we  were  wrong,  then  the  war  was 
wrong,  then  the  rebels  were  right,  and  our  men  died  useless 
deaths.  We  have  been  disappointed,  but  we  are  not  in  despair; 
we  have  been  cast  down,  but  we  are  not  destroyed  ;  we  are  to- 
day, as  the  Grand  Army,  more  than  five  hundred  thousand 
strong,  fully  drilled,  tried  and  trusty  ;  we  have  the  invincible 
Logan  at  our  head,  who  has  never  been  defeated  on  the  field  or 
forum  ;  we  are  in  harmony  with  the  citizens  of  all  the  States  ; 
we  have  inscribed  liberty  and  equality  on  our  banners,  and  we 
expect  to  succeed  ;  we  look  for  success  because  we  are  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  spirit  of  the  age,  because  we  are  on  the  side  of 
justice  and  truth,  and,  above  all,  because  God  has  blessed  our 
cause — is  blessing  it,  and  will  bless  it  in  the  future. 

And  now,  my  comrades  and  countrymen,  we  have  much  to 
do  ;  our  work  is  only  beginning;  we  must  not  rest  nor  lay  our 
armor  by  until  all  our  disabled  comrades  are  completely  provid- 
ed for  beyond  the  reach  of  want  and  care.  These  men  deserve 
this  at  our  hands.  These  brave  fellows  with  armless  sleeves,  and 
legless  pantaloons,  who  now  have  to  almost  beg  for  their  living, 
ought  to  be  provided  for  by  the  Government  with  comfortable 
homes.  And  if  the  Government  could  collect  the  whisky  tax, 
of  which  it  has  been  defrauded  during  the  present  administra- 
tion, it  would  be^ifiicient  to  make  all  such  soldiers  and  their 
families  comfortable  for  life;  and  then  there  are  thousands  of 
orphans — orphans  of  soldiers  whose  fathers  fell  in  battle,  or 
died  in  some  Southern  prison  pen,  like  Andersonville  or  Belle 
Isle.  Their  children  ought  to  be  educated  by  the  Government, 
and  t<-r  this  purpose  we  must  provide  schools  and  homes.  Our 
work  then  is  not  done.  No,  my  countrymen,  not  until  the  old 
flag  floats  in  peace  and  quiet  from  every  flag-staff,  from  ocean  to 


310  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

ocean ;  not  until  the  citizen  soldiers  have  all  their  just  rights 
granted  them  ;  not  until  the  principles  which  underlie  our  Gov- 
ernment, and  for  which  our  comrades  died,  and  for  which  we 
periled  our  lives,  are  triumphant  on  this  great  continent ;  we 
must  now  buckle  on  our  armor  anew,  and  go  into  the  coming 
contest,  resolved  that  our  great  leader,  who  has  jut  been  select- 
ed as  the  soldiers'  standard-bearer,  shall  be  overwhelmingly 
elected  to  the  Presidency  of  the  country  which  his  genius  and 
bravery  saved.  There  is  a  bright  future  before  this  nation ;  it 
was  necessary  that  we  should  be  tried  in  the  furnace  of  civil 
war ;  it  was  necessary  that  our  institutions  should  be  thorough- 
ly tested  in  all  points.  And  it  is  encouraging  to  know  that  af- 
ter having  been  thus  weighed  in  the  balance,  we  have  not  been 
found  wanting.  We  have  come  out  of  the  war  a  stronger  Gov- 
ernment than  we  were  at  its  commencement.  We  have  seen 
most  of  the  weak  places  in  our  Constitution,  and  have  been  able 
to  improve  them.  Our  Government  has  now  proved  itself  able 
to  resist  foreign  invasion  and  civil  rebellion ;  we  have  proved 
that  the  National  Government  is  paramount  to  State  Rights, 
and  that  Congress  must  be  equal  to  the  President ;  and  we  have 
proved  that  the  people  are  capable  of  impeaching  an  unworthy 
and  wicked  Chief  Magistrate,  when  he  does  violate  the  laws. 
Thus  we  have  reached  the  climax  of  a  republic,  and  have  shown 
the  world  that  the  United  States  Government  is  not  a  failure. 
And  now,  having  removed  out  of  the  way  of  our  national  pro- 

§ress  the  great  burden  of  domestic  slavery,  and  opened  the 
outhern  States  to  the  millions  of  free  people  that  will  come  to 
them  from  all  land,  we  are  ready  for  a  President  in  whom  the 
people  can  trust,  and  who  shall  be  in  harmony  with  Congress. 
Then  will  the  people  arise  and  spring  forth  as  the  grass ;  busi- 
ness will  burst  forth  into  new  life  everywhere ;  and  the  country 
will  witness  such  a  course  of  prosperity  as  has  not  been  seen 
since  the  birth  of  time.  Soon  will  the  iron  track  be  finished 
which  spans  the  continent,  and  the  wealth  of  the  far-oif  Indies 
w^ll  be  poured  upon  our  golden  shore,  and  roll  eastward,  helping 
to  develop  the  resources  of  the  great  valley  of  the  Mississippi, 
which  is  destined  to  be  the  home  of  millions  of  free,  happy  and 
powerful  people.  Such  is  the  future  of  our  country,  if  we  can 
only  have  a  peaceful  and  successful  administration  of  our  Gov- 
ernment, and  we  hope  to  have  after  the  4th  of  March  next. 

The  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  aided  by  those  patriotic 
citizens  that  stood  by  them  during  the  war,  will  put  into  the 
Presidential  chair  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  one  of  our  comrades,  and 
the  General  of  our  Armies,  and  the  greatest  Captain  of  this 
age.  Then  will  such  men  as  Sheridan,  and  Sickles,  and  Thomas, 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        311 

and  Meade,  the  hero  of  Gettysburg,  have  a  friend  who  will  re- 
cognize and  appreciate  their  distinguished  services ;  then  will 
the  one-armed  men,  and  the  widows  and  orphans  of  soldiers, 
Uave  a  friend  in  the  White  House;  then  will  corruption  hide 
itself  from  public  places ;  then  will  sober  men  be  selected  for 
the  general  offices ;  then  will  the  people  respect  the  high  office 
of  President;  and  then  shall  we  have  peace  and  quiet  and  plen- 
ty in  all  our  land  ;  then  shall  we  be  proud  of  the  past;  then 
will  be  realized  the  true  glory  of  Donelson,  Vicksburg,  Atlanta, 
Gettysburg,  the  Wilderness,  Petersburg  and  Appomattox ;  then 
shall  we  love  the  memory  of  our  fallen  heroes  more  than  ever, 
and  year  aiter  year  we  shall  come  to  re-deck  their  sacred  shrines ; 
and  I  predict  that  the  custom  will  continue  as  long  as  the  Ame- 
rican people  shall  hate  treason  and  love  human  freedom.  And, 
my  comrades  and  fellow-countrymen,  what  more  need  be  said  \ 
These  flowers  will  speak  more  eloquently,  as  they  wither  and 
dry  on  these  graves,  than  any  human  tongue  possibly  can. 

The  ad-lress  was  listened  to  with  the  profoundest  attention  ; 
its  patriotism  breathing,  as  it  does,  an  ardor  of  genuine,  out- 
spoken loyalty.  The  different  graves  were  visited,  at  the  con- 
clusion of  the  pastor's  remarks,  and  decorated  each  with  a  cross, 
a  wreath  and  a  bouquet, — the  solemn  dirges  of  the  band  accom- 
panying tlifi  ceremony.  On  behalf  of  the  soldiers,  the  Commit- 
tee of  Ladies  accompanying  them  were  designated  to  pay 
similar  honors  to  the  grave  of  Mrs.  Rosa  C.  Nicolls,  which  was 
accordingly  done.  This  was  a  just  tribute  to  the  memory  of  a 
noble-hearted,  generous,  patriotic  Christian  woman !  The  cere- 
monies were  concluded  about  4£  o'clock,  when  the  procession 
moved  to  the  city  and  dismissed. 

AT  POTTSVILLE,  PENN. 

Post  23,  of  Pottsville,  made  preparations  to  decorate  the 
graves  of  Union  soldiers  on  the  30th  of  April,  and  also  invited 
Rev.  Franklin  Moore,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  Pottsville,  to  deliver  in  his  church  on  Sunday  morning, 
May  31,  a  sermto  commemorative  of  the  beautiful  and  touching 
ceremony.  * 

On  Saturday,  30th,  amid  the  tears  of  many  of  the  surviving 
relatives  of  the  dead  heroes  of  the  Republic  whose  remains  lie 
buried  in  the  cemeteries  of  Pottsville,  Post  23  carried  out  the 
order  of  Gen.  Logan,  and  on  Sunday  attended  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Churcli,  where  services  of  the  most  impressive  char- 
acter took  place. 


312  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

SERMON   BY   THE   BEV.    FRAXKUX   MOORE,   D.D. 

GEK.  xxxv.  19,  20.  —  And  Rachel  died,  and  was  buried  in  the  way  to 
Eph  rath,  which  is  Bethlehem.  A  nd  Jacob  set  a  pillar  upon  her  grate  ;  that  is 
the p'Mar  of  RacheVs  grate  unto  this  day. 

II  SAMUEL,  i.  19.  The  beauty  of  Israel  it  slain  vpon  thy  high  places  ;  ?tow 
are  the  mighty  fallen  !  XEHEMIAH,  ii.  5.  And  I  said  unto  the  king,  if  it  please 
the  king,  and  if  thy  servant  hare  found  favor  in  thy  sight,  that  thou  wo>ildent 
send  me  vntojudah,  unto  the  city  of  my  father's  sepukhre*,  that  I  may  build  it. 

The  text  is  a  spiritual  mosaic ;  the  truth  couched  in  every 
block  is  beautiful,  while  the  combined  effect  is  in  harmony  with 
the  tender  memories  and  solemn  thoughts  which  possess  our 
souls  this .  morning.  Yesterday,  gentlemen  of  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic,  it  was  your  mournfully  pleasant  privilege  to 
hang  wreaths  twined  by  affectionate  hands,  upon  the  monu- 
ments, and  to  scatter  fresh  flowers  upon  the  graves  of  your  dead 
comrades-in-arms.  To-day  you  are  assembled  in  the  sanctuary 
of  God,  to  hallow  the  solemn  ceremony  so  recently  performed 
by  sacred  thoughts,  and  by  the  appeal  of  prayer  to  Him  who  is 
the  Father  of  mercies  and  the  Father  of  nations.  There  are 
three  thoughts  which  flow  out  from  our  composite  text,  and  to 
each  one  of  them,  we  will  devote  onr  attention  with  the  hope 
that,  although  slightly  expanded  in  the  discourse,  the  thoughts 
themselves  may  linger  in  our  souls  as  the  attar  of  roses  will 
cling  to  the  pure  walls  of  an  alabaster  vase.  It  is  cheering  to 
know  that,  as  yesterday,  many  sympathetic  hearts  clustered 
around  you  while  your  ministry  of  love  was  done  upon  the 
graves  of  the  brave  dead,  so  now,  your  fellow-citizens  are  here 
in  the  house  of  the  Most  High,  to  share  with  you  in  the  lofty 
fellowship  of  noble  thoughts,  fervent  prayers,  sweet  affections, 
and  softly -flowing  tears. 

The  memory  of  the  dead  is  a  sacred  treasure  of  the  human 
heart.  To  remember  those  who  have  departed  out  of  this 
life,  is  the  instinctive  action  of  the  soul.  It  is  not  merely  an 
exercise  of  the  intellect,  but  an  irrepressible  passion  of  the 
heart.  Passionate  memories  of  those  whom  we  knew  intimately 
and  loved  sincerely,  spring  up  in  the  soul  as  a  plant  leaps  from 
the  bosom  of  the  earth,  as  leaves  and  flowers  burst  from  encas- 
ing buds.  It  is  natural  and  reasonable  that  such  memories 
should  enthrone  themselves  within  us.  They  are  an  attestation 
of  man's  immortality.  Yes,  my  hearers,  human  afl'ections  laugh 
at  the  narrow  confines  of  earthly  years,  and  at  the  ravages  of 
death.  Death  may  hush  the  living  voice,  break  up  the  con- 
scious fellowship  of  the  present  time,  and  resolve  the  body,  that 
goodly  and  stately  tabernacle  of  the  soul,  into  damp  mould  and 
loose  dust.  Still,  when  all  his  havoc  is  wrought,  and  hearts  and 
homes  are  lonely,  and  the  light  of  loving  eyes  is  dimmed  with 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        313 

tears  which  will  not  staunch  at  the  word  of  persistent  command, 
yet  a  scene  is  witnessed  evermore  which  proclaims,  "  O  death, 
where  is  thy  sting  \  O  grave,  where  is  thy  victory  ?  "  Crowds 
of  human  souls  line  the  sullen  river  of  death  on  either  shore, 
win  It ;  (heir  afiectionate  remembrances  and  yearnings  span  the 
gloomy  river  with  more  brilliant  than  rainbow  arches;  with 
arches  which  pledge  even  out  of  the  shadows  of  death,  eternal 
life  and  eternal  re-union,  to  all  who  are  submissive  to  God's 
plan  of  Salvation.  This  faith  in  immortality  which  generates  a 
precious  memory  of  the  dead,  is  a  heritage  of  the  race  from  its 
origin— men  grasped  the  blessed  truth  either  by  intelligent 
fait!!,  or  by  spontaneous  feeling,  and  acted  accordingly.  Jacob, 
of  whom  it  is  recorded,  that  at  the  close  of  his  pilgrimage,  "  he 
gathered  up  his  feet  into  the  bed,  and  yielded  up  trie  ghost,  and 
was  gathered  unto  his  people" — the  company  of  those  who  had 
gone  into  the  land  of  life  before  him,  heartily  believed  in  the 
future  existence  of  the  soul.  It  was  this  faith  which  nurtured  his 
love  when  Rachel  was  dead,  and  so  in  blended  faith  and  love, 
"  he  set  a  pillar  upon  her  grave."  In  alter  years,  as  he  drew 
near  his  own  death,  he  remembered  and  spoke  tenderly  of  Rach- 
el, whom  now  he  doubtless  expected  to  greet  again,  and  be 
with  her  forever.  Heathenism,  half-believing,  half-doubting, 
yet  irresistibly  concedes  by  action,  the  fact  of  our  immortality. 

Without  some  faith  of  the  heart  in  it  there  never  had  been 
the  care  for  the  remains  of  the  dead  which  was  manifested.  The 
ashes  of  the  illustrious  Roman,  Pompeius,  were  hastily  deposit- 
ed on  the  margin  of  the  sea,  on  the  shore  of  Egypt.  Of  this 
event  an  eloquent  historian  of  our  own  day  says:  "Lucan  be- 
wails the  disgrace  of  the  illustrious  remains,  still  confined  to 
their  wretched  hole  in  the  sand,  and  surmounted  by  a  fragment 
of  stone  on  which  the  bare  name  of  Magnus  had  been  traced 
with  a  burnt  brand."  If  the  dead  were  not  invested  with  the 
majesty  of  an  endless  existence,  humanity,  both  in  heart  and 
action,  would  soon  accommodate  itself  to  the  appalling  fact.  It 
woukl  then  be  indeed  "  out  of  sight,  out  of  mind."  The  dead 
would  be  to  our  minds  much  as  our  favorite  animals  are  ;  as  the 
handsome  horse  tVat  bore  us  bravely  up  the  hills  and  through 
the  valleys,  or,  as  the  dog  that  has  fawned  upon  our  hands  and 
lovingly  served  us  in  his  humble  offices.  AVe  would  remember 
them  as  we  do  the  instruments  \ve  employed  during  the  passing 
hour  to  serve  our  various  purposes,  and  which  having  accom- 
plished their  ends,  we  fling  them  aside  and  think  of  them  no 
more.  But  now  that  our  dead  were  not  only  lovelv  and  pleas- 

.  if  m  f 

ant  in  their  lives,  but  in  death  have  only  changed  places  and 
modes  of  existence — still  live  grandly  on,  and  will  live  on  for- 


314  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

ever  and  ever,  we  will  fondly  cherish  their  memory,  and  we  will 
spread  the  slab  or  erect  the  pillar  over  their  graves.  Aye,  and 
we  will  often  visit  those  graves,  sometimes  to  'weep,  and  some- 
times to  rejoice  there.  When  the  murky  winter  is  overpast  and 
spring  plumes  the  hills  with  blossoms,  and  floods  the  air  with 
thrush  warblings, — wild-bird  anthems,  we  will  strew  their 
graves  with  bright  and  beautiful  flowers,  and  say  as  we  do  so, 
"  These  flowers  are  the  alphabet  of  our  hearts  ;  with  them  we 
spell  out,  Faith,  Hope,  Heaven.  With  these  hieroglyphics  of 
our  hearts,  we  write  upon  your  dusty  graves,  O  companions  of 
our  other  years.  We  love  you  still,  and  hope  to  be  with  you 
again  where  no  death-mist  will  settle  down  between  us ;  where 
our  hearts  will  pulse  forever  in  springtime  gladness."  Flowers 
express  in  their  structure  and  colors,  the  most  delicate  affections 
and  appreciations  of  the  soul,  for  "  The  flower  seems  to  be  the 
portion  of  the  vegetable  on  which  nature  has  bestowed  the  most 
pains.  The  least  conspicuous  flowers  reveal  under  the  micro- 
scope an  exquisite  beauty."  They  answer  the  purpose  of  guard- 
ing the  developing  germs, — their  petals  are  thus  built  around 
the  citadel  of  life  as  a  palisade  of  splendor.  While  accomplish- 
ing this  useful  end  in  the  economy  of  vegetable  life  it  has  pleas- 
ed God  to  make  them  his  choice  expression  of  beauty  and 
elegance,  and  thereby  elevate  the  common  course  of  nature  into 
a  teacher  of  the  etherial,  spiritual,  and  eternal.  It  ought  to 
excite  our  grateful  admiration  that  while  our  bountiful  Creator 
is  providing  for  the  wants  of  our  bodies,  our  humble  eartlily  life, 
he  is  the  same  time  confronting  us  with  types  of  a  loftier  and 
lovelier  life  by  transmuting  the  garden,  the  field,  and  the  forest, 
into  grand  galleries  of  such  deliciously  planned  and  exquisitely 
wrought  fine  art  as  smiles  at  all  human  imitations.  Earth  be- 
comes under  this  art-work  of  God,  the  rocky  wall,  on  whose 
front  is  traced  year  after  year,  and  age  after  age,  the  matchless 
ideals  which  spring  up  in  the  Divine  mind.  The  art  must  ex- 
press the  nature  of  the  artist.  This  annual  pageantry  of  flowers 
should  not  be  lost  upon  us  who  behold  them  ;  but  as  they  fade 
away  to  sight  and  sense,  they  should,  Divine  cartoons  as  they 
are,  sweet  designs  of  an  infinitely  great  intellect  and  good  heart, 
be  transferred  to  the  eternal  walls  of  our  souls,  and  glow  there 
as  inspirations  to  perpetual  praise. 

"  God  might  have  bade  the  earth  bring  forth 

Enough  for  great  and  small, 
The  oak  tree  and  the  cedar  tree, 

Without  a  flower  at  all ; 
He  might  have  made  enough,  enough 

For  every  want  of  ours ; 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        315 

For  luxury,  medicine,  and  toil, 

And  yet  have  made  no  flowers. 
Our  outward  life  requires  them  not — 

Then  wherefore  have  they  birth  ? 
To  minister  delight  to  man, 

To  beautify  the  earth  ; 
To  comfort  m.-m — to  whisper  hope, 

Whene'er  his  faith  is  dim  ; 
For  whoso  caretli  for  the  flowers, 

Will  much  more  care  for  him !  " 

Flowers,  then,  are  a  touehingly  tender  and  appropriate  trib- 
ute to  the  memory  of  the  dead.  They  are  the  beautiful  thoughts 
of  the  Creator  which  have  blossomed  into  material  forms,  and 
we  do  well  to  train  them  around,  and  to  scatter  them  freely  upon 
the  graves  of  those  whom  we  love.  Soldiers  of  the  Republic, 
your  delicate  deeds  of  love  to  your  dead  comrades,  is  grounded 
upon  the  truth  of  man's  abiding  existence ;  is  an  act  worthily 
done  by  the  brave,  and  we  trust  that  the  custom  thus  inaugurat- 
ed will  continue  until  the  last  soldier  of  the  Grand  Army,  his 
hand  tremulous  with  age,  shall  sprinkle  Spring  flowers  upon  his 
hosts  of  valiant  brothers  who  rest  from  the  toils  of  life  in  that 
long,  deep  sleep  whose  reveille  shall  be  the  trumpet  call  of  the 
resurrection. 

The  patriot  dead  have-  an  affectionate,  enduring  remem- 
brance in  the  souls  of  their  countrymen.  It  is  the  spontaneous 
verdict  of  men  in  all  ages,  that  "  lit  is  sweet  and  glorious,  hon- 
orable, to  die  for  ones  country;" — that  the  men  who  have 
"jeoparded  their  lives  unto  the  death  in  the  high  places  of  the 
field,"  should  never  be  forgotten  by  those  for  whom  they  have 
thus  perilled  and  even  given  up  their  lives.  The  dead  or  living 
soldier's  charter  of  claims  upon  the  sympathies  and  remem- 
brance of  his  countrymen,  is  written  with  the  point  of  his 
sword,  and  virtually,  or  in  fact,  with  his  own  blood.  It  is  a  sa- 
cred charter,  and  ought  to  be  respected.  Saul  and  Jonathan 
fell  bravely  fighting  the  foes  of  Israel,  and  David,  magnani- 
mously forgetting  all  injuries  which  he  had  received  from  the 
one,  and  rememberWg  the  noble  love  of  the  other,  poured  out 
his  soul  in  a  gush  or  manly  lamentation  for  the  dead  defenders 
of  the  nation,  a  lamentation  so  brilliant  and  beautiful,  that  it  is 
a  gem  of  martial  literature  throughout  all  time.  "  The  beauty 
of  Israel  is  slain  upon  thy  high  places ;  how  are  the  mighty 
fallen."  These  words  seem  to  constitute  a  key-note  to  every 
dirge  of  the  brave  which  has  since  been  woven  by  the  pen  or 
harp  of  genius.  There  are  peculiarly  strong  claims  upon  na- 
tional remembrance  which  can  be  urged  in  behalf  of  the  dead 
soldiers  of  our  Republic.  In  citing  a  few  of  them,  it  is  not 


316  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

necessary  for  me  to  say,  and  yet  it  may  be  well  to  say  it,  to 
ward  off  all  unjust  prejudice,  that  the  holy  Sabbath  is  not  the 
time,  nor  is  the  sanctuary  of  God  the  place,  to  indulge  in  the 
violent  passions  and  vituperative  language  of  a  partisan.  I 
shall  endeavor  to  state  the  truth  which  a  Christian  ought  to 
affirm  touching  recent  events — that  truth  which  history  will 
doubtless  assert  when  the  passions  of  the  hour  are  hushed,  and 
the  men  of  this  generation  shall  have  passed  away  from  earth. 
The  rectitude  of  the  cause  in  whose  defence  our  soldiers  fought 
or  died  in  the  late  civil  war,  stamps  their  services  with  dignity 
and  value. 

The  necessity  was  upon  them  of  battling  against  their  fellow- 
countrymen.  But  still  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  was, 
from  iirst  to  last,  but  a  huge  assembly  ot  citizens  called  out  by 
rightful  authority — a  posse  comitatus,  to  quell  the  riotous  and 
rebellious  conduct  of  their  brethren  who  were  snapping  asunder 
the  strong  bands  of  that  law  "  whose  seat  is  the  bosom  of  God  ; " 
whose  observance  is  the  only  guarantee  of  social  order.  The 
one  party  fought  with  a  bravery  worthy  of  a  better  cause,  in 
the  interests  of  human  oppression,  for  the  express  purpose  of 
making  the  oppression  of  a  proscribed  race  the  corner-stone  of 
a  new  nationality.  The  other  party  unfurled  the  original  flag 
of  the  country,  with  "  Union  "  inscribed  upon  it,  and  went  into 
and  passed  all  through  the  bloody  struggle  with  "Liberty"  as 
their  battle-cry.  Men  who  thus  championed  the  cause  of  that 
enlightened,  legal  liberty,  which,  until  forfeited  by  crime,  is  the 
God-given  right  of  every  man  who  comes  upon  the  earth^  are 
the  brothers  of  the  valiant  men  of  all  ages  who  have  stood  up 
for  the  defence  of  the  truth.  While  they  live  and  demean  them- 
selves as  upright  citizens,  they  should  be  honored,  and  when 
they  die  they  should  be  tenderly  mourned.  Those  of  them  who 
died  in  battle,  or  since  the  war  have  died,  are  honored  with  the 
regrets  of  all  the  noble  elements  of  the  nation ;  the  regrets,  at 
all  events,  of  all  men  whose  minds  are  not  clouded  by  unreason- 
able prejudices  which  are  destined  to  be  buried  in  the  graves  of 
those  cherishing  them.  The  heroic  daring  of  the  Federal  sol- 
diers— their  sublime  corn-age — entitles  them  to  the  perpetual 
gratitude  of  their  countrymen,  and  to  the  admiration  of  the 
world.  Never  in  all  the  martial  contests  of  by-gone  times  has 
there  been  such  a  widely  diffused  and  enlightened  patriotism  as 
was  witnessed  in  the  Union  army.  The  purity  of  purpose,  the 
solemnity  of  resolve,  the  noble  aspirations,  of  very  many  who 
rallied  under  the  Union  flag,  have  immortalized  the  national 
character,  and  ennobled  mankind,  proving  to  what  sublime 
heights  of  thought  and  action  the  race  may  ascend  under  the 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  317 

inspiration  of  Liberty  and  Nationality.  Volumes  of  records  of 
noble  speeches  and  still  nobler  deeds  have  been  preserved,  but 
libraries  of  heroic  utterances  and  heroic  actions  will  remain  on 
those  more  complete  records  of  creation  which  are  never  scanned 
by  human  eyes.  Allow  me  to  awaken  in  the  minds  of  some 
who  hear  me,  memories  of  thrilling  occurrences  with  which 
themselves  have  been  familiar,  by  the  citation  of  one  or  two 
fragments  of  history.  In  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run,  Captain 
Putnam  svas  knocked  down  by  a  shot  and  a  cry  was  raised, 
"  Our  captain  is  killed,"  when  he  sprang  up  and  cried,  u  No,  he 
is  not  killed,  boys ;  forward  for  God  and  Liberty ! "  "  Tell  my 
friends,"  said  a  soldier  who  was  killed,  "  that  I  did  all  I  could, 
and  died  like  a  man." 

Lieutenant  Welch,  when  he  fell,  was  standing  within  twenty 
feet  of  the  enemy,  and  shouted,  "  Help  me  God,  I  will  never 
run.  I  will  die  here !  "  Such  heroism  upon  the  part  of  the  dead, 
and  upon  the  part  of  the  men  who  still  survive,  demands  honor 
and  gratitude  to  the  living,  and  flowers,  bright  and  sweet,  to  be 
strewn  upon  the  graves  of  all  who  have  fallen  in  battle,  or  in 
the  march  of  life  which  sooner  or  later  terminates  with  all  men 
at  the  gates  of  the  tomb. 

The  grand  and  benignant  results  of  the  brave  demeanor  of 
the  Union  soldiers  clearly  require  that  these  men  be  not  forgot- 
ten by  their  countrymen.  Gratitude  is  proportionate  to  the 
benefits  received,  as  well  as  to  the  purity  of  intention  which 
imparts  those  benefits.  Hence  the  apostolic  utterance  in  view 
of  redemption.  "Thanks  be  unto  God  for  His  unspeakable 
gift."  Measured  by  this  law,  the  gratitude  of  the  country 
to  her  faithful  soldiers  in  the  civil  war,  should  be  very  great. 
What  are  the  excellent  fruits  of  the  victories  of  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic  ? 

1.  National  unity  and  popular  liberty  have  been  secured  for 
ages  to  come — possibly  for  all  time  to  come.  The  Federal 
armies  went  into  the  great  conflict  with  the  inscription  on  its 
banners,  "  The  Union  forever,"  but  before  the  conflict  closed — 
before  final  victory  was  gained,  the  powerful  Providence  of 
God  compelled  the  nation  to  write  another  splendid  sVntiment 
by  the  side  of  the  Union  motto,  "  Liberty  throughout  the  land 
to  all  the  inhabitants  thereof."  The  logic  of  events  clearly 
proved  that  the  purpose  of  God  was  either,  Liberty  to  all  men 
in  the  land,  or  Death  to  the  Nation.  When  men  saw  this  pos- 
ture of  tlrings,  they  shouted  in  their  hearts,  "  The  will  of  God  be 
done."  "  Give  us  Liberty  and  Union,  now  and  forever,  one  and 
inseparable."  Then  the  victories  which  gained  Atlanta,  and 
Savannah,  and  Petersburg,  and  Richmond,  culminated  in  the 


318  MEMORIAL   CEREMONIES 

• 

capitulation  of  Appomattox  Court  House,  and  sweet  smiling 
peace  waved  her  olive  branch  over  the  land.  Now  the  two 
thoughts  evolved  by  the  great  conflict  were  thus,  National  unity, 
and  popular  liberty  expressing  itself  in  the  form  of  popular 
government.  We  have  reason  to  believe  these  two  thoughts 
are  deeply  graven  in  the  national  heart — as  in  the  rock  forever. 
There  is  a  law  in  human  affairs  which  we  may  express  in  this 
manner :  Great  crises  of  human  agony  are  the  seals  of  lire 
which  God  would  plant  on  human  consciousness,  in  attestation 
of  some  vital  truths,  truths  essential  to  the  Divine  honor  and 
human  well  being.  The  deluge  illustrates  this  law — the  mem- 
ory of  it  was  preserved  among  the  traditions  of  all  nations. 
And,  no  doubt,  it  acted  for  ages  as  a  powerful  protest  of  God 
against  apostasy  from  Himself —stayed  to  a  large  extent  the 
ravages  of  idolatry.  So  the  impression  is  now  made  by  the  late 
struggle,  that  the  decree  of  God  is,  North  and  South,  East  and 
West,  of  this  land  are  to  live  together  under  one  government. 
Men  will  not  lightly  assail  this  decree  which  is  written  in  blood, 
by  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  over  much  of  the  soil  of  the  coun- 
try. This  unity  of  government  over  a  vast  territory  is  in  our 
age  of  railways,  ocean  steamers,  and  telegraphic  lines,  a  practi- 
cable thing.  It  may  be  said  that  for  purposes  of  government 
our  Continental  Republic  will  be  as  compact  in  A.  D.  1875,  as 
was  the  single  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  in  1825.  More- 
over, the  impression,  inasmuch  as  one  of  the  test  questions  of  the 
war  was,  Can  a  Republican  Government  prove  itself  equal  to 
the  task  of  self-preservation  in  time  of  Rebellion?  the  im- 
pression, by  the  affirmative  answer  which  victory  gave  to  the 
solemn  question,  on  the  national  consciousness,  is,  that  the  one 
Government  of  this  Co'ntinent  must  be  Republican  in  form. 
The  successful  conclusion  of  the  war  vindicated  the  yearning 
resolve  couched  in  the  closing  words  of  tjie  brief  and  brilliant 
speech  of  our  late  lamented  chief-magistrate,  upon  the  battle- 
scarred  field  of  Gettysburg,  a  speech  of  which  the  eloquent 
Everett  said  to  its  author,  "  Ah !  Mr.  Lincoln,  how  gladly  I 
would  exchange  all  my  hundred  pages  to  have  been  the  author 
of  your  twenty  lines !"  The  decree,  solemn  and  fixed,  by  the 
blood  of  the  mighty  dead,  and  by  the  vows  of  the  brave  living 
men  of  this  nation  appealing  to  God  to  sustain  them  is,  "  That 
government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people, 
shall  not  perish  from  the  earth."  My  brethren,  you  will  join 
with  your  speaker  in  uttering  a  deep,  Amen,  to  the  glorious 
sentiment ! 

2.  Border  wars  have  been  prevented — such  wars  would  have 
been,  had  the  recent  conflict  taken  a  different  issue.     The  19th 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  319 

century  would  have  been  disgraced  with  a  repetition  of  the 
violent  and  bloody  raids  between  the  English  yeomanry  and 
Scottish  clans. 

3.  A  vast  continental,  internal  commerce  has  been  secured 
by  the  triumph  of  the  Union  arms.  A  commerce  free  from  the 
embarrassments  of  international  restrictions.  When  we  think 
of  our  constantly  increasing  population  ;  of  our  long  rivers  and 
huge  lakes ;  of  our  shores  laved  by  the  billows  of  two  oceans, 
we  are  prepared  to  anticipate  a  commerce  amounting  to  so 
many  millions  of  tons  and  millions  of  dollars,  that,  without  full 
thought  on  the  elements  which  will  produce  the  stupendous  re- 
sult, the  figures  placed  before  us  now  would  seem  fabulous. 

i.  A  splendid  Civilization, — including  by  this  word  all  that 
enters  into  human  welfare,  will  be  developed  on  the  American 
Continent.  Literature  will  flourish  ;  fine  art  will  blossom  into 
beautiful  creations  which  congeal  noble  ideals  into  abiding 
actualities ;  and  pure  and  undetiled  religion,  asking  for  nothing 
but  a  field  of  free  thought,  will  triumph  all  over  this  wide- 
spread liepublic.  Humanity,  like  the  century  cactus  which 
blooms  after  one  hundred  years  of  struggle  with  all  that  op- 
poses its  vigorous  life,  will,  after,  its  thousands  of  years  of  tribu- 
lation and  conflict  with  all  influences  which  would  repress  it, 
will,  at  last,  on  this  continent,  break  forth  into  the  brilliant 
bloom  of  that  golden  age  for  which  philanthropists  have  longed ; 
for  which  holy  men  have  "prayed,  and  which  God's  soul-enrap- 
tured and  fiery -eyed  prophets  have  predicted  would  yet  mantle 
the  earth  all  over  with  beauty  and  benediction.  This  good 
time  so  surely  coming  that  its  morning  gleams  are  around  us 
now,  will  be  the  jubilee  age  of  the  world.  It  will  be,  compared 
witli  the  past,  socially,  and  in  human  destinies,  what  one  of 
these  luscious  May  days  among  our  grand  mountains  is  com- 
pared with  the  bleak  and  dark  days  of  December. 

In  my  health-seeking  walks,  splendid  scenes  surround  me. 
The  wood-thrush,  nestling  himself  in  the  solitudes,  of  the  forest, 
flings  abroad  his  short  but  sonorous  and  sweet  song,  richly 
quavering  and  clear,  as  if  his  throat  were  some  brilliantly 
breathing  clarionet.  Then  he  pauses  awhile,  as  if  luxuriating 
in  the  echoes  of  his  own  brief  and  beautiful  notes,  and  thus  his 
happy  hours  flow  away.  At  the  same  time  the  song-thrush, 
standing  upon  the  topmost,  pendulous  branch  of  some  stately 
tree,  yields  himself  to  complacent  chatterings,  rolls  out  delicious 
trills,  and  pours  out  passionate  outbursts  of  joy  which  flood  the 
air  all  around  with  their  sweet  influences.  He  gathers  inspira- 
tion as  he  sings,  so  that  one  looks  up  in  admiration  at  the  beau- 
tiful bird  poised  on  his  airy  perch,  an  incarnation  of  ecstasy. 


320  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

And  then,  while  far  away  the  pine-crested  mountains  trail  their 
massy  heights  immediately  around,  the  dogwood  tree  lifts  its 
blossoms  like  snowflakes  above  the  verdure  of  the  laurel  bushes 
and  the  low  pines.  Oh,  it  is  such  a  jubilee  of  nature  which 
greets  us  in  Hay,  as  does,  indeed,  aptly  and  eloquently  portray 
the  glories  of  those  dawning  days  when  Jesus  shall  reign  from 
"  the  river  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth." 

The  sufferings  and  toils  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Union 
have  forged  many  of  the  glittering  links  which  bind  us  of  the 
present  age  to  this  rapidly  advancing  age  of  divine  and  human 
glory. 

Whoever  may  forget  the  dead  soldiers  of  the  nation,  you, 
their  comrades,  will  not.  Yesterday  was  to  you  a  day  on  which 
the  fountains  of  your  hearts  were  unsealed.  The  past  rose  up 
before  you  with  all  the  distinctness  of  a  present  reality.  The 
camp-life  summons  to  rise  and  retire  to  rest.  The  march,  the 
impending  and  the  raging  battle,  with  the  grief  over  fallen  fel- 
low-soldiers, and  joy  of  victory.  The  solemn  anxieties  of  the 
times  when  men's  hearts  were  failing  them  for  fear  of  what 
next  might  happen — when  the  destinies  of  the  nation  were 
hanging  on  every  passing  hour.  Yesterday  was  a  sad  day  to 
you,  as  well  as  one  of  complacent  triumph.  The  nation  sympa- 
thized with  you ;  the  air  seemed  burdened  with  a  solemn  sor- 
row, and  the  continent  was  resolved  again  into  a  Bochim — a 
place  of  weeping.  • 

The  graves  of  the  dead  should  be  adorned  and  shielded 
against  all  desecration.  Nehemiah  mourned  over  the  desolation 
ol  Jerusalem,  the  city  of  the  Great  King.  His  heart  was  espe- 
cially sorrowful  at  the  thought  that  the  sepulchres  of  his  fathers 
should  be  dismantled  and  dishonored.  As  memory  of  the  dead 
is  a  natural  outgrowth  of  the  doctrine  of  immortality,  so  orna- 
mentation and  care  of  the  tombs  of  the  dead  is  a  reverential 
tribute  of  human  nature  to  the  Bible  doctrine  of  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  dead,  both  of  the  just  and  the  unjust.  It  is  well, 
then,  that  we  look  tenderly  to  the  places  where  our  loved  ones 
sleep.  Let  us  mantle  their  dusty  homes  with  green  sods  of 
moist  and  delicately  waving  grass ;  let  us  teach  the  ro-e  to 
bloom  sweetly  above  them  ;  let  us  cause  the  mignionettc  and 
heliotrope  to  fling  out  their  sweet  breath  upon  the  summer 
breeze,  and  let  us  trail  the  myrtle  all  around  their  lowly  and 
narrow  dwelling-places,  as  though  we  would  thus  plant  a  silent 
prophet  there,  who  should  whisper  into  the  ear  of  faith,  that 
though  these  dead  are  now,  in  body,  thus  cabined,  cribbed,  and 
confined,  yet  they  shall  hereafter,  in  the  majesty  of  redemption, 
mount  from  the  dust,  as  the  lark  mounts  from  the  meadow  in 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  321 

joy  and  song,  cleave  the  sky  and  ramble,  each  one,  as  a  free 
child  of  God,  throughout  all  the  immensities  of  the  universe. 
Nor  let  the  graves  of  the  patriot  dead  be  forgotten  by  the  hand 
of  affection. 

Let  the  sepulchres  of  the  brave  be  made  worthy  resorts  of 
weeping  freedom.  Let  the  solid  stone  tablet,  with  fitting  in- 
scription upon  it,  brood  over  the  slumbering  body  of  the  fallen 
hero.  Let  the  marble  shaft  spring  above  the  dusty  dwelling- 
place  of  the  soldier  of  his  country.  Let  the  morning  and  eve- 
ning sun,  which  shall  greet,  gild,  and  linger  on  its  sides  and 
play  upon  its  summit,  symbolize  the  showering  benedictions  of 
his  countrymen  which  will  stream  from  age  to  age,  to  honor  his 
name  and  memory. 

From  age  to  age  the  honorable  fame  of  this  patriotic  Army 
will  endure.  It  will  not  decrease,  but  rather  increase  with  the 
flow  of  years.  When  the  passions  of  the  times  are  stilled  in 
the  grave,  and  the  men  of  this  generation  have  passed  away 
from  the  earth,  the  gathering  plaudits  of  coming  generations 
will  greet  the  memory  of  the  men  who,  in  a  great  crisis,  saved 
the  national  life.  Your  fame  is  now  in  its  spring  freshness,  but 
undeveloped  in  its  fulness.  It  is  a  fame  which  will  grow,  until, 
like  the  summer  sun,  it  will  suffuse  all  the  land  with  its  steady 
glow.  A  great,  good  cause  glorifies  the  men  who  defend  it  and 
give  it  triumph.  Your  local  fame  is  secure.  While  these 
mountains  stand  and  the  tributaries  of  the  Schuylkill  dash  from 
their  woody  sides  away  off  to  the  sea,  you  will  be  remembered, 
and  your  memory  blessed  by  your  fellow-citizens  of  all  parties 
in  the  good  days  to  come. 

Soldiers  of  Post  23,  G.  A.  R.,  we  have  now  held,  I  trust,  a 
season  of  pleasant  communion  together,  in  musing  upon  the 
memory  01  the  dead.  Upon  honor  and  ornament  to  their 
tombs,  and  upon  the  well-merited  fame  of  the  valiant  soldier 
and  defender  of  his  country's  life  and  glory,  I  hope  the  hour  we 
have  passed  together  will  hereafter  linger  as  a  solemnly  sweet 
memory  in  our  souls.  Suffer  me  now  to  remind  you,  that  "  the 
fashion  of  this  world  passeth  away."  Mark  well  a  vision  of  St. 
John,  upon  the  lonely,  rocky  sea-beaten  islet  of  Patmos — "  And 
I  saw  a  great  white  throne,  and  Him  that  sat  on  it,  from  whose 
face  the  earth  and  the  heaven  fled  away ;  and  there  was  found 
no  more  place  for  them."  Again  he  looked,  and  exclaims : 
"  And  I  sa*w  a  new  heaven  and  a  new  earth  ;  for  the  first  heaven 
and  the  first  earth  were  passed  away ;  and  there  was  no  more 
sea."  An  irresistible  wave  of  oblivion  is  destined  to  roll  over 
all  fame  which  is  limited  to  earth,  and  man  upon  earth — which 
is  not  in  some  way  linked  with  the  holy  and  eternal.  There  is 
21 


322  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

a  memory  of  blessing  and  rapture  which  we  may  all  gain 
through  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  which  will  abide 
throughout  all  ages,  world  without  end.  It  is  the  remembrance 
which  God  bears  toward  all  who  love  and  obey  Him  in  the  faith 
of  Jesus.  In  the  rush  of  the  complex  creation,  we  cannot 
always  be  remembered  by  the  creature  with  that  distinct  recog- 
nition of  our  individuality  for  which  we  all  yearn.  But  our 
God  "  telleth  the  number  of  the  stars ;  He  calleth  them  all  by 
their  names."  If  you  will  cleave  unto  Him  with  all  the  fer- 
vency of  your  souls,  He  will  never  forget,  never  leave  nor  for- 
sake you.  You  will  glow  upon  the  heart,  and  blaze  before  the 
benignant  eye  of  our  august  and  ever-blessed  Creator,  each  one 
of  you — an  eternal  star  of  glory  ! 

AT  MlNERSVILLE,  PfiNN. 

The  day  was  duly  ushered  in,  in  Minersville,  by  the  firing 
of  a  cannon  at  6  A.  M.,  by  a  squad  from  Post  No.  17,  G.  A.  R. 
This  firing  of  the  cannon  was  continued  at  intervals  of  half  an 
hour,  until  6  P.  M.  The  day  was  celebrated  by  Post  No.  17,  and 
the  citizens  generally  of  the  town.  The  places  of  business  in 
town  were  closed  from  2  p.  M.  to  5  p.  M.,  only  a  few  persons  re- 
fusing to  close  their  business  places  during  that  time.  We  note 
this  action  with  commendation,  showing,  as  it  does,  that  the 
mass  are  indeed  friends  of  the  patriot  dead,  and  ever  ready  to 
show  their  appreciation  of  their  great  services  for  the  country. 

At  2  P.  M.  the  members  of  the  Post,  and  citizens  generally, 
met  at  the  headquarters  of  Post  No.  17,  and  a  procession  was 
formed  in  the  following  order :  Drum  Corps ;  Committee  of 
Arrangements  with  Emblems ;  Members  of  G.  A.  R. ;  Wagon 
with  Flowers  ;  Firing  Party  ;  Citizens. 

The  procession  marched  in  this  order  to  each  of  the  seven 
cemeteries  in  the  vicinity  of  the  town.  At  each  of  the  ceme- 
teries (except  the  Catholic)  the  following  ceremony  was  per- 
formed :  Planting  of  Emblems  ;  Singing  of  Dirge  by  the  Choir. 
Address  delivered  or  poem  read,  during  which  the  committee 
decorated  each  soldier  s  grave  with  flowers,  a  wreath  of  laurel, 
and  a  flag.  Firing  by  squad. 

During  the  moving  of  the  procession  the  school-house  bell 
was  tolled  every  minute,  from  2  to  5  P.  M. 

The  emblems  referred  to  above  were  twelve  in  number,  and 
were  composed  of  beautiful  immortelles  handsomely  arranged 
in  the  following  manner :  Six  wreaths,  various  sizes ;  two 
crosses,  two  baskets,  one  anchor,  and  one  heart.  These  beauti- 
ful emblems  were  presented  to  the  Post  by  Mrs.  Joseph  Gart- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        323 

ley,  of  Minersville,  and  Mrs.  E.  V.  Machette,  a  lady  friend,  of 
Philadelphia.  They  were  distributed  among  the  seven  ceme- 
teries as  justly  and  equally  as  possible,  having  a  due  regard  to 
the  size  and  beauty  of  the  several  emblems,  and  also  the  num- 
ber of  soldiers  interred  in  each  cemetery.  The  Post  returns  its 
sincere  thanks  to  the  generous  donors  for  their  generosity  on 
this  occasion,  accepting  it  as  but  another  instance  of  the  devo- 
tion to  our  country  of  the  loyal  women  of  the  land,  who  were 
ever  ready  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  promote  the  comfort,  alle- 
viate the  sufferings,  become  ministering  angels  of  mercy  in 
dreary  hospitals,  and  who  were  always  praying  the  God  of  bat- 
tles to  grant  success  to  our  "  Boys  in  Blue."  The  thanks  of  the 
Post  are  also  due  to  the  drum  corps,  the  ladies  and  gentlemen 
of  the  choir,  the  Revs.  Jeffries  and  Frame,  the  ladies  of  Miners- 
ville for  their  contributions  of  flowers,  and  to  the  citizens  gen- 
erally, for  their  assistance  in  making  this  ceremony  a  perfect 
success.  The  following  is  the  list  of  the  soldiers  interred  in  the 
seven  cemeteries  in  the  vicinity  of  Minersville  : 

WELSH  BAPTIST  CEMETERY.— David  Owens,  Co.  H,  97th 
Ohio  Yols. ;  Joseph  Morgan ;  William  Jenkins,  Co.  F,  48th  Pa. 
Vols. ;  George  Baker,  Maine  Vols. 

IRISH  CATHOLIC. — Michael  Lavell,  Co.  F,  48th  Pa.  Vols. ; 
James  Burgan,  Co.  E,  5th  Pa.  Vols. ;  Barney  McMichael,  Co. 
K,  96th  Pa.  Vols.  ;  Thomas  McGurl,  Co.  I,  8th  Pa.  Cav. ;  Pat- 
rick Binney ;  Patrick  McGee,  Co.  K,  96th  Pa.  Vols. ;  Patrick 
McCal lister,  do. ;  John  McGurl,  Co.  K,  67th  Pa.  Vols. ;  Thomas 
Boran ;  Michael  I.  Mohan,  Co.  F,  109th  Pa.  Vols. ;  James  N. 
Tobin ;  John  Duffy ;  Michael  Brennan ;  William  Bell,  3d  Pa. 
Cav. 

CONGREGATIONAL. — John  Roberts,  Co.  G,  3d  Md. ;  John 
Powell ;  Thos.  Harman  ;  John  Jones,  Co.  B,  55th  Pa.  Vols. ; 
Harry  Owens,  Bat.  A,  5th  Artillery ;  Thomas  Lewis,  Co.  F, 
48th  Pa.  Vols. 

METHODIST  EPISCOPAL. — John  Simons  ;  Michael  Wilson,  Co. 
F,  48th  Pa.  Vols. ;  John  C.  Hoskins,  Sergt.,  Co.  A,  129th  Pa. 
Vols. ;  Wm.  Durr,  do.  ;  Horace  Straub,  Co.  F,  48th  Pa.  Vols. ; 
James  Bradley,  do. ;  Charles  Bedford  ;  N.  Foust,  Co.  E,  5th 
Pa.  Vols. ;  Joseph  Heisler,  Co.  A,  129th  Pa.  Vols. ;  Hiram 
Thomas ;  Robert  Jefferson  ;  .John  Lloyd,  48th  Pa.  Vols.  ;  Wm. 
Atkins,  do. ;  John  Goodfellow,  96th  Pa.  Vols. ;  Thomas  Reese ; 
Thomas  Williams  ;  one  unknown  ;  B.  Cobley,  65th  Pa.  Vols. 

GERMAN  LUTHERAN. — John  Bowman  ;  Charles  Cohler,  6th 
Pa.  Cav. ;  Daniel  Martin. 

GERMAN  CATHOLIC. — Matthias  Powley,  Co.  B,  32d  Ind. 
Vols. ;  Wm.  Kuhn,  Co.  E}  55th  Pa.  Vols. 


824  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

MIXERSVILLE  CEMETERY. — Capt.  G.  A.  Lawrence,  Co.  A, 
129th  Pa.  Vols. ;  Capt.  II.  G.  Bennett,  Co.  E,  55th  Pa.  Vols. ; 
Sergt.  R.  A.  Jenkins,  Co.  H.  48th  Pa.  Vols.  ;  Charles  Jenkins, 
Co.  I),  69th  Pa.  Vols. ;  Jacob  Witman,  Co.  H,  48th  Pa.  Vols. ; 
Thomas  Weaver,  Co.  E,  5th  Pa.  Vols. 

AT  GETTYSBURG,  PEKN. 

In  this  place  the  people  generally  cordially  united  in  the 
movement.  In  response  to  the  call  of  the  Committee,  a  large 
number  of  floral  offerings  were  sent  in  from  various  points  in 
the  county ;  the  children  of  the  Orphans'  Home  at  Womelsdorf, 
Pa.,  through  Mr.  R.  A.  Lyttle,  one  of  the  teachers,  sending  by 
express  a  large  box  of  wild  floucrs  from  their  mountain  Home. 

In  the  course  of  the  afternoon  people  came  pouring  into 
town  from  every  direction  in  unexpected  numbers,  and  by  5 
o'clock,  p.  M.,  when  the  stores  and  places  of  business  closed,  onr 
streets  were  alive  with  a  busy,  moving  throng  of  people.  At 
half-past  5,  P.  M.,  a  procession  was  formed  in  the  public  square, 
Tinder  the  marshalship  of  Capt.  John  F.  McCreary,  and  moved 
to  the  National  Cemetery  in  the  following  order :  1.  The  chil- 
dren of  the  National  Orphans'  Homestead,  carrying  bouquets 
and  banners  representing  the  various  States  whose  dead  repose 
in  the  National  Cemetery.  2.  Vehicle  draped  with  the  Ameri- 
can flag,  containing  the  floral  tributes.  3.  Gettysburg  Brass 
Band  and  Drum  Corps.  4.  Gettysburg  Zouaves,  Capt.  Norris, 
and  Franklin  Zouaves,  Capt.  Eicholtz.  5.  Soldiers  of  the  war, 
and  citizens.  As  the  procession  moved  through  Baltimore 
street,  the  bells  of  the  churches  were  tolled,  and  on  entering  the 
Cemetery  grounds  the  drum  played  the  "  Dead  March." 

The  military  and  citizens  formed  around  the  base  of  the 
monument,  where  the  exercises  were  opened  with  an  impressive 
prayer  by  Rev.  H.  C.  Grossman.  Lieut.  Win.  R.  Eyster  then, 
on  behalf  of  the  Committee,  briefly  explained  the  purport  of 
the  ceremony,  reciting  the  following  passage  from  Percival : 

"  Here  rest  the  great  and  good.     Here  they  repose 
After  their  generous  toil.     A  sacred  band, 
They  take  their  sleep  together,  while  the  year 
Comes  with  its  early  flowers  to  deck  their  graves. 

*  *  The  joy 

With  which  their  children  tread  the  hallowed  ground 
That  holds  their  venerated  bodies,  the  peace 
That  smiles  on  all  they  cherished,  and  the  wealth 
That  clothes  the  land  they  fought  for — these,  though  mute 
As  feeling  ever  is  when  deepest — these 
Are  monuments  more  lasting  than  the  fanes 
Reared  to  the  kings  and  demi-gods  of  old. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  325 


Here  let  us  meet,  and  while  our  motionless  lips 

Give  not  a  sound,  and  all  around  is  mute 

In  the  deep  sabbath  of  a  heart  too  full 

For  words  or  tears,  here  let  us  strew  the  sod 

With  the  first  flowers  of  Spring,  and  make  to  them 

An  offering  of  the  plenty  Nature  gives, 

And  they  have  rendered  ours — perpetually." 

Rev.  Dr.  Brown  followed  in  a  brief  but  eloquent  address,  in 
the  course  of  which  he  remarked  in  substance  :  We  have  como 
to  do  honor  to  the  noble  dead — to  strew  with  flowers  the  graves 
of  those  who  died  that  we  and  the  nation  might  live.  We  have 
come  not  in  midwinter  or  with  cypress  wreaths,  but  in  Spring- 
time, when  the  fields  are  green,  and  the  flowers  blooming,  and 
birds  singing,  that,  in  sympathy  with  universal  Nature,  we 
might  bring  our  grateful  offering  of-  reverence  and  affection. 
Seven  years  ago,  and  hundreds  of  thousands,  who  now  sleep  in 
soldiers'  graves,  were  pursuing  their  peaceful  avocations  at 
home.  \\  hen  their  country  called,  they  left  home  and  loved 
ones  to  uphold  their  country's  flag  and  their  country's  honor. 
As  they  heartily  bade  farewell,  they  were  assured  that  thev 
would  be  cherished  at  home,'  and  if  any  left  children  behind, 
they  should  be  the  children  of  the  Republic.  Here,  on  this 
hill,  they  met  the  hosts  of  Rebellion  and  Treason,  and  here 
thousands  laid  down  their  lives  for  freedom  and  the  Union. 
The  price  of  their  death  was  victory  and  safety  for  us  and  the 
nation.  The  pledges  given  to  the  noble  soldiers  of  the  Union, 
we  have  now  come  to  fulfil — to  keep  alive  their  mourners,  and 
strew  with  flowers  their  graves.  Their  orphan  children — the 
representatives  of  half  a  million — would  strew  these  flowers 
upon  the  graves  of  their  fathers,  and  the  nation  would  recognize 
them  as  her  own. 

The  noble  dead,  who  fell  here  and  on  these  neighboring  hills, 
need  no  eulogium  from  our  lips.  They  have  secured  the  proud- 
est of  all  earthly  honors',  and  their  tombstones  bear  this  inscrip- 
tion :  They  Died  for  their  Country.  There  is  no  danger  that 
they  will  be  forgotten.  They  live  in  the  hearts  of  more  than 
twenty  millions  of  citizens  of  this  great  Republic.  From  all 
sections  of  the  land,  from  across  the  ocean  and  from  the  isles  of 
the  sea,  do  pilgrims  visit  this  hallowed  spot.  Not  only  spldiers 
and  comrades-in-arms,  but  statesmen  and  patriots,  gray  hairs 
and  tender  youth,  young  men  and  maidens,  come,  and  will  con- 
tinue to  come.  Two  days  ago,  and  the  delegates  of  one  of  the 
largest  denominations,  meeting  in  the  Capitol  of  the  State,  left 
their  Master's  business  for  a  day  to  come  hither;  and  venerable 
servants  of  God  from  nearly  every  State  did  reverence  at  this 


326  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

ehrine  of  Freedom  and  Liberty,  where  their  sons  and  brothers 
fell  and  sleep. 

These  flowers  to  be  strewn  tell  that  their  death  was  beauti- 
ful and  fragrant.  It  is  noble  and  beautiful  thus  to  die  for  one's 
country  ;  and  the  whole  land  is  fragrant  with  the  odor  of  their 
heroic  deeds.  The  blessings  of  peace  and  prosperity  which  we 
enjoy,  they  have  secured  for  us.  Ours  is  a  debt  of  gratitude 
which  no  words  or  actions  can  ever  express.  But  .long  as  the 
Union  lasts — and  may  it  be  perpetual ! — let  a  grateful  people 
visit  their  resting-place. 

Strew  flowers,  sweet  flowers,  on  the  soldiers'  graves, 
For  the  death  they  died  the  nation  saves. 
'Tis  sweet  and  glorious  thus  to  die — 
Hallowed  the  spot  where  their  ashes  lie. 

Professor  Eerrier  then  pronounced  the  benediction,  which 
closed  the  exercises  at  the  monument.  The  decorating  of  the 
graves  followed,  the  children  of  the  Orphans'  Home  passing 
from  block  to  block,  depositing  the  floral  tributes,  and  chanting 
the  following  lines : 

Lightly,  lightly,  lovingly  tread 
O'er  the  dust  of  the  patriot  dead, — 
Strew  the  flowers  and  the  triumph  wreath 
O'er  the  brave  who  sleep  beneath. 

Lightly,  lightly,  lovingly  rest 
Wreath  and  flower  upon  each  breast, — 
Offerings  pure  and  sought  with  care, 
Sacred  made  by  love  and  prayer. 

While  this  ceremony  was  going  on,  national  airs  were  played 
by  the  Band,  and  a  salute  of  twenty-two  guns  (one  for  each 
block  of  graves)  was  fired— two  of  the  rebel  pieces  presented  to 
the  National  Cemetery  by  the  General  Government  being  nsed 
for  the  purpose.  They  were  effectively  manned  by  details  from 
the  Zouaves.  The  scene  at  this  moment  was  inspiring.  The 
mellow  rays  of  the  setting  sun  bathed  the  Cemetery  Hill  in  a 
flood  of  golden  light.  The  chanting  of  the  orphans  mingled 
with  the  music  of  the  Band,  broken  by  the  occasional  booming 
of  cannon,  while  over  two  thousand  people,  drawn  together  by 
the  common  impulse  of  doing  honor  to  the  patriot  dead,  looked 
on  ;  all  returning  with  a  truer  appreciation  of  the  debt  of  obli- 
gation the  nation  owes  to  its  fallen  heroes. 

In  the  evening  some  interesting  exercises  took  place  in  the 
school-room  of  the  Orphans'  Homestead,  opening  with  prayer 
by  Professor  Stoever,  and  followed  with  vocal  music  by  the 
children,  under  the  lead  of  Lieutenant  Norton,  and  the  reading 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        327 

of  an  original  poem  by  Miss  Latimer,  commemorative  of  the 
sacrifices  made  in  behalf  of  the.  Republic  by  its  fallen  soldiers. 

AT  COKRY,  PENN. 

On  Thursday,  June  25th,  according  to  appointment,  Post  70, 
G.  A.  R.,  of  this  city,  accompanied  by  a  large  number  of  citi- 
zens, performed  the  appropriate  ceremony  of  strewing  the 
graves  of  the  fallen  brave  in  our  cemeteries  and  those  at  Colum- 
bus. The  procession  formed  at  2  o'clock  at  the  headquarters  of 
the  Post,  on  the  corner  of  Centre  and  Washington  streets,  and, 
preceded  by  the  Corry  Brass  and  Martial  Bands,  and  followed 
by  nearly  forty  carriages,  proceeded  to  the  cemetery.  Previous 
thereto,  however,  a  squad  visited  the  Catholic  Cemetery  to 
decorate  the  grave  of  a  soldier  who  lies  there,  it  being  the  re- 
quest of  Father  Lonergan  that  no  formal  ceremonies  be  had. 
AVhen  the  procession  arrived  at  Pine  Grove  Cemetery,  the  fol- 
lowing exercises  were  had  :  1st.  Reading  the  General  Order  of 
General  Logan,  by  Rev.  Mr.  Leslie.  2d.  A  very  feeling,  elo- 
quent, and  appropriate  prayer  by  Rev.  J.  T.  Protheroe.  3d. 
Song  by  the  ladies.  4th.  Strewing  the  flowers.  Then  the  band 
struck  up  a  patriotic  air,  and  the  procession  re-formed  and  rode 
out  to  Columbus.  Arriving  at  the  church  in  that  place,  a  large 
concourse  of  people,  including  the  Sunday-school  children  of 
the  place,  were  in  waiting.  Toeee  joined  in  the  procession,  and 
all  marched  to  the  East  cemetery.  There  the  exercises  were 
opened  by  the  reading  of  the  General  Order  by  Post  Com- 
mander Buss,  followed  by  an  excellent  prayer  by  Rev.  L.  L. 
Spencer,  and  a  song  by  the  ladies  of  Columbus.  Two  graves 
were  there  decorated.  The  procession  then  proceeded  to  the 
West  cemetery,  strewing  there  the  graves  of  three  fallen  braves. 

C.  S.  Wilson,  Esq.,  then  delivered  a  short  address,  the  bene- 
diction was  pronounced  by  Rev.  J.  S.  Lytle,  of  Corry,  and  the 
exercises  of  the  day  were  concluded. 


ADDBES8   OF   0.    8.    WILSON. 


CITIZENS  AND  SOLDIERS  :  No  civilized  nation  ever  forgot  its 
soldiers.  By  order  of  Gen.  Logan,  Commander-in-chief,  May 
30th  is  the  day  set  apart  to  strew  with  flowers,  or  .otherwise  dec- 
orate, IfJie  graves  of  deceased  soldier's.  This  is  the  30th  day  of 
May  continued.  The  ceremony  is  to  strengthen  and  preserve 
those  kind  and  fraternal  feelings  that  have  bound  together  the 
soldiers,  sailors  and  marines,  who  fought  shoulder  to  shoulde* 
to  suppress  the  rebellion.  In  the  spirit  of  your  order,  soldi  en 


328  MEMORIAL    CEEEMONIES 

cherish  tenderly  the  memory  of  your  dead  comrades.  Guard 
their  graves  with  sacred  vigilance.  All  that  the  wealth  and 
taste  of  a  nation  can  do  for  their  adornment  and  security,  is  but 
a  fit  tribute  to  their  memory.  Truly,  let  no  rude  foot  tread  on 
this  hallowed  ground.  Let  none  but  reverent  visitors  and  fond 
mourners  come  here.  Let  no  neglect — no  ravages  of  time,  tes- 
tify to  present  or  coming  generations,  that  you  have  forgotten 
the  honored  dead.  And  if  other  hearts  grow  cold,  and  other 
hands  slack,  you  will  observe  the  ceremony  as  long  as  the  light 
and  warmth  of  life  remain.  On  the  30th  day  of  May,  of  each 
successive  year,  you  will  gather  round  the  passionless  mounds, 
and  strew  o'er  them  the  choicest  flowers  of  spring,  aud  raise 
above  them  the  dear  old  flag  they  saved  from  dishonor.  It  is 
truly  to  be  hoped  that  this  ceremony  will  be  kept  up  as  long  as 
a  survivor  of  the  war  shall  remain,  to  honor,  the  memory  of  his 
departed  comrade.  If  the  Athenians  could  wreath  the  monu- 
ments of  their  dead  warriors  with  flowers,  and  dream  of  an 
eternal  Elysium  for  them,  purchased  by  self-sacrificing  bravery, 
you  will  not  forget  our  dead  warriors,  for  a  devotion  to  country 
as  honorable  and  self-sacrificing  as  any  the  ample  page  of  his- 
tory records. 

This  is  another  National  Anniversary,  and  justly  so,  for 
there  is  not  a  hamlet  in  a  Northern  state,  but  gave  a  soldier — 
no  village  however  small,  but  has  within  its  churchyard  the 
bones  of  some  patriot,  who  came  home  battle-scarred  and  weary, 
to  rest  from  labors  well  accomplished — no  family  but  misses  one 
familiar  face.  Our  citizens,  all  over  our  land,  are  joined  to  the 
dead  by  that  affeetio'n  which  death  cannot  unloose.  They  will 
gather  here  every  year  with  you,  and  strew  flowers  upon  the 
graves  of  the  noblest  of  our  race.  No  honor  is  too  great,  that 
a  loyal  and  grateful  people  can  do  in  memory  of  those  who  per- 
ished for  principles  that  all  are  obligated  to  preserve.  Let  the 
people  adorn  their  resting  places,  and  feel  in  the  presence  of 
these  little  mounds,  that  they  tread  on  holy  ground.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  this  National  Anniversary,  like  the  observance  of  the 
Fourth  of  July,  will  be  kept  up  from  year  to  year.  What 
though  there  are  no  noisy  demonstrations — no  ringing  of  bells 
— booming  of  cannon,  and  other  accompaniments  of  a  Fourth 
of  July  celebration,  it  will"  reach  an  under-current  of  feeling, 
and  vibrate  a  'chord,  that  will  chain  the  patriotic  heart  to  its 
country  more  firmly  than  all  other  ceremonies  combined.  'Tis 
here  our  hearts  are  touched  by  the  better  angels  of  our  nature. 
Here  sleep  the  honored  dead.  "  The  breeze  fans  their  verdant 
covering,  the  sunshine  and  the  storm  pass  over  them,"  yet  no 
sound  proceeds  from  them,  save  this :  "  Protect  that  flag." 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  329 

Around  the  patriot's  grave  each  year  will  stand  the  father  who 
remembers  his  manly  boy — the  mother  her  darling  son — broth- 
ers and  sisters  will  be  here  who  will  be  reminded  of  the  fami- 
ly's brave  favorite — and  last,  though  not  least,  in  this  annual 
pilgrimage,  will  be  the  widow  and  orphans  of  the  deceased. 
Can  any  man  show  how  well  he  loves  his  God,  (be  he  soldier  or 
citizen,)  better  than  in  finding  clothing  and  caring  for  these  wor- 
thy objects  of  a  nation's  protecting  care.  The  departed  heroes 
have  done  as  they  could  to  family,  kindred  and  country.  By 
what  they  have  done  and  sacrificed,  we  still  live  in  the  land  of 
the  free,  and  the  home  of  the  brave.  Citizens,  you  promised  the 
soldier  at  his  enlistment,  that  you  would  care  for  and  protect  his 
family;  don't  forget  their  poverty  and  want.  The  surviving 
soldier  has  done  enough  for  you  and  me,  if  he  should  not  alone 
and  unaided,  look  after  the  interests  of  these  objects  of  charity. 
You  may  well  from  your  abundance  afford  to  look  after  them, 
if  the  soldier  could  afford  to  offer  up  his  life  upon  the  altar  of  his 
country.  Yet  having  done  so  much,  let  it  be  recorded  to  the 
immortal  honor  of  the  living  hero  with  his  armless  sleeve,  that 
he  is  doing  more  for  them  to-day  than  you  are.  Citizens,  I  am 
only  reminding  you  of  your  duty  to  these  objects  of  a  nation's 
benefaction.  Soldiers,  I  learn  from  the  orders  you  have  read  to- 
day, that  you  are  pledged  to  care  for  the  widows  and  orphans 
of  the  soldiers,  sailors  and  marines,  whom  war  has  left  among 
us,  in  your  several  posts  of  the  G.  A.  H.  This  is  more  than  your 
duty.  You  did  your  duty  upon  the  field.  You  rushed  to  arms 
at  \c.\\r  country's  call.  You  served  your  time  in  one  of  the 
mo>t  sanguinary  struggles  of  the  centuries.  During  that  strug- 
gle there  were  moments  when  the  fate  of  this  nation  hung  upon 
your  unflinching  and  heroic  bravery.  Amid  iron  rain  and  lead- 
en hail,  you  pressed  on,  yielding  to  no  check.  Shattered  column 
after  column  was  closed  up  and  pressed  on,  only  to  be  mown 
down  in  the  cumulative  harvest  of  death.  You  know  what 
sieges  and  hotly  contested  battle-fields  mean.  Aye,  and  too 
many  of  you  know  what  Andersonville  and  Libby  mean,  where 
mind,  spirit  and  soul  were  systematically  starved  out  of  living 
men,  so  that  reason  was  dethroned,  and  the  victim  was  neither 
alive  nor  dead — not  an  animal,  nor  yet  a  human  being ;  and 
from  the  contemplation  of  these  living  skeletons — with  the  va- 
cant and  idiotic  stare  of  a  starved  soul,  civilized  warfare,  aye, 
and  savage,  turns  with  loathing  indignation  and  disgust. 

The  country  owes  you  more  than  it  can  ever  pay,  for  stand- 
ing by  it  during  its  gloomiest  hours  of  trial.  From  all  over  this 
land  you  went  forth,  leaving  happy  homes  and  loving  families, 
and  all  to  save  the  Republic,  that  liberty  should  not  perish  from 


330  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

the  earth.  Yes,  young  and  old  went.  Some  in  the  earlier 
years  of  youth,  and  some  in  the  maturer  years  of  manhood,  hy 
thousands  and  hundreds  of  thousands.  The  whole  land  is  tilled 
with  graves,  that  tell  us  with  expressive  silence,  the  sacrifices 
patriotism  has  made.  You  represent  their  survivors.  May  1 
say  that  you  have  gained  a  glorious  immortality  ?  If  there  be  a 
patriotic  department  in  the  kingdom  (and  I  think  there  is),  and 
if  the  books  have  been  rightly  kept,  on  presenting  an  honorable 
discharge,  you  must  be  admitted  to  a  seat. 

What  may  I  say  of  the  honored  dead  ?  There  can  now  no 
longer  be  a  doubt  of  immortality.  Their  deeds,  their  worthy 
deeds  alone,  have  rendered  them  immortal ;  though  dead  they 
live.  In  this  world  "  no  man  liveth  for  himself  alone — some  die 
that  others  may  live.  The  citizens  at  best  are  but  for  a  day,  but 
the  country  is  for  all  time."  The  aged  man  plants  the  shade- 
tree,  not  for  himself,  but  his  children  and  children's  children, 
who  may  come  after  him.  The  dead  warrior  watered  with  his 
blood,  the  tree  of  our  liberty,  not  for  himself,  but  for  others,  who 
now  pluck  its  fruit.  May  I  say  they  are  in  the  patriot's  heaven, 
keeping  step  to  the  martial  music  of  the  spheres  ?  As  Lincoln 
said,  let  us  say  :  "  That  we  here  highly  resolve  that  these  dead 
shall  not  have  died  in  vain;  that  this  nation,  under  God,  shall 
have  a  new  birth  of  freedom  ;  that  Government  of  the  people, 
by  the  people,  and  for  the  people,  shall  not  perish  from  the 
earth." 

AT   SCHTTYLKILL   HAVEN,  PENT*. 

The  ceremony  of  decorating  soldiers'  graves  was  observed  in 
Schuylkill  Haven  by  Post  26,  G.  A.  R.,  in  the  following  man- 
ner:— In  obedience  to  previous  notice,  the  members  of  Post  26, 
preceded  by  the  Brass  Band,  marched  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Wm. 
H.  Levan,  where  they  were  joined  by  a  committee  of  fifteen 
ladies,  representing  the  various  churches  in  said  Borough.  The 
citizens  turned  out  en  masse  and  joined  in  procession.  The 
stores  and  other  places  of  business  were  closed  during  the 
solemn  display.  The  whole  procession  then  moved  to  the  Epis- 
copal Cemetery,  thence  to  the  Large  Cemetery.  On  arriving  at 
the  latter,  the  assemblage  listened  attentively  to  appropriate 
addresses  delivered  by  Rev.  Mr.  Yeiser,  Dougherty,  Kline,  and 
Beckley,  after  which  a  dirge,  composed  expressly  for  the  occa- 
sion by  Miss  C.  G.  Robinson,  was  sung.  The  work  of  beautify- 
ing the  graves  was  then  commenced.  Each  grave  was  visited 
in  succession,  and  an  abundance  of  flowers  was  strewn  over  each 
of  the  nineteen  graves. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        331 

AT  ST.  CLAIE,  PKX.V. 

Extensive  preparations  had  been  in  progress  for  several  days 
by  a  detail  from  Post  47,  G.  A.  R.,  in  order  to  make  every  pos- 
sible solemnity  for  the  occasion,  and  too  much  credit  cannot  be 
given  to  the  detail  for  their  energy  and  labor.  Some  time  pre- 
vious to  the  appointed  hour,  our  town  had  the  appearance  of  an 
old  style  of  holiday,  and  at  the  time  for  the  procession  to  move 
all  was  in  a  blaze  of  enthusiasm,  the  Post  numbering  about  one 
hundred  members,  with  the  St.  Clair  Cornet  Band,  which  dis- 
coursed some  excellent  music.  The  column  moved  off  with 
Junior  Sons  of  America  ;  Good  Templars,  and  Cadets  of  Tem- 
perance, all  under  command  of  Post  Commander  H.  B.  Ses- 
inger,  down  Main  street  to  Odd  Fellows'  Cemetery ;  bells  ring- 
ing, minute-guns  tiring,  and  all  business  places  closed.  Upon 
arrival  at  the  Cemetery,  the  Baud  struck  up  a  beautiful  dirge, 
when  the  column  assumed  the  step  of  the  dead  march  to  the 
sacred  ground,  where  lay  some  of  our  fallen  heroes.  After  being 
drawn  up  in  line,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Burrows  offered  up  an  appro- 
priate prayer,  and  a  beautiful  ode  was  sung  by  some  comrades. 
Parade  was  dismissed  for  a  few  moments  for  the  purpose  of 
strewing  the  graves  with  flowers  and  other  decorations.  Assem- 
bly being  sounded,  line  was  again  formed  and  marched  back  to 
Main  street,  where  a  large  delegation  of  ladies,  gentlemen,  and 
children  of  various  orders  from  Wadesville  was  received;  posi- 
tion being  assigned  them, .line  was  marched  to  the  German  and 
Irish  Cemeteries,  and  Welsh  and  Borough  Cemeteries,  where  the 
closing  ceremonies  took  place,  with  prayer  by  comrade  Rev. 
Mr.  Ashton.  Line  was  again  formed  and  marched  through  our 
principal  streets ;  our  citizens  were  much  pleased  at  the  very 
satisfactory  manner  in  which  all  the  ceremonies  were  performed, 
and  feel  as  if  under  any  circumstances  our  borough  has  -the 
material  for  demonstrations  equal  to  any  of  our  sister  towns. 
At  the  cemeteries  many  tear-bedimmed  eyes  and  flushed  cheeks 
spoke  more  eloquently  than  words,  of  the  feelings  that  were 
at  work  within  the  hearts  of  all.  The  day  passed  off  without 
the  slightest  mar  or  interruption,  and  after  all  had  dispersed  to 
their  quiet  homes  an  invocation  of  God's  goodness  appeared  to 
give  the  ceremonies  an  endorsement  from  Him,  and  the 
"  Heavens  were  moved  to  tears."  Comrade  Rev.  Mr.  Ashton  de- 
livered an  impressive  sermon  to  the  Post  on  Sunday  evening, 
with  many  good  and  patriotic  points  in  his  arguments. 

AT  POTTSTOWN,  PENN. 
The  ceremonies  were  performed  under  the  auspices  of  Potts- 


332  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

town  Post,  No.  106.  At  six  o'clock  p.  M.,  the  members  of  the 
Post,  and  other  soldiers  of  the  late  war,  assembled  on  Hanover 
street,  near  High,  where  an  organization  was  effected.  A  de- 
tachment marched  to  Keystone  Hall,  procured  the  flower- 
wreaths  kindly  contributed  by  our  patriotic  ladies,  and  then 
resumed  position  on  Hanover  street,  where  they  were  joined  by 
Stanley's  Union  Cornet  Band,  and,  soon  after,  by  Guldin's 
Cornet  Band.  At  half-past  six  o'clock,  sharp,  the  procession 
moved  to  the  Old  Brick  Church,  and  the  six  soldiers'  graves  in 
the  churchyard  were  appropriately  decorated.  The  line  of  march 
was  resumed  for  Pottstown  Cemetery,  where  twenty  of  our 
fallen  braves  are  interred.  A  banner,  bearing  the  inscription, 
"  In  memory  of  our  absent  dead,"  surrounded  by  evergreens 
and  flowers,  was  placed  near  the  western  gate.  As  each  sol- 
dier's grave  was  visited,  the  soldiers  in  line,  filing  right  and  left, 
surrounded  the  burial  plot ;  a  miniature  national  flag,  on  which 
was  engrossed  the  name  and  regiment  of  the  deceased,  was 
planted  at  the  head  of  the  tomb,  over  which  was  placed  a  wreath 
of  flowers.  During  this  ceremony, — which  was  observed  at  all 
the  graves — the  late  comrades  of  the  patriot  dead  stood  uncov- 
ered, the  flag  was  drooped  over  the  grass-mantled  mound,  and 
the  band  played  a  mournful  dirge. 

During  the  ceremonies  the  stores  and  other  business  estab- 
lishments in  the  borough  were  closed,  and  the  church  bells 
were  tolled. 

The  following  is  a  complete  list  of  the  deceased  soldiers,  who 
served  in  the  Union  army  during  the  rebellion,  buried  in  this 
locality,  and  whose  graves  were  visited  on  the  occasion  above 
noted.  The  date  given  is  the  time  of  burial : 

Henry  Gilbert,  53d  Pa.  Vols.,  Sept.  1861 ;  Edwin  L.  Eoy- 
er,  53d  P.  V.,  Nov.  19,  1861 ;  Samuel  Eeifsnyder,  53d  P.  Y., 
Dec.  1,  1861;  Paul  Frick,  53d  P.  V.,  July  12,  1862;  Jacob 
Nagle,  53d  P.  V.,  July  15,  1862  ;  William  Malsberger,  53d 
P.  V.,  Dec.  12,  1862;  Edward  Kocher,  68th  P.  V.,  March  23, 
1863  ;  Jacob  Schoenly,  53d  P.  V.,  April  12,  1863 ;  John  Lan- 
dis,  68th  P.  V.,  May  29,  1863;  Frank  W.  Yocum,  6th  P.  Cav., 
June  30,  1863 ;  John  Haas,  175th  P.  Y.,  July  17,  1863  ;  Jerome 
Byar,  26th  P.  M.,  Aug.  24,  1863;  John  E.  Levengood,  Feb.  10, 
1864 ;  Thomas  Dearolf,  68th  P.  V.,  July  20,  1864 ;  George 
W.  Schwenk,  Oct.  23,  1864;  Geo.  W.  Holt,  53d  P.  Y.,  Nov. 
21,  1864 ;  Geo.  W.  Bechtel,  53d  P.  Y.,  Feb.  4,  1865  ;  Thomas 
M.  Mauger,  68th  P.  Y. ;  Edward  K.  Weand,  53d  P.  Y.,  April 
12,  1865;  John  B.  Mauger,  May  12,  1865;  Henry  Fryer,  53d 
P.  Y.,  July  15, 1865  ;  John  Henry  Fryer,  53d  P.  Y.,  'Jan.  20, 
1866  ;  Charles  Trayer,  Sept.  9,  1866 ;  Mathias  Fox,  Sept.  14, 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  333 

1866;  Abram  Weidner,  Marine,  Jan.  8,1867;  John  H.  Eoot, 
53d  P.  Y.,  April  12,  1868 ;  Albert  G.  Davis,  15th  P.  Cav., 
May  27,  1868. 

AT  WAYNESBURG,  PENN. 

Prompted  by  the  sacred  feelings  of  affection,  springing 
from  personal  friendship,  patriotism  and  gratitude  combined, 
and  laying  aside  all  differences  of  political  opinion,  the  surviv- 
ing soldiers  of  the  war,  the  ladies  and  citizens  of  this  town  and 
vicinage,  united  in  this  labor  of  love.  Having  assembled  at 
the  Court  House,  at  2  o'clock,  p.  M.,  each  one  bringing  his  or 
her  offering  of  flowers,  tastefully  formed  into  bouquets,  wreaths, 
crosses,  hearts,  shields,  &c.,  the  procession  was  formed  bv  the 
Marshals,  J.  Jackson  Purman,  Robert  Adams  and  William 
Hays,  as  follows:  National  Brass  Band ;  Chaplain  and  Speaker; 
Soldiers  preceded  by  color-bearer,  Joseph  Cooke,  with  flag  at 
half-mast ;  Citizens  preceded  by  ladies  with  flowers. 

On  arriving  at  Green  Mountain  Cemetery  the  following 
exercises  were  nad  :  Dirge  by  Brass  Band  ;  Prayer  by  Rev.  C. 
A.  Hampton ;  Yocal  Music  ;  Address  by  Rev  A.  D.  Hall  ;  Dec- 
orating of  graves — which  was  performed  by  the  procession 
moving  in  regular  order,  from  grave  to  grave,  and  strewing  them 
with  bouquets  as  they  passed. 

Ceremonies  being  over  at  the  cemetery,  the  procession  again 
took  up  its  line  of  march,  first  proceeding  to  Hookstown,  and 
thence  to  Morrisville,  and  at  the  graveyards  of  each,  substan- 
tially the  same  ceremonies  were  performed  ;  the  procession  then 
returning  to  Waynesburg,  and  dispersing  to  their  homes. 

AT  NEW  BUFFALO,  PA. 

The  members  of  Post  No.  66,  together  with  invited  com- 
rades not  members,  uniformed,  armed,  and  equipped,  under  the 
command  of  Comrade  E.  D.  Wells,  aide-de-camp  for  the  dis- 
trict, proceeded  to  the  burying-ground,  about  three  quarters  of 
a  mile  from  town,  where  were  interred  the  remains  of  the 
deceased  soldiers.  On  arriving  at  the  burying-ground,  they 
marched  through  it,  saluting  in  turn  the  grave  of  each  comrade ; 
after  which,  they  stacked  arms,  and  decorated  the  graves  with 
wreuths  and  strewed  them  with  flowers.  They  then  retired  to 
a  shady  spot,  and  listened  to  an  appropriate  address  delivered 
by  a  comrade,  said  address  being  prepared  by  him  for  the  occa- 
sion. They  then  marched  to  town  and  encamped,  and  cooked 
suppers  in  soldierly  style  and  of  soldiers'  fare.  After  supper, 
had  company  drill  and  dress  parade,  and  then  dismissed.  The 
proceedings  passed  off  very  well,  and  all  were  well  pleased. 


334  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

AT  HARRISBUKG,  PENN. 

All  over  the  city,  flags  were  displayed  from  public  buildings 
and  dwellings,  and  the  city  assumed  a  holiday  attire.  A  large 
flag  was  suspended  from  the  Capitol  building  at  half-mast,  the 
front  facing  West  State  street  being  decorated  with  the  State 
flags  of  the  different  regiments  who  had  carried  them  through 
many  a  gory  battle,  and  torn  and  riddled  by  shot  and  shell. 
The  Hope  Engine  house  was  decorated  with  American  flags. 
Their  large  flag  was  hung  at  half-mast ;  and  upon  the  cupola 
large  flags,  bearing  the  motto,  "  We  Mourn  the  Martyred  of  our 
Holy  Cause,"  were  displayed.  Over  the  door  was  placed  the 
inscription,  "  We  Mourn  ;  "  and  in  the  centre  of  the  front,  "  A 
Nation  Mourns,"  with  flags  surrounding.  Messrs.  Gardner  and 
Sayford  had  a  motto  placed  over  their  door,  "  Rest  in  Peace  ;  " 
and  in  East  State  street,  and  all  over  the  city,  the  display  of 
banting  and  appropriate  mottoes  was  both  noticeable  and  nu- 
merous. Everywhere  was  the  emblem  of  our  nation's  honor 
flung  to  the  breeze. 

At  half-past  1  o'clock  the  procession  started  from  the  Capi- 
tol building,  and  proceeded  out  East  State  street  to  the  Harris- 
burg  Cemetery,  in  the  following  order :  Band  ;  Members  of 
the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  ;  Soldiers,  Sailors,  and  Ma- 
rines ;  Resident  and  Visiting  Clergymen ;  Schools ;  Associa- 
tions ;  Citizens.  On  the  arrival  of  the  procession  at  the  Hams- 
burg  Cemetery,  an  eloquent  prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  C.  I. 
Thompson.  The  following  hymn,  which  was  written  by  Mr. 
Jno.  S.  Boyle,  Clerk  in  the  Auditor-General's  ©ffice,  and  which 
was  an  entirely  impromptu  affair,  having  only  been  suggested  to 
him  the  evening  before,  was  sung  by  the  assemblage. 

Tune—"  Pleyel's  Hymn." 
Sftand  we  now  with  drooping  head 
Where  repose  our  martyr' d  dead ; 
And  with  mournful  voice  we  raise 
Funeral  paeans  to  their  praise. 

That  our  glorious  land  should  be 
Dedicated  to  Liberty, 
Offered  they  their  precious  lives 
As  a  ransoming  sacrifice. 

Grant  them,  Lord,  eternal  rest 
On  thy  gracious,  loving  breast ; 
May  their  memories  ever  shine 
With  a  lustre  all  divine. 
Looking  from  the  teeming  sod 
Prayerful  up  to  our  God, 
O'er  their  graves  with  loving  care 
Strew  we  flowers  sweet  and  rare. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  335 

The  friends  and  comrades  of  the  deceased  then  proceeded  to 
strew  flowers  and  decorate  the  graves,  the  band  meanwhile  dis- 
coursing a  solemn  dirge.  At  the  conclusion  of  these  exercises, 
the  assemblage  was  again  called  together,  and  proceeded  to  the 
centre  of  the  grounds,  where  addresses  full  of  eloquence  and 
patriotism  were  delivered  by  Rev.  Dr.  Fisher,  of  Utica,  N.  Y., 
Kev.  Mr.  McCorkle,  of  Detroit,  Mich.,  Rev.  Dr.  Duryea,  of 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  and  Hon.  Wm.  E.  Dodge,  of  New  York.  ^  At 
the  conclusion  of  the  orations  the  whole  assembly  united  in  sing- 
ing, "  My  Country,  'tis  of  thee,"  &c.,  the  band  accompanying 
with  music.  The  Benediction  was  pronounced  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Boing,  of  Tennessee,  when  the  procession  moved  to  the  Ca'tho- 
lic  Cemetry,  where  the  ceremony  of  strewing  flowers  over  the 
grave  was  again  gone  through  with,  according  to  the  pro- 

gramme,  the  services  being  conducted  by  Father  Maher,  in  the 
atholic  faith.     The  assemblage  then  returned  to  the  city,  hav- 
ing shown  their  reverence  and  affection,  and  honored  the  dead 
whose  memory  is  inscribed  high  on  the  roll  of  fame. 

The  patriot  sleeps  in  the  land  of  his  choice, 

In  the  robe  of  a  martyr  all  gory, 
And  heeds  not  the  tones  of  the  world-waking  voice, 

That  covers  his  ashes  with  glory. 
What  recks  he  of  riches,  what  cares  he  for  fame, 

Or  a  world  decked  in  grandeur  and  beauty ; 
If  the  marble  shall  speak  that  records  his  proud  name, — 

He  fell  at  his  post  doing  duty. 

The  Delany  Guards  assumed  the  management  and  conduct- 
ed the  ceremonies  at  the  colored  cemeteries.  They  formed  at 
their  hall  in  Tanner's  Alley,  and,  headed  by  martial  music, 
and  followed  by  an  immense  concourse  of.  colored  people  of 
both  sexes,  proceeded,  about  3  o'clock,  to  march  out  to  the 
cemeteries  devoted  to  their  use,  where  flowers  were  strewed 
over  the  graves  and  appropriate  ceremonies  delivered. 

AT  CATTARATJGUS,  PENN 

The  members  of  Post  74,  Cattaraugus,  responded  to  the  call 
of  their  commander-in-chief,  and  made  the  necessary  prepara- 
tions for  the  decoration  of  the  soldiers'  graves  lying  in  Fair  view 
Cemetery.  The  Post  was  formed  in  front  of  their  hall  on  Front 
street,  headed  by  the  Bath  Cornet  Band,  and  from  there  pro- 
ceeded to  the  front  of  the  Hon.  David  Thomas'  residence  on 
Second  street,  where  the  procession  was  formed,  and  joined  by 
the  Chief  Burgess,  Hon.  John  Williams,  and  Rev.  Messrs.  Earle, 
Best,  and  Lehr,  and  Miss  "Wison's  and  Miss  McKee's  schools. 


336  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

The  procession  then  marched  to  the  Cemetery,  where  the  Post 
and  schools  proceeded  to  decorate  the  graves.  The  procession 
then  formed  in  front  of  the  large  Soldiers'  Monument,  when 
prayer  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Best,  and  addresses  deliv- 
ered by  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Earle  and  Lehr ;  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lehr 
closing  the  ceremonies  with  prayer.  The  roll  of  the  dead  heroes 
lying  in  the  Cemetery  was  then  called  by  one  comrade,  and  re- 
sponded to  by  another  in  giving  the  cause  of  death,  &c.  ;  after 
which,  a  salute  of  three  rounds  was  fired  in  honor  of  the  dead 
heroes.  The  procession  then  returned  and  paraded  the  princi- 
pal streets  of  the  town ,  and,  returning  to  the  Hall,  was  dis- 
missed. 

AT  NEWCASTLE,  PENN. 

The  morning  was  cloudy,  but  without  the  threatening  of 
rain;  the  atmosphere  just  warm  enough  and  just  cool  enough 
to  be  pleasant,  and  the  streets  in  excellent  condition.  About 
half-past  9  o'clock  a  large  number  of  ladies,  all  bearing  fresh 
and  beautiful  Spring  flowers,  assembled  on  the  public  square, 
and  were  formed  in  order  for  procession.  At  10  o'clock  every 
business  house,  including  all  the  banks  and  offices,  was  closed  ; 
and,  except  for  the  large  crowds  on  the  streets,  the  town  wore 
the  appearance  of  Sabbath.  Precisely  at  10  o'clock,  the  Grand 
Army  left  their  hall,  headed  by  the  excellent  Silver  Cornet 
Band,  and  marched  down  Washington  street,  the  band  playing 
the  Dead  March  in  the  most  perfect  style.  On  arriving  at  the 
square,  the  Grand  Army  was  halted,  while  the  band  marched 
on  till  a  gap  was  made  between  them  sufficiently  large  to  admit 
the  long  procession  of  ladies  who  were  in  waiting  to  join  the 
procession.  Everything  moved  in  the  most  perfect  order,  and 
with  a  silence  and  solemnity  at  once  appropriate  to  the  occasion, 
and  impressive.  Even  the  word  of  command  was  given  in  a 
subdued  tone,  and  the  very  boys,  usually  so  full  of  life  and 
romping,  seemed  to  catch  the  spirit  of  the  occasion,  and  were  as 
orderly  as  they  could  have  been  if  they  were  acting  as  pall- 
bearers to  one  of  their  dearest  playmates.  It  was  a  beautiful 
sight,  that  long  line  of  the  fair  and  lovely  of  the  land,  followed 
by  stalwart  men  who  had  braved  death  in  its  most  sudden 
form — many  of  whom  bore  upon  their  persons  the  marks  of 
sanguinary  conflict — now  marching  with  reverently  bowed  heads 
to  the  solemn  music  for  the  dead,  each  loaded  with  wreaths  and 
garlands  with  which  to  adorn  the  last  resting-place  of  their 
Fallen  comrades.  After  crossing  the  bridge,  the  martial  band 
took  up  the  solemn  strain,  and  the  immense  throng  kept  time  to 
the  muffled  drums  till  the  gate  of  the  cemetery  was  reached, 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  337 

when  the  cornet  band  performed  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
dirges  we  have  ever  listened  to.  On  arriving  at  a  spot  where 
many  of  the  soldier  dead  of  the  cemetery  sleep,  a  large  hollow 
square  was  formed  round  the  graves,  when  the  Grand  Army 
stood  at  rest  with  uncovered  heads,  and  W.  T.  Dougherty,  the 
Post  Commander,  stepped  forward  and  invited  the  relatives  of 
the  deceased  soldiers  buried  in  the  cemetery  inside  the  square. 
Then  ensued  a  scene  beyond  the  power  of  pen  or  pencil  to  por- 
tray. While  a  sweet,  sad  requiem  seemed  just  breathed  from 
the  brass  throats  of  the  instruments,  women  bent  with  the 
weight  of  years,  women  in  the  bloom  of  life,  maidens  just  bud- 
ding into  womanhood,  and  those  of  tenderer  years,  took  their 
places  beside  the  last  resting-place  of  their  loved  and  lost.  He 
who  looked  upon  that  scene,  with  all  its  surroundings,  and  felt 
no  moisture  on  his  cheek,  should  never  boast  of  his  manhood. 
Mr.  Dougherty  then  read  the  General  Order  under  which  this 
ceremony  was  observed,  accompanying  it  with  a  beautiful  little 
speech  of  words  well  chosen,  in  regard  to  the  fitness  of  paying 
this  tribute  of  respect  to  their  departed  comrades.  Rev.  \^.  T. 
Wylie  was  then  called  on,  and  offered  an  eloquent  prayer. 
Then  commenced  the  calling  of  the  roll  of  Lawrence  County's 
dead,  whose  lives  were  sacrificed  that  their  country  might  live. 
As  each  name  was  called,  the  response  came  from  one  of  the 
survivors  of  his  company,  telling  how  he  met  his  death  ;  as  for 
instance  :  Captain  vangorder  ! — "  Died  of  wounds  received  at 
second  Bull  Run."  And  so  on  till  near  four  hundred  names 
were  called,  and  still  the  list  was  not  complete.  Another  re- 
quiem was  played  by  the  band,  and  Colonel  Leasure,  the  orator 
of  the  day,  was  introduced.  Colonel  Leasure  made  a  beautiful 
and  appropriate  speech  of  about  ten  minutes'  duration,  and 
then  the  Grand  Army  separated  into  four  platoons,  and,  assist- 
ed by  the  ladies,  proceeded  to  strew  with  tne  beautiful  flowers 
they  bore  the  graves  of  their  comrades.  One  of  the  most  beau- 
tiful incidents  occurred  at  this  time.  The  heavens  had  been 
covered  with  a  thick  veil  all  the  morning  ;  but  just  at  the  mo- 
ment the  strewing  of  flowers  commenced,  the  sun  burst  through 
the  clouds  and  shone  with  unusual  brilliancy  upon  the  scene. 
The  feathered  songsters  in  the  trees,  whose  presence  had  hereto- 
fore been  unknown,  struck  their  liveliest  notes,  in  beautiful  con- 
trast with  the  solemn  dirge  so  well  performed  on  the  instru- 
ments, as  though  all  nature  was  in  sympathy  with  the  ceremony. 
Wherever  the  grave  of  a  soldier  was  known,  it  was  visited,  and 
the  fairest  flowers  of  Spring-time  strewn  over  it.  Nor  were 
those  forgotten  who,  by  the  vicissitudes  of  war,  were  denied 
burial  among  their  kindred.  A  beautiful  mound  has  been  erect- 
22 


338  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

ed  "  to  those  not  buried  here."  In  the  centre  was  planted  the 
Stars  and  Stripes,  and  upon  this  mound  was  reverently  laid 
beautiful  wreaths,  composed  of  evergreens  and  choicest  flowers. 
Every  one  engaged  in  the  delightful  task  had  a  flower  for  those 
who  went  away  and  came  not  back.  The  concluding  prayer 
was  offered  by  Rev.  Mr.  Cowden,  and  the  procession  returned, 
all  certainly  feeling  better  because  they  had  been  there. 

OBATION    BY   GENERAL    LEA  SURE. 

COMRADES  AND  FELLOW-CITIZENS  :  Which  one  of  us,  having 
just  heard  the  roll-call  of  the  dead,  would  dare  to  detract  from 
the  holy  awe  of  this  occasion  by  attempting  to  make  a  display 
of  himself  in  a  set  oration  ?  No  human  tongue,  no  mortal  lips, 
can  add  to  the  solemn  eloquence  of  the  voices  from  the  graves 
of  our  martyred  comrades.  The  Roman  patriots  believed  that 
it  was  "  a  sweet  and  glorious  privilege  to  die  for  one's  country." 

My  friends  and  comrades  !  millions  of  men  have  died  for 
their  country  ;  have  died  for  a  preservation  of  a  dynasty,  or  for 
the  perpetuation  of  the  divine  right  of  kings  in  a  particular 
and  long  descended  royal  line,  and  their  lives  were  yielded  up 
ungrudgingly,  and  right  loyally  ;  and,  no  doubt,  to  them  it  was 

"Dulce  et  decorum  pro  patria  mori," 

inasmuch  as  king  was  to  them  instead  of  country.  But,  to  die 
for  a  great  cause,  as  did  these  our  fellow  soldiers,  now  lying  so 
peacefully  under  our  feet ;  to  die  for  a  cause  that  enfranchised 
a  race  that  counts  its  millions  slowly  toiling  from  the  depths  of 
the  barbaric  ages — for  a  cause  that  speeds  onward  the  progress 
of  civilization  many  centuries — a  cause  that  underlies  the  rights 
of  God-bom  humanity  over  the  whole  earth — the  cause  of  indi- 
vidual right,  regardless  of  birth,  caste,  color  or  sex — in  short, 
the  cause  of  "  the  dear  God  who  made  and  loveth  us,"  as  mani- 
fest in  the  flesh,  to  die  in  such  a  cause  as  this  is  indeed  to  place 
one's  name  on  the  roll  of  the  "  Immortals." 

A  portion  of  that  roll  has  just  been  called  in  our  audience, 
and  we  have  heard  Fame  respond,  telling  how  and  where  they 
fell  and  where  they  lie.  It  is  for  us,  my  fellow-citizens  and 
comrades,  to  remember  why  they  fell,  and  guard  against  the 
possibility  of  the  exceeding  great  and  precious  sacrifice  of  their 
dear  sweet  lives  being  lost  or  frittered  away  among  the  mush- 
room statesmen  of  the  hour,  who  assume  to  form  plans  and  pol- 
icies to  settle  over  again  that  which  we  and  these  our  dead  com- 
rades settled  finally  and  forever  in  the  dread  arbitrament  of 
battle.  We  did  not  go  forth  as  partisans  of  this  or  that  man  or 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        339 

party.  "We  liad  no  party  cry  ;  but,  merging  all  former  parti- 
sanship in  the  one  great  cause  of  loyalty  to  the  Constitution, 
and  the  legitimate  Government,  we  counted  all  things  but  dross, 
we  might  win  in  the  tight  against  the  combined  powers  of  ty- 
ranny and  barbarism,  as  arrayed  against  the  interests  of  civil- 
ization and  humanity.  The  battle  was  not  confined  to  our  own 
country.  It  wag  "  the  conflict  of  the  ages,"  on  a  broader  thea- 
tre than  ever  fought  before :  the  struggle  of  the  individual  man 
to  reach  his  proper  level  as  man,  unfettered  by  kingcraft  or 
priest-craft,  to  stand  before  the  universal  Father,  accountable 
only  to  Him,  as  represented  by  the  aggregate  of  his  fellow  men, 
made  in  the  image  of  God. 

In  the  angust  presence  of  these  mounds  that  gently  swell  over 
the  bosoms  of  our  gallant  comrades,  we  can  indulge  in  no  light 
fancies,  nor  flippant  illusions.  We  :-an  only  remember  how  true 
and  devoted  these  men  were,  who  are  but  the  representatives  of 
three  hundred  thousand,  in  forsaking  home  and  all  the  holy  in- 
fluences that  hallow  the  altar  upon  the  hearth-stone,  and  re- 
member the  duties  they  have  bequeathed  to  us. 

They  have  bequeathed  to  us  the  duty  of  standing  up  for  that 
fo1*  which  they  fell  /  and  amidst  the  clamor  of  faction  and  the 
insane  demands  of  party,  oh,  my  blood  brothers !  let  us  stand 
for  the  integrity  of  the  organic  law  of  the  land,  and  the  purity 
of  its  administration,  even  as  we  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder 
amidst  the  clouds  and  dust  of  battle,  when  we  mingled  our 
blood  with  that  of  these  our  slain  comrades. 

Many  of  you,  my  blood  brothers  !  have  lain,  even  as  I  have, 
beside  those  of  our  now  dead  comrades,  in  the  field  hospital, 
awaiting  in  our  turn  the  cruel  kindness  of  the  surgeon,  and  we 
have  seen  their  lives  slowly  ooze  away — mingling  the  crimson 
current  with  our  own  in  tiny  rivulets,  to  fatten  the  soil  of  ail 
inhospitable  country  ;  and  we  have  seen  their  eyes  slowly  glaze 
with  the  films  of  death,  and  have  received  their  last  words  of 
loving  endearment  for  the  dear  distant  ones,  to  be  seen  no  more 
on  earth  ;  and  through  this  bloody  baptism  we  have  been  born 
again  into  the  birthright  of  an  American  citizen.  Let  us  not 
sell  it  for  a  miserable  mess  of  pottage. 

Amidst  all  the  clamor  of  party,  and  the  solicitations  of  self- 
seekers,  let  us  distinguish  the  true  from  the  false,  and  stand 
firmly  in  peace  by  those  who  stood  firmly  with  us  when  to  stand 
required  the  strength  of  a  man  panoplied  by  the  armor  of  the 
right! 

To  those  of  our  friends  present  who  are  not  comrades  in  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  I  have  a  word  of  explanation  : 
It  is  charged  that  we  are  a  "  political  organization."  If  to  sup- 


340  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

port  the  soldier's  widow,  to  cherish  his  orphan  children,  to  stand 
by  another  soldier,  socially,  morally  and  politically,  constitutes 
a  political  organization,  then  we  are  a  political  organization  ; 
but  I  assure  you,  my  friends,  that  we  know  no  party  in  politics 
that  departs  from  the  landmarks  of  the  Constitution  and  the 
laws  of  the  land,  no  matter  by  what  name  it  may  be  known. 

It  may  seem  strange  that  the  observances  of  the  day  are 
under  the  supervision  of  a  secret  organization.  What  would 
yon  have  ?  Here,  and  all  over  the  country,  lie  the  remains  of 
our  fallen  comrades.  Shall  they  lie  in  forgetfulness  and  k'  in  cold 
obstruction  rot  ?"  For  reasons  best  known  to  politicians,  the 
powers  that  be,  ignore  the  patriot  slain  ;  and  it  remained  for 
Major-General  John  A.  Logan,  Grand  Commander  of  the  Army 
of  the  Republic,  to  issue  an  order  that  the  numerous  Posts  of 
the  Army  decorate  the  graves  of  our  dead  comrades,  all  over 
the  land,  with  wreaths  and  flowers,  on  this  day.  I  am  thankful 
that  somebody  has  given  authority  to  the  pent-up  feelings  of 
patriotic  hearts,  to  meet  by  common  consent  at  the  yet  fresh 
graves  of  our  ^one  before  brothers  ;  to  offer  up  the  tribute  of 
pure  and  suffering  hearts  on  our  common  altar  of  love  and  loy- 
alty ;  and,  therefore,  for  myself  and  comrades,  and  brother  sol- 
diers, I  thank  the  Grand  Commander,  Major-General  John  A. 
Logan,  for  his  order  setting  apart  this  day  to  garland  the  graves 
of  the  immortals. 

These  few  graves  are  but  the  representatives  of  many  others 
scattered  all  over  the  country,  in  every  State  and  Territory ; 
and.  while  we  strew  flowers  over  these  graves,  in  our  heart  of 
hearts  we  garland  all  the  graves  of  the  undistinguishable  but 
not  unhonored  dead  that  lie  on  the  waysides  of  our  old  marches, 
on  the  lonely  picket  post,  on  the  mountain  path,  by  sluggish 
Southern  fever-smitten  rivers,  on  the  hotly  contested  and  aban- 
doned skirmish  line,  and  on  the  neutral  ground  between  the 
hostile  and  menacing  lines  of  the  opposing  hosts,  in  the  gemmed 
and  coralled  caverns  of  the  deep  blue  sea,  everywhere — where- 
ever  lies  one  loved  and  "  missing  in  battle,"  or  starved  in  Rebel 
prisons — in  our  hearts,  this  day,  over  the  length  of  the  land, 
we  garland  with  the  laurel  all  last  resting-places  of  the  noble 
dead. 

AT  EKIE,  PENN. 

Sunday  afternoon  was  one  of  the  cheeriest  and  brightest  of 
June,  and  in  the  shade  of  the  trees  of  the  cemetery,  made  cool 
and  pleasant  by  the  breeze  from  the  lake,  from  three  to  five 
thousand  of  our  citizens  were  collected  to  witness  the  ceremonies 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  341 

connected  with  strewing  with  flowers  the  graves  of  the  soldier 
dead  of  Erie. 

On  the  day  before  all  preparation  had  been  made.  The 
ladies  contributed  the  flowers,  and  made  the  bouquets  and 
wreaths,  and  the  members  of  the  Post  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic  prepared  the  platform  for  the  use  of  the  speaker, 
the  band  and  the  choir.  This  was  at  the  southern  part  of  the 
grounds,  in  the  shade  of  the  large  trees  on  the  hill-side.  Sev- 
eral flags  adorned  the  stand,  among  which  was  the  battle-marked 
standard  of  the  heroic  Eighty-third  Regiment.  The  soldiers' 
graves  were  designated  by  a  small  flag  on  each,  and  the  plan 
of  route  for  decorating  parties  to  follow  determined  on.  As 
the  time  approached,  the  members  of  the  G.  A.  R.  were  formed 
in  line  in  front  of  the  stand,  and  large  numbers  of  spectators 
gathered  around,  many  of  whom  were  relatives  of  tne  dead. 
At  the  appointed  hour,  the  ceremonies  were  introduced  by 
Mehl's  brass  band  playing  several  national  airs.  Then  followed 
the  singing  by  a  choir  of  two  ladies  and  two  gentlemen,  Mrs. 
General  Walker,  Miss  Lizzie  Hunter,  Mr.  Brewster  and  Mr. 
Little,  of  the  song,  "  Where  Dwell  the  Dead  I" 

Where  do  they  dwell  ? 
'Neath  grassy  mounds  by  daisies, 
Lilies  and  yellow-cups  of  purest  gold ; 

Near  gray-grown  walls, 
Where  in  wild  summer  noons, 

Fresh  leaves  are  rustling ; 
Where,  'neath  large  autumn  moons 

Young  birds  are  nestling — 
Do  they  dwell  there  ? 
Do  they  dwell  there  ? 

Where  do  they  dwell  ? 
In  sullen  waters  lying 

On  beds  of  purple  sea-flowers  newly  sprung, 
Where  the  mad  whirlpools  wind  and  ceaseless  sighing 
Frets  sloping  banks,  by  dark  green  weeds  o'erhung  : 
Where,  by  the  torrent's  swell, 

Crystal  stones  glitter, 
While  sounds  the  heavy  bell 
Over  the  river. 

Do  they  dwell  there  ? 
Do  they  dwell  there  ? 

No :  for  in  these  they  slumber  to  decay, 
And  their  remembrance  with  their  life  departs ; 
They  have  a  home  not  dark  nor  far  away, 
Their  proper  home — within  our  faithful  hearts  t 
Their  happy  spirits  wed, 
Loving  forever ! 

There  dwell  with  us  the  dead, 
Parting — ah,  never ! 


342  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Where  do  they  dwell  ? 
*N"eath  grassy  mounds,  by  daisies, 
Lilies  and  yellow-cups  of  fairest  gold; 

Near  gray-grown  walls, 
Where,  in  wild,  tortuous  mazes, 

Old  clustering  ivy  wreathes  in  many  a  fold; 
Where,  in  red  summer  noons. 

Fresh  leaves  are  nestling 
Where,  'neath  large  autumn  moons, 

Young  birds  are  nestling — 
Do  they  dwell  there  ? 
Do  they  dwell  there  ? 

The  Pastor  of  Park  Church,  Rev.  G.  F.  Cain,  offered  up  a 
fervent  prayer.  Mehl's  band  followed  with  a  dirge.  The  choir 
then  sang  the  hymn  beginning, 

"  O,  for  the  death  of  those 
Who  slumber  in  the  Lord," 

at  the  conclusion  of  which  Colonel  Curtis  delivered  the  follow- 
ing address  : 

ADDKESS   OF   COLONEL   CUKTIS. 

FELLOW-COMRADES  :  We,  the  survivors  of  the  late  civil  war, 
accompanied  with  many  sympathizing  friends,  have  taken  occa- 
sion to  visit  the  sepulchres  of  our  fellow-comrades  of  that  gigan- 
tic and  sanguinary  struggle  for  our  national  life,  and  to  strew 
their  graves  with  wreaths  and  flowers,  as  an  appropriate  testi- 
monial of  our  tender  affection  and  mournful  recollection.  We 
wish  also  to  manifest  by  this  floral  tribute  our  own  and  our 
country's  appreciation  of  their  self-sacrificing  patriotism  and  de- 
votion to  country,  for  which,  when  assailed,  our  comrades  freely 
laid  down  their  lives.  We  have  the  fullest  confidence  that  the 
Government  will  gratefully  remember  their  meritorious  service, 
and  tenderly  care  for  the  widows  and  orphan  children  which 
they  have  left  to  mourn  their  loss. 

PI  istory  records  an  Athenian  custom,  which  was  to  wreath 
with  flowers  the  monuments  of  those  who  had  fallen  in  battle. 
Their  fertile  imaginations  also  provided  an  Elysium  which  was 
especially  set  apart  for  the  eternal  rest  of  those  who  had  sacri- 
ficed themselves  in  their  country's  defence.  There  it  was  sup- 
posed or  imagined  that  crystal  streams  from  pure  fountains 
always  flowed,  and  that  the  sweetest  flowers  constantly  bloomed. 
Such  were  the  honors  bestowed  by  a  highly  cultivated  and 
patriotic  people  upon  their  brave  defenders.  The  American 
nation  has  never  yet,  nor  will  it  ever  fail  to  bestow  the  highest 
honors  upon  their  country's  defenders.  The  memory  of  the 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        343 

patriots  who  fell  in  our  revolutionary  struggle  for  our  indepen- 
dence, are  as  fresh  in  the  memory  of  the  nation  as  it  was  when 
our  independence  was  achieved ;  so  it  will  be  with  those  who 
sacrificed  their  lives  to  maintain  in  its  integrity  the  Government 
which  our  fathers  established  at  the  expense  of  so  much  blood, 
treasure,  and  suffering.  While  wre  are  moved  and  grieved  with 
the  sad  thoughts  of  the  events  this  wicked  and  causeless  rebel- 
lion forced  upon  us;  when  we  remember  the  perils  and  dangers 
which  seemed  to  overhang  our  beloved  country — remember  the 
conflict  a  long  time  wagecl  with  doubtful  success ;  when  we  re- 
flect that  all  these  dangers  were  dispelled ;  that  the  Union  army 
were  finally  triumphant ;  that  our  country,  with  its  free  institu- 
tions, and  the  blessings  which  flow  from  them,  were  preserved ; 
we  cannot  but  feel  that  our  comrades,  whose  loss  we  mourn, 
have  not  fallen  in  vain.  Human  life  is  not  altogether  measured 
by  the  number  of  years  to  which  it  may  be  prolonged,  but  that 
life  is  the  most  valuable  and  the  longest  which  best  subserves 
life's  great  ends.  "  Let  all  the  ends  thou  aim'st  at  be  thy  coun- 
try's— thy  God's  and  Truth's,"  is  a  wise  saying,  and  worthy  of 
all  commendatiou.  What  end  can  mortal  man  attain  more 
glorious  than  yielding  himself  up  for  the  salvation  of  his  coun- 
try ?  Our  comrades  whose  graves  we  have  met  here  to-day  to 
decorate,  lived  long  enough  to  furnish  a  glorious  example  for 
the  imitation  of  future  generations.  The  pages  of  history  no- 
Vhere  record  the  struggle  of  any  people  for  their  nationality 
more  heroic  and  sanguinary  than  our  own.  Throughout  that 
terrible  conflict  the  fate  of  our  country  hung  suspended  upon 
the  unflinching  bravery  and  persistency  of  our  gallant  army 
and  navy.  Our  shattered  columns  were  constantly  advanced 
amid  the  iron  tempest  howling  around  them,  many  times  only 
to  be  gathered  in  a  plentiful  harvest  of  death.  Still  their  deci- 
mated ranks,  with  the  greatest  alacrity,  were  immediately  filled, 
and  our  columns  moved  on  prepared  and  willing  to  meet  any 
danger,  or  incur  any  sacrifice,  however  great.  The  country 
looked  upon  the  great  struggle  with  the  most  intense  anxiety, 
always  hopefully,  but  many  times  trembling  for  the  final  result. 
At  last  the  nation  was  gladdened  by  the  joyful  intelligence  that 
the  Union  was  triumphant,  and  that  the  great  rebellion  waa' 
crushed  forever.  At  a  frightful  cost — as  the  ridged  graves  of  our 
fallen  comrades  scattered  throughout  every  State  will  testify — 
the  Union  of  these  States  has  been  preserved ;  not  only  pre- 
served, but  we  are  enabled  to  transmit  it  to  our  posterity,  puri- 
fied and  strengthened  by  the  fiery  ordeal  through  which  it 
passed.  We  have  not  only  maintained  the  unity  of  our  country 
with  its  free  institutions,  but  we  -have  won  the  respect  and  admi- 


344  MEMORIAL   CEREMONIES 

ration  of  every  civilized  nation  throughout  the  globe.  We  pre- 
sent the  sublimest  spectacle  of  any  nation  on  the  earth — Gov- 
ernment strong,  powerful,  just,  and  magnanimous ;  desiring  only 
to  scatter  the  blessings  of  its  free  institutions,  like  the  dews  of 
heaven,  upon  the  high  and  low,  upon  all  conditions 'of  men, 
everywhere  within  its  borders.  Such  being  some  of  the  fruits 
which  the  self-sacrificing  patriotism  which  our  deceased  com- 
rades contributed  to  secure  for  their  country,  and  for  generations 
yet  unborn,  can  it  be  said  that  the  object  obtained  was  not  worth 
the  sacrifice  which  has  been  made  ?  In  my  humble  judgment, 
no  sacrifice  which  mortal  man  can  possibly  m'ake,  would  be  too 
great  for  the  inestimable  blessings  which  are  vouchsafed  to  this 
people  by  the  preservation  of  this  free  Government.  The  great 
contest  is  ended — happily  indeed — and  it  becomes  our  duty  now 
to  set  ourselves  at  work  and  reap  the  fruits  of  our  victory — to 
re-adjust  and  reconstruct  the  States  lately  in  rebellion,  so  that 
their  institutions  may  conform  to  their  changed  circumstances 
and  harmonize  with  the  free  institutions  of  free  States.  We 
will  then  become  what  we  ought  to  be — a  homogeneous  people. 
When  the  angry  passions  which  have  been  engendered  in  the 
recent  conflict  shall  have  passed  away ;  when  the  States  lately 
in  revolt  shall  be  made  to  understand  their  own  true  interest, 
and  what  will  best  promote  their  own  happiness  and  welfare, 
the  people  of  these  very  States  will  then  rejoice  with  us  in  our, 
nationality,  our  common  country,  and  the  prospect  of  a  glorious 
destiny.  That  this  Government  has  a  great  mission  to  perform, 
and  will  become  a  model  Republic,  I  firmly  believe.  That  its 
existence  may  be  perpetual,  is  my  earnest  prayer. 

The  address  was  immediately  followed  by  the  ceremony  of 
decorating  the  graves.  The  company  of  members  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  each  carrying  wreaths  and  bouquets,  led 
by  the  band,  moved  to  the  center  of  the  grounds,  where  the 
company  was  divided  into  sections,  each  section  taking  a  differ- 
ent course.  Marching  over  the  routes  designated,  a  wreath  was 
placed  by  the  commander  over  the  flag  on  every  grave,  and  each 
comrade,  as  he  passed,  with  uncovered  head,  dropped  a  portion 
of  his  bouquet  upon  the  mound.  The  graves  in  the  Irish  and 
German  Catholic  graveyards  were  visited,  and  decorated  in  likfe 
manner  as  those  in  the  City  Cemetery. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  the  dead,  whose  graves  were 
thus  visited  : 

COMMANDER  CHAPMAN'S  DIVISION — R.  W.  Scott,  Robert  Finn, 
John  A.  Irvin,  Strong  Vincent,  Lockwood  Caughey,  George 
Griswold,  Eugene  Chambers,  John  Daugherty,  R.  W.  Whallon, 
Samuel  Fluke,  M.  Van  Avary,  Wm.  Warren,  Josiah  K.  Good- 
win. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  345 

COMRADE  WALKER'S  DIVISION — Thos.  Hill,  James  M.  Yager, 
Jno.  W.  McLane,  Washington  Brown,  Ira  V.  B.  Jackson,  Geo. 
AY7.  McDaniel,  Russell  Cook,  Lafayette  Bran,  D.  R.  M.  Brown, 
Hamilton  Miller,  James  Miller,  John  Nicholson.  E.  D.  Hul- 
bert,  Chas.  H.  Brace,  Marcus  Lewis,  Lt.  Horatio  Lewis,  E.  P. 
Brace,  Horatio  B.  Sprague,  Austin  Corbin,  John  Muller.  Capt. 
Wade,  Harley  Hillburn,  William  Wittich,  John  Sell,  John 
Englehart,  David  Hayberger,  J.  Fickinger,  Chas.  Dickinson, 
Edwin  Sampson,  Robert  Fletcher,  Isaac  1.  Pherrin,  Charles 
Howard,  Chas.  Blessing. 

COMRADE  CRONIN'S  DIVISION — 7mA  Catholic — Wm.  Connell, 
Thomas  Turley,  Thomas  Fagan,  John  W.  Duggan.  German 
Catholic — August  Wagner,  A.  Pleifer,  Joseph  Babo.  German 
Lutheran — John  E.  Eisentraut,  Jacob  Witter,  Nicholas  Kessel. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  decorations  the  different  divisions 
marched  back  to  the  stand,  where  the  exercises  were  closed  by 
the  choir  singing  the  "  Doxology,"  in  which  the  company 
joined. 

AT  CRESSONA,  PENN. 

At  2£  o'clock,  P.  M.,  the  Post  left  camp  and  proceeded  to 
Borough  Cemetery.  The  ceremonies  were  opened  by  a  prayer 
from  Rev.  G.  S.  Broadbent.  Rev.  Frederick  Krecker  then 
delivered  an  address.  The  graves  of  deceased  comrades  (eleven 
in  number)  were  then  decorated  with  flowers  by  the  Post.  Im- 
mediately after  decorating  the  graves,  a  patriotic  song  was 
sung  by  the  ladies,  the  comrades  joining  in  the  chorus.  Rev. 
G.  S.  Broadbent  then  delivered  an  address,  after  which  a  pray- 
er was  offered  by  Rev.  Frederick  Krecker.  The  Post  then 
marched  to  camp  and  dismissed. 

AT  TREMONT,  PENN. 

The  honorably  discharged  soldiers  of  this  borough  met  in 
front  of  Odd  Fellows'  building,  on  Saturday  afternoon  at  half- 
past  4  o'clock,  and  formed  in  line,  and  at  5  minutes  after  5 
o'clock  took  up  the  march  according  to  the  programme  laid 
down  in  circular.  Each  soldier  was  provided  with  a  bouquet, 
and  all  felt  that  they  were  about  to  perform  a  tribute  of  respect 
that  called  forth  their  tenderest  feelings — their  earnest  devo- 
tion— the  fulfilment  of  their  vows  to  cherish  the  memory  of 
their  fallen  comrades.  The  march  was  taken  up  Centre  to  Oak, 
to  Laurel,  to  Union,  to  Centre,  to  Clay,  to  the  Reformed  and 
Lutheran  Cemetery,  where  the  following  graves  received  their 
equal  tribute  of  honor :  Cyrus  Dull,  ISitli  P.  V.,  Wrn.  Dau- 


346  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

bert,  42d  P.  Y.,  Wm.  Daubert,  50th  P.  Y.,  Joseph  Halla- 
baugh,  Joseph  Snyder,  Co.  H,  6th  P.  Y.  A  countermarch, 
halt,  and  a  few  appropriate  remarks  by  the  Rev.  F.  Klinefel- 
ter  and  prayer  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Barnhill.  The  march  was 
then  continued  to  the  Catholic  Cemetery,  and  the  following 
are  honored  as  before :  James  Fogerty,  John  Cleary,  Co.  H, 
26th  P.  Y.,  John  Gallagher,  countermarch,  halt,  and  an  ad- 
dress by  Father  Marron,  who  spoke  of  the  many  virtues  of  the 
heroic  dead,  and  pictured  in  glowing  colors  the  results  pur- 
chased by  their  blood  and  the  blood  of  their  predecessors. 
All  honor  to  the  dead  who  fought  in  such  a  glorious  cause. 
It  should  be  the  boast  of  parents,  wives  and  children  that 
their  fathers  died  while  fighting  the  battles  of  freedom.  The 
Catholic  clergy  then  read  prayers  over  their  dead,  and  the 
march  was  continued  down  Clay  to  Coal,  to  Spring,  to  Cen- 
tre, to  the  Book  Store,  where  a  fresh  supply  of  flowers  were 
furnished  and  the  march  continued  to  Pine,  to  Church,  to 
M.  E.  Cemetery,  and  the  following  were  duly  honored  :  Geo. 
Wilson,  3d  Pa.  Cavalry,  Frank  Lehman,  Thos  Angus,  James 
Ferguson,  Reese  TV".  Roberts,  3d  Pa.  Cav.,  Joseph  Watts, 
Charles  Minnich,  Charles  Shaundy.  A  few  appropriate  re- 
marks by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Barnhill,  and  prayer  by  Rev.  F.  Klinefel- 
ter,  and  the  representatives  of  many  battles  returned  and  were 
brought  to  a  halt  in  front  of  the  Odd  Fellows'  Hall,  where  they 
were  addressed  in  a  short  but  pithy  speech  by  Rev.  Father 
Divine  of  the  Catholic  church,  and  were  then  dismissed. 

There  being  no  Post  in  Tamaqua  the  ceremony  of  decora- 
ting the  graves  of  soldiers  in  that  borough  was  conducted  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Sunday  school  of  that 
place. 

AT  WEST  CHESTER,  PENN. 

The  ceremonies  took  place  in  this  borough  under  direction 
of  Post  ]STo.  31,  of  that  organization.  At  the  hour  appointed, 
9^- A.  M.,  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  members  assembled  at 
their  room  on  Church  street,  where  they  formed  and  marched 
to  the  Court  House,  preceded  by  Capt.  Sweeney's  Cornet  Band. 
A  touching  and  impressive  prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  Jos.  S. 
iEvans,  Post  Chaplain,  after  which  Comrade  Wayne  Mac  Yeagh, 
Esq.,  the  orator  of  the  day,  was  introduced,  and  delivered  an  ap- 
propriate address.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  address,  which  occu- 
pied about  one  hour  in  its  delivery,  a  benediction  was  pronounced 
by  Rev.  John  Bolton,  of  the  Episcopal  church. 

The  Post  was  then  re-formed,  and  in  column  of  four,  proceed- 
ed to  Greenmount  Cemetery.  Upon  entering  the  cemetery  the 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  347 

band  commenced  playing  a  dead  march.  The  committee  of  ar- 
rangements had  previously  caused  a  small  flag  to  be  placed  at 
the  head  of  each  soldier's  grave,  so  that  there  was  no  difficulty 
in  discovering  their  location.  As  the  procession  approached  the 
grave,  each  man  uncovered — the  column  opened  and  passed  on 
either  side — the  members  dropping  their  contributions  of  flowers 
on  the  graves  as  they  marched  slowly  by. 

At  two  o'clock  P.  M.,  the  members  of  the  Post  re-assembled 
at  the  Court  House  and  proceeded  to  Oakland  Cemetery,  where 
the  ceremonies  were  continued.  The  Catholic  Cemetery  was 
also  visited,  through  the  kind  permission  of  the  Priest,  and  the 
remains  of  four  soldiers  who  lie  in  the  Friends'  Burial  ground  on 
the  hill,  were  also  visited  by  the  Post  on  its  return  to  the  bor- 
ough. 

At  Mahanoy  City  the  ceremonies  were  performed  by  mem- 
bers of  Post  No.  110.  The  Post  met  at  an  early  hour  in  the 
afternoon  and  marched  to  graves  of  two  of  of  their  comrades, 
where  prayers  were  offered  by  the  ministers  of  the  place.  On 
the  following  Sunday  appropriate  ceremonies  were  held  in  the 
churches. 

AT   MlDDLEBTJBG,    PfiNN. 

Post  No.  56  met  at  1  o'clock,  p.  M.,  formed  in  the  following 
order:  1st.  P.  C.,  and  O.  D. ;  2d.  four  small  boys  with  bou- 
quets ;  3d.  Martial  music  ;  4th.  comrades  wearing  white  sashes 
around  waist ;  next  non-commissioned,  with  blue  sashes  ;  next 
S.  Y.  C.,  J.  V.  C.,  with  red  sash ;  P.  C.,  buff  sash.  Then 
marched  to  Hassinger's  Burial-ground  (two  miles),  decorated 
the  graves  of  four  soldiers,  returned  to  Middleburg,  and  about 
4  o'clock  re-formed  at  Post  Headquarters  ;  from  thence  proceed- 
ed to  the  Lutheran  Grave-yard,  in  the  same  order  as  above ;  af- 
ter arriving  at  the  grave,  the  Adjutant  first  read  the  following 
extract  of  General  Order  No.  11 :  "  We  are  organized,  com- 
rades, as  our  Regulations  tell  us,  for  the  purpose,  among  other 
things,  '  of  preserving  and  strengthening  those  kind  and  frater- 
nal feelings  which  have  bound  together  the  soldiers,  sailors  and 
marines  who  united  to  suppress  the  late  rebellion.'  "What  can 
aid  more  to  assure  this  result  than  by  cherishing  tenderly  the 
memory  of  our  heroic  dead,  who  made  their  breasts  a  barricade 
between  our  Country  and  its  foes  ?  Their  soldier-lives  were  the 
reveille  of  freedom  to  a  race  in  chains,  and  their  deaths  the 
tattoo  of  rebellious  tyranny  in  arms.  We  should  guard  their 
graves  with  sacred  vigilance.  All  that  the  consecrated  wealth 
and  taste  of  the  Nation  can  add  to  their  adornment  and  se- 
curity, is  but  a  fitting  tribute  to  the  memory  of  her  slain  de- 


348  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

fenders.  Let  no  wanton  foot  tread  rudely  on  such  hallowed 
grounds.  Let  pleasant  paths  invite  the  coming  and  going  of 
reverent  visitors  and  fond  mourners.  Let  no  vandalism  of  ava- 
rice or  neglect,  no  ravages  of  time,  testify  to  the  present  or  the 
coming  generations,  that  we  have  forgotten,  as  a  people,  the  cost 
of  a  free  and  individual  Republic.  If  other  eyes  grow  dull, 
and  other  hands  slack,  and  other  hearts  cold,  in  the  solemn 
trust,  ours  shall  keep  it  well,  as  long  as  the  light  and  warmth  of 
life  remain  to  us." 

The  P.  C.  then  stepped  forward,  and  in  the  words  of  the 
General  Orders  No.  11,  said  :  "  Let  us,  then,  at  the  time  ap- 
pointed, gather  round  the  sacred  remains  and  garland  the  pas- 
sionless mounds  above  them  with  the  choicest  flowers  and  ever- 
greens of  the  Springtime ;  "  (P.  C.  strewing  the  grave  with 
flowers,  and  each  comrade  throwing  on  a  sprig  of  evergreen ;) 
"  let  us  raise  above  them  the  dear  old  flag  they  saved  from  dis- 
honor ;  (color-bearer  waves  the  flag  over  the  graves)  ;  "  let  us, 
in  this  solemn  presence  (each  comrade  raises  his  right  hand  to 
heaven)  renew  our  pledges  to  aid  and  assist  those  whom  they 
have  left  among  us,  a  sacred  charge  upon  a  Nation's  gratitude, 
the  soldiers  and  sailors'  widows  and  orphans." 

Prayer  by  the  clergy. 

An  appropriate  hymn  or  song,  as  "  "Wrap  the  Flag  Around 
me,  Boys,"  or  "  America."  Addresses  by  Revs.  Long  and  Shindel, 
Comrades  Parks  and  Wright.  Re-forming  of  Parade  and  re- 
turn to  Post  headquarters. 

At  the  grave,  the  music  took  position  at  the  foot,  the  P.  C. 
at  the  head,  Adjt.  to  his  right,  Clergy  to  the  left,  Comrades  tc 
the  right  and  left,  forming  a  circle  around  the  grave — Relatives 
within  the  circle. 

AT  NEW  BERLIN,  PENN. 

At  1  o'clock,  p.  M.,  the  Post  met  at  their  rooms  and  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Cemetery,  where  they  sodded  and  decorated 
the  graves  of  fifteen  fallen  comrades.  At  6  o'clock,  the  mem- 
bers met  at  their  rooms,  formed  company,  each  member  carrying 
a  bouquet ;  preceded  by  the  brass  band  and  clergy,  they  march- 
ed to  the  slow  notes  of  a  funeral  dirge  to  the  cemetery.  As  the 
company  came  to  the  grave  of  one  of  the  comrades,  the  first  file 
would  halt  at  an  open  order,  the  rest  filing  through,  when  the 
color-bearer  planted  the  flag  on  the  grave  and  the  first  file  de- 
posited their  bouquets  upon  the  grave  ;  after  which,  one  of  the 
comrades  delivered  a  short  eulogy  upon  the  fallen  brave. 

After  the  ceremonies  in  the  Cemetery,  the  comrades  marched 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        349 

back  to  the  Town  Hall,  where  appropriate  addresses  were  de- 
livered by  three  of  the  members  of  the  Post. 

AT  TOWANDA,  PENN. 

ADDRESS   OF   BEV.    WILLIAM   HARRIS. 

SOLDIERS  OF  THE  G.  A.  K.,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  : — Pur- 
suant to  the  call  of  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  G.  A.  R.  we 
have  met  to-day  to  pay  the  tribute  of  loyal  and  loving  hearts  to 
the  memory  of  the  "  heroic  dead,  who  made  their  breasts  a  bar- 
ricade between  our  country  and  its  foes."  Nor  does  this  cere- 
mony alone  signify  that  it  is  the  early,  martyr  graves  of  our 
own  loved  and  lost  that  we  have  come  to  garland  with  the  first 
flowers  of  spring.  We  cannot  but  let  our  memories  first  recur 
to  those  whose  last  resting-places  we  have  just  passed  in  review, 
— the  brave  and  gallant  Watkins  whose  privilege  it  was  to  die 
on  the  field,  at  the  front — Adams,  Bogart,  Gary,  Fox,  and  the 
long  sad  list  of  Bradford's  heroes ;  but  we  must  on  such  a  day 
as  this  sink  all  local  and  personal  feelings  in  the  broad  unselfish 
Union  sentiment  which  knows  no  State  or  section,  but  regards 
our  country,  as,  thank  God,  it  is  still  preserved  to  us,  one  and 
inseparable. 

We  have  met  as  part  of  a  great  host,  who,  I  doubt  not,  have 
assembled  this  day  in  every  Northern  city,  village,  and  hamlet, 
to  engage  in  like  unselfish,  patriotic  spirit  in  this  sad,  yet  grate- 
ful service.  For  while  the  complaint  is  often  loud  and  bitter 
against  the  ingratitude  of  the  saved  to  their  saviours,  and  there 
may  have  been  at  times,  and  in  certain  localities,  some  show  of 
truth  in  the  complaint,  yet  I  believe  that  there  is  still  enough 
of  honest,  hearty  patriotism  left  in  the  land  to  give  largely  this 
token  that  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  is  not  forgotten 
either  in  the  persons  of  its  living  or  its  dead.  Surely  they 
ought  never  to  be  forgotten  while  the  Republic  lives,  for  to 
them  the  Republic  owes  its  life.  We  are  apt  to  lose  our  indi- 
viduality, and  its  appropriate  sentiments,  in  the  mass;  but 
bring  the  case  home  each  to  himself.  Suddenly,  without  warn- 
ing, as  you  are  pursuing  your  peaceful  way  in  fancied  security, 
a  ruffian,  maniac  with  brooding  over  fancied  wrongs,  seizes  you 
by  the  throat,  pinions  your  arms,  and  threatens  your  destruc- 
tion, unless  you  meekly  submit  to  robbery,  dishonor,  and  mutila- 
tion. But  at  the  moment  of  your  greatest  peril,  when  all  seems 
lost,  and  yet  life  never  seemed  so  precious,  your  own  son  throws 
himself  upon  the  traitorous  wretch,  and  in  striking  him  to  the 
earth  receives  his  own  death-blow.  Noble,  daring  boy !  how 
agonizingly  would  you  mourn  over  his  sad  yet  glorious  fate ; 


350  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

how  tenderly  would  you  lay  him  down  to  sleep  in  his  martyr 
grave ;  how  lovingly  and  gratefully  would  you  cherish  his  mem- 
ory, and  especially  every  incident  of  his  brave  sacrifice;  how 
costly  a  monument  would  you  raise  above  his  last  resting-place! 
^.li !  it  would  need  no  call  from  his  living  brothers  to  bring  you 
year  by  year  in  early  spring-time  to  plant  his  grave  with  flowers 
and  decorate  it  with  garlands.  Yet  this  is  the  very  debt  we  owe 
to  the  memory  of  the  brave  "  Boys  in  Blue."  In  yonder  graves, 
in  every  cemetery  in  the  land,  there  rest  these  heroic  dead — 
Columbia's  sons — who,  when  maniac  Treason  sought  to  throttle 
Liberty,  to  rend  the  Republic  in  pieces,  to  shame  us  before  the 
world,  to  flaunt  the  ensign  of  a  slave  confederacy  in  our  very 
faces,  sprang  to  the  rescue,  and  gave  their  lives  for  the  life  of 
our  Fatherland. 

Men  and  women  of  these  peaceful  mountain  valleys,  you  do 
not,  cannot  know  the  full  measure  of  the  debt  you  owe  to  these 
heroes  of  the  war  for  the  Union.  Fully  to  appreciate  it  you 
must  have  seen  the  fair,  garden  land  of  America,  the  sunny 
South,  stunted  and  blighted,  and  year  by  year  exhausted  and 
laid  waste  under  the  ruinous  economy  of  "  the  peculiar  institu- 
tion ;  "  and  then  have  realized  that  under  the  proposed  exten- 
sion of  this  system  the  whole  land  would  have  been  thus  impov- 
erished and  desolated;  even  Yankee  enterprise  would  have 
been  paralysed,  and  freedom  have  passed  into  the  lexicon  of  a 
dead  language.  You  must  have,  too,  a  clearer  apprehension  of 
the  resources,  the  power,  and  the  deadly  determination  of  the 
men  of  the  South.  At  the  very  time  that  we  were  fondly  ex- 
pecting with  75,000  men  to  drive  them  to  the  Gulf  shore  in 
ninety  days,  they  had  250,000  men  under  arms, — men  who  had 
been  drilled  and  officered  for  months  before  the  first  gun  was 
fired  at  Sumter.  Slowly,  through  four  weary,  deadly  years,  we 
were  taught  the  lesson  of  the  giant  proportions  of  the  Rebellion, 
and  the  imminent  peril  from  which  we  were  saved  by  the  (to  the 
South  unexpected]  pluck  and  determination  of  Northern  sol- 
diers, backed  by  the  united  sentiment  of  the  masses  of  the 
people.  Had  these  dead  heroes,  whose  graves  we  this  day  de- 
light to  honor,  been  the  cowards  they  were  estimated  by  the 
chivalry  of  the  South,  we  would  more  fully  appreciate  to-day, 
by  bitter  experience,  what  the  peril  was,  and  how  great  a  salva- 
tion was  wrought  for  us  by  the  costly  sacrifice  of  young  and 
noble  lives. 

Then,  on  the  other  hand,  rightly  to  estimate  what  was  done 
and  suifered  for  your  salvation,  you  must  have  followed  step  by 
step  the  trail  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  wit- 
nessed what  was  borne  by  the  living  and  the  dead  who  grappled 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  351 

with  the  monster.  My  own  memory  recalls  many  an  untold  tale 
of  heroic  endurance  of  sufferings  to  which  death  seemed  a  happy 
release :  for  it  was  peculiarly  my  lot  to  see  the  sad,  heart-rending 
side  of  the  field  of  glory.  Out  of  many  like  scenes  memory  calls 
up  distinctly  a  little,  rough,  un painted  church  down  in  the 
s\vamps  before  Yorktown, — early  in  the  war,  before  the  devoted 
women  and  men,  -frho  afterwards  did  so  much  to  alleviate  suffer- 
ing, had  begun  to  press  forward  to  the  front  in  their  noble  work 
— to  which  strong  men  came,  out  from  the  ranks  of  hardier  com- 
rades, to  die  by  the  slow  poison  of  malaria,  and  whose  little  grave- 
yard grew  day  by  day  to  formidable  proportions.  Yes  !  tenderly 
nurtured  boys,  far  from  loving  care  and  .home  tenderness,  cut 
off  from  the  anticipated  career  of  glory,  before  they  had  ever 
fired  a  shot.  I  tell  you  that  was  a  harder  martyrdom  than  the 
quick  death  from  shot  or  shell  amid  the  excitement  and  emula- 
tion of  a  victorious  battle-tield.  And  this  day's  ceremony 
recalls  many  a  lonely,  isolated  grave,  hastily  made  on  the  eve 
of  a  march,  over  which  this  spring  time  will  scatter  no  flowers, 
but  only  rank,  matted  grass,  fed  by  the  uncoflSned  mouldering 
remains  of  a  son,  a  husband,  a  lover. 

In  the  same  retrospect  I  see  brave  men,  who  had  passed  un- 
scathed by  the  enemy's  missiles  through  the  "Seven  Days," 
but  enervated  by  fatigue,  starvation  and  exposure,  sweltering 
under  the  blazing  sun  of  "  Tophet,"  fading  day  by  day  till  they 
were  mere  living  ghosts ; — see  them  crowded  into  tents,  and 
barns,  and  tobacco  sheds,  wasting  away  for  the  lack  of  what  you 
squandered  in  lavish  abundance  among  these  peaceful  moun- 
tains of  the  North.  I  see  them  after  a  great  battle,  gory,  and 
mangled,  and  maimed,  spread  out  on  the  bare  ground,  under 
the  drenching  rain,  suffering  untold  agonies  of  pain  and  thirst, 
and  the  heart-sickness  of  their  isolation  from  home  and  loved 
ones;  yet  uncomplaining,  self-sacrificing,  pointing  out  some 
fellow-sufferer  more  needy  of  immediate  relief  than  themselves; 
— a  boy  with  a  shattered  arm,  sustaining  with  the  other  a  com- 
rade shot  through  the  body,  helping  him  to  reach  the  field 
hospital.  Yet  this  was  not  the  worst.  Some  of  you  here  to-day, 
among  the  few  survivors  of  that  carnival  of  loathsome  disease 
and  misery  and  awful  death,  may  be  able  to  tell  something  of 
the  Southern  prison,  that  foul  blot  upon  the  humanity  and  the 
honor  of  the  South  upon  which  the  world  cries  shame !  and 
"which  all  their  gallantry  and  chivalry  can  never  wipe  out.  Yes  ! 
you  must  hava  seen  Anderson ville,  ever  fully  to  appreciate  in 
any  full  degree,  what  was  suffered  by  our  hero  dead,  to  save 
you,  my  fellow  citizens,  from  falling  under  the  thrall  of  a  gov- 
ernment which  could  countenance  this  enormity.  Nor  was  this 


352  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

all.  The  General  Order  of  the  Commander-in-Chief  alludes  to 
those  "  sacred  charges  npon  a  nation's  gratitude,  the  soldier's 
and  sailor's  widow  and  orphan."  Aye,  every  dead  face  turned 
up  on  the  field  of  blood  told  a  tale  of  agony  in  some  desolated 
household.  Here  and  there  the  threads  of  this  vast  romance 
and  tragedy  of  war  have  been  gathered  up,  but  there  are  vol- 
umes yet  untold,  that  never  will  be  told,  a»d  all  these  dying 
groans,  and  widowed  hearts,  and  blighted  homes,  represented 
by  the  unknown  dead  cast  into  the  long  trenches  on  the  battle- 
field, are  to  be  added  to  the  great  price  wherewith  we  have 
bought  our  freedom.  Missing !  so  the  return  ran ;  so  many 
wounded,  so  many  missing.  It  was  the  saddest  return  of  the 
three,  when  you  knew  what  it  meant  to  weary,  waiting,  breaking 
hearts,  sickened  by  hope  deferred.  There  are  missing  ones  from 
our  own  graveyard  to-day,  and  as  we  strew  the  bloom  of  spring- 
time on  these  sad  mounds,  let  us  not  forget  an  oblation  for  those 
who  lie  in  some  nameless  grave,  whose  long-sought  place  will 
never  be  known  till  the  last  trump  shall  call  them  forth  to  the 
resurrection  life. 

Do  you  remember  when  Kilpatrick  made  his  celebrated  raid 
into  the  entrenchments  of  Richmond,  the  return  came  to  us, 
"  Kilpatrick  has  come  through  safe,  with  the  loss  of  only  150 
men  commanded  by  Capt.  Dahlgren."  Pardon  me  if  I  repeat 
what  I  then  wrote,  because  it  expresses  the  sentiment  1  would 
convey  with  the  freshness  of  the  times  then  present,  which  re- 
moteness, and  later  thoughts  in  other  channels  have  worn  away : 

Only  a  hundred  'and  fifty, 

And  DAHLGRKX  who  rode  at  their  head, 
Only  a  hundred  and  fifty, 

Crushed  and  mangled  and  dead. 

The  grim  old  Sergeant  rode  foremost, 

The  hero  of  ir.any  a  fight, 
And  a  fair-haired  boy  was  bugler, — 

Some  household  had  lost  its  light ; 

And  husbands  and  sons,  and  fathers 

Came  trooping  along  behind, 
In  a  long  unbroken  column, 

As  through  the  forest  they  wind. 

'Twas  but  a  hundred  and  fifty 

That  were  doomed  to  prison  or  gravq ; 
Only  a  hundred  and  fifty, — 

And  DAHLGREX,  so  young  and  brave. 

The  Rebels  burst  out  upon  them 

With  a  fiendish  wild-cat  scream, 
To  the  right  are  shells  and  grape-shot, 

To  the  left  their  bayonets  gleam. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        353 

"  Charge !  "    'Twas  the  last  word  of  DAHLQBKN, 

The  Sergeant  and  Bugler  are  down, 
And  brothers,  and  sons,  and  husbands 

Lie  mangled  and  bleeding  around. 

'Twas  but  a  hundred  and  fifty) 

Cut  off  from  companions  or  slain ; 
Only  a  hundred  and  fifty, 

Whose  valor  was  all  in  vain. 


A  mother  at  home  is  reading, — 

A  widow  left  poor  and  alone, 
Her  son  has  gone  for  the  Union, — 

Why  bursts  from  her  lips  such  a  groan  ? 

"  '  KILPATEICK  is  safe ' — Thank  Heaven ! — 

'  He  is  in  our  lines  with  his  men ; 
Only  a  hundred  and  fifty ' — 

O  God,  was  one  of  them  BEN  !  " 

*  *  * 

Only  a  hundred  and  fifty, 

'Twas  only  a  trifle, — no  more — 
Only  a  hundred  and  fifty, — 

But  many  a  heart's  left  sore. 

One  of  Sir  Walter  Scott's  most  graphic  sketches  is  of  the  pious 
enthusiast,  commonly  known  as  "  Old  Mortality,"  who  was 
wont  annually  to  visit  the  graves  of  the  heroic  Covenanters, 
cleaning  the  moss  from  the  gray  stones,  and  renewing  with  his 
chisel  the  half-defaced  inscriptions.  Scott  says  of  him  :  "  Mo- 
tives of  the  most  sincere,  though  fanciful  devotion,  induced  the 
old  man  to  dedicate  so  many  years  of  existence  to  perform  this 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  deceased  warriors  of  the  Church. 
He  considered  himself  as  fulfilling  a  sacred  duty,  while  renew- 
ing to  the  eyes  of  posterity  the  decaying  emblems  of  the  zeal 
and  sufferings  of  their  forefathers,  and  thereby  trimming,  as  it 
were,  the  beacon-light  which  was  to  warn  future  generations  to 
defend  their  religion  even  unto  blood."  Mutatis  mutandis,  this 
is  our  office,  and  that  of  those  who  year  by  year  shall  succeed 
us  in  this  pious  and  patriotic  duty,  to  "  let  no  neglect,  nor  rav- 
ages of  time,  testify  to  the  present  or  to  the  coming  generations 
that  we  have  forgotten,  as  a  people,  the  cost  of  a  free  and  un- 
divided Republic." 

But  we  would  fail  to  do  justice  to  all  the  varied  forms  of 

heroism,  in  which  life  even  was  sacrificed  to  the  cause  of  the 

Union,  should  we  this  day  forget  the  noble  men,  and  especially 

the  noble  women,  who  left  their  homes  of  ease  and  luxury,  in 

23 


354  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

order  to  minister  to  the  comfort  of  the  sick  and  wounded  in 
hospitals,  and  even  on  the  battle-field.  Avoiding  all  invidious 
distinctions  among  the  living,  I  may  freely  speak  of  one  whose 
life  was  actually  sacrificed  to  this  labor  of  patriotic  love.  Love- 
ly in  her  graces  of  form  and  feature,  of  distinguished  birth  and 
social  position,  brilliant,  talented,  the  cherished  favorite  of  a 
wide-extended  circle  of  friends,  she  wore  out  her  young  life  in 
unremitted  devotion  to  the  alleviation  of  suffering  in  the  "West- 
ern Army.  When  the  graves  of  the  heroic  dead,  who  gave  their 
lives  for  the  Union,  are  this  day  strewed  with  the  flowres  of 
Spring,  the  fairest  chaplets,  glistening  with  the  dewdrops  of 
grateful  tears,  should  decorate  the  grave  of  Margaret  Breken- 
ridge. 

AT  CONNEAUTVILLE,  PENN. 

In  compliance  to  General  Order  No.  11  and  Post  Order  'No. 

I,  Post  No.  107  met  for  the  purpose  of  strewing  with  flowers  the 
graves  of  our  honored  dead.     Notice  of  said  meeting  had  been 
given,  and  all  soldiers  not  members  of  the  G.  A..  E,.,  invited  to 
attend.     The  attendance  of  members,  soldiers,  and  citizens  was 
good  ;  and  at  the  appointed  hour  a  procession  was  formed,  as 
follows :  1.  Music.     2.  National  Colors.     3.  Officers  and  mem- 
bers of  the  Post,  with  flowers.     4.  Fire  Department  in  undress 
uniform,  with  flowers.     5.  Ladies  and  Citizens,  with  flowers; — 
which  then  proceeded  to  the  cemetery,  where  the  following  or- 
der of  exercises  was  carried  out :  Heading  General  Order  No. 

II,  by  Post  Commander,  Maj.  J.  S.  Dunn.     2.  Prayer  by  Rev. 
Mr.  Hallees.     3.  Address  by  Comrade  Capt.  S.  M.  Davis.     4. 
Strewing  graves  with  flowers.     5.  Prayer  by  Rev.  F.  Brown. 
The  procession  was  then  re-formed,  and  returned  to  the  encamp- 
ment, and  a  regular  meeting  of  the  Post  held. 

AT  SPRINGFIELD,  ILL. 

In  accordance  with  previous  arrangements,  the  committee, 
consisting  of  ladies  and  gentlemen,  appointed  to  superintend  the 
decoration  of  the  graves  of  Union  soldiers  at  the  Camp  Butler 
Cemetery,  assembled  at  the  State  House  at  1  o'clock,  P.  M.,  and 
from  thence  proceeded  to.  the  depot  of  the  T.  W.  &  W.  Railway, 
and  left  by  special  train  at  2  o'clock  for  Camp  Butler.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  committee,  a  large  number  of  ladies  and  gentlemen 
took  passage  on  the  train.  On  arrival  at  the  site  of  old  Camp 
Butler,  the  company  formed  in  procession,  and  marched  to  the 
spot  where  rest  the  remains  of  many  Union  soldiers  who  died  in 
the  hospital  at  the  above  camp.  The  cemetery  is  situated  on 
rising  ground,  only  a  short  distance  from  the  old  camp  ground, 
and  is  surrounded  with  a  good  picket  fence. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        355 

The  graves,  numbering  several  hundred,  are  furnished  with 
white  head-boards,  upon  which  are  inscribed,  with  the  exception 
of  four  or  five,  the  name,  age,  and  number  of  the  regiment  to 
which  the  deceased  belonged.  On  arriving  at  the  entrance  to 
the  cemetery,  eveiy  visitor  was  provided  with  flowers,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  the  shade  of  a  tree  growing  in  the  cemetery,  where 
the  services  of  the  occasion  commenced  by  the  whole  assembly 
joining  in  singing  the  patriotic  and  stirring  hymn,  "  America," 
commencing  with, 

"  My  country,  'tis  of  thee, 
Sweet  land  of  Liberty, 

Of  thee  I  sing  *   • 
Land  where  my  fathers  died, 
Land  of  the  pilgrims'  pride, 
From  every  mountain  side 

Let  Freedom  ring." 

After  which  Rev.  Mr.  Carr,  of  the  North  Baptist  church  of  this 
city,  offered  a  solemn  and  impressive  prayer.  At  the  conclusion 
of  the  prayer,  Dr.  Geo.  T.  Allen  delivered  the  following  ad- 
dress: 

"Sweet  are  the  uses  of  adversity,"  and  joy  is  blended  with 
the  associations  of  sorrow  characterizing  the  ceremonies  of  even 
this  sad  occasion.  It  is  a  sacred  though  mournful  pleasure  and 
holy  duty  to  honor  the  memories  of  those  who  freely  gave  their 
lives  for  their  country's  unity  and  salvation.  Many  of  us,  now 
alive  and  present,  passed  safely  through  the  terrible  ordeals  in 
which  these  dead  offered  themselves  up,  willing  sacrifices  on  the 
altar  of  patriotism  ;  and  it  best  becomes  us — their  brothers-in- 
arms, relatives,  and  friends  during  life — of  all  men,  and  it  well 
becomes  the  soldiers'  mothers,  widows,  wives,  sisters,  and  or- 
phans now  mingled  with  us,  to  unite  in  these  heartfelt  ceremo- 
nials in  honor  of  the  noble  dead.  This  day,  throughout  our 
wide  land,  at  the  suggestion  of  Illinois'  gallant  and  gifted  son, 
Gen.  John  A.  Logan,  we,  for  the  first  time  as  a  people,  meet  at 
the  grave,  to  honor  the  heroic  dead.  This  affecting  ceremony, 
thus  inaugurated,  will,  we  all  trust,  be  affectionately  perpetuated 
from  year  to  year  and  from  age  to  age.  The  graves  around  us 
contain  the  sacred  remains  of  martyrs  of  treason.  These  all  fell 
through  the  efforts  of  American  citizens  to  destroy  American 
nnity  and  nationality.  As  recently  as  A.  D.  1860,  we  had  our 
4th  of  July  ovations  everywhere  north  of  "  Mason  and  Dixon's 
Line,"  and  the  day  was  honored  at  many  points  in  Dixie. 
Every  man  and  woman  desired  to  attend  these  celebrations,  and 
the  children  cried  if  compelled  to  remain  at  home.  The  public 
addresses  on  these  occasions  were  ever  patriotic,  if  not  always 


356  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

able  or  eloquent.  Every  auditor  responded  enthusiastically  to 
each  loyal  sentiment.  The  name  of  Washington  was  hailed  as 
the  synonym  of  all  that  was  grand  and  patriotic  in  humanity  ; 
while  that  of  Benedict  Arnold  fell  on  loathing  ears  as  the  quin- 
tessence of  all  that  was  disloyal  and  grovelling.  Then,  the 
whole  nation  believed  that  our  country  could  never  again  be 
cursed  by  the  birth  and  life  in  it  of  another  such  political  luftiis 
naturae  ;  but  within  twelve  months  from  July,  1860,  the  whole 
country  was  corrupt  with  worse  traitors  than  Benedict  Arnold 
or  Aaron  Burr.  "When  Arnold  turned  Tory,  and  stole  the  man- 
tle of  Judas  Iscariot  to  serve  George  III.  and  the  Devil  in,  our 
ancestors  were  simply  experimenting  in  the  principles  of  civil 
liberty  ;  their  civil  and  political  status  was  then  a  shadow,  not 
a  reality.  No  man  then  living  could  declare  they  would  suc- 
ceed in  casting  off  the  yoke  of  England,  and  driving  the  British 
soldiery  and  Hessian  mercenaries  from  the  land ;  nor  could 
human  wisdom  then  predict  that  final  success  with  them  would 
secure  to  the  people  national  and  constitutional  liberty,  or  per- 
petuate in  the  New  the  despotisms  of  the  Old  World.  In  those 
days  of  political  darkness,  Arnold  turned  traitor,  fell  from  his 
high  estate,  and  was,  "  like  Judas,  damned  to  everlasting  fame," 
and 

"  Sank  to  the  vile  dust  from  which  he  sprung, 
Unwept,  unbonored,  and  unsung," 

and  patriotism  and  liberty  everywhere  this  day  prolongs  the  loud 
"  Amen ! "  But  the  traitors  of  1861  rebelled  when  the  work 
of  1776  had  incubated  and  become  a  living  reality,  and  God 
had  breathed  into  it  the  spirit  of  national  immortality — when 
the  Union  had  advanced  nearly  a  century  upon  the  most  glori- 
ous mission  ever  sanctified  to  a  people  ;  during  which  it  had 
been  the  hope  of  oppressed  humanity  everywhere,  and  a  beacon- 
light  in  the  path  of  civil  and  religious  progress,  and  of  human 
liberty  to  all  the  nations  of  the  earth.  In  1860,  Abraham  Lin- 
coln was  constitutionally  elected  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  every  true  man  in  the  nation  'Submitted  to  his  administra- 
tion during  the  four  years  of  his  official  term,  determined  to  aid 
in  correcting  abuses  after  subduing  the  Rebellion.  President 
Lincoln,  with  unexampled  success,  labored  manfully  through 
more  cares  and  responsibilities  than  ever  beset  any  other  man 
in  America.  God  gifted  him  with  peculiar  faculties  befitting 
the  particular  crisis  of  his  presidency,  and  his  name  will  be 
transmitted  to  posterity  as  gloriously  as  any  that  honors  the 
pages  of  history.  None  but  the  Saviour  of  man  has  had  a  more 
important  mission  on  earth,  or  filled  his  destiny  better,  than 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        357 

Abraham  Lincoln.  If  there  be  anything  in  fore-ordination, 
God  predestinated  him  before  the  foundation  of  the  world  to  be 
the  saviour  of  our  country,  and  then  laid  aside  the  materials  for 
his  composition  until  the  time  arrived  for  his  advent  among  the 
sons  of  men.  To  my  mind,  his  character  is  as  noble,  his  patri- 
otism as  lofty,  and  his  mission  as  grand,  as  Washington's,  and 
his  name  will  descend  through  all  time  as  sacred  in  the  memory 
of  every  true  American.  After  the  clouds  of  the  late  Rebellion 
and  the  smoke  of  battle  will  have  passed  away  before  the  rising 
sunshine  of  national  unity,  the  ashes  of  Washington  and  Lin- 
coln will,  in  the  minds  of  their  countrymen,  be  mingled  and 
consecrated  in  the  same  urn,  their  histories  recorded  on  the  same 
tablet,  and  their  spirits  associated  in  the  same  blessed  eternity. 
We  could  not  fully  realize  the  thought  of  Pope, 

u  An  honest  man,  the  noblest  work  of  God," 

until  Abraham  Lincoln  had  finished  his  temporal  course,  and 
time,  with  him,  had  culminated  in  the  fruition  of  eternity  ! 
Abraham  Lincoln's  name  is  now  as  immortal  as  if  Gabriel  had 
dipped  his  fingers  in  the  sunbeam,  and  written  it  in  letters  of 
living  light  across  the  cerulean  arch  of  heaven.  There  are 
miracles  of  war  as  well  as  of  peace.  In  so  wide  a  land  as  ours, 
longitudinally  as  well  as  latitudinally,  with  all  its  diversities  of 
climate,  interests,  and  prejudices,  some  have  fancied  the  ties 
that  bound  the  States  in  one  a  mere  rope  of  sand ;  but  the 
attack,  even  of  a  domestic  foe,  on  our  flag,  drew  from  the  avo- 
cations of  peace  five  hundred  thousand  armed  patriots  into  the 
field,  with  all  the  implements  of  warfare.  During  more  than 
four  years,  the  waste  of  war — of  battle,  swamps,  and  hospital — 
was  more  than  replenished.  The  army  that  entered  the  contest, 
in  1861,  was,  in  1864,  divided  into  those  who  were  yet  treading 
the  paths  of  death  toward  an  eternal  national  unity  and  those 
who  had  become  dust,  to  enrich  the  soil  and  consecrate  the 
cause  of  freedom,  and  seed  to  produce  an  eternal  harvest  of 
patriots.  Having  sealed  their  love  of  country  with  their  blood, 
these  martyrs  had,  in  the  spirit,  ascended  on  high,  to  watch  how 
faithfully  or  faithlessly  the  spared  veterans  were  continuing  the 
contest  for  a  consummation  in  victory  and  unity.  Death  never 
before,  in  the  history  of  the  world,  held  such  high  carnival  as 
during  the  late  four  years  of  war.  Our  dead,  who  expired  on 
the  battle-fields  of  the  contest  inaugurated  in  1861,  would  more 
than  make  up  all  the  armies  of  the  Revolution  of  1776  on  both 
sides.  Better  blood  was  never  shed  in  a  holy  cause  since  that 
offered  for  the  salvation  of  man  on  Calvary.  When,  in  imagi- 
nation, we  attempt  to  summon  the  men  who  entered  the  strug- 


358  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

gle  in  1861,  and  those  who  joined  us  in  1862,  we  realize  that 
half  of  .the  number  sealed  their  love  of  country  and  of  liberty 
by  contending  for  these  unto  death.  During  the  last  year  of 
strife,  we  who  were  spared  could  feel  that  the  spirits  of  these 
heroes  had  ascended  on  high  to  watch  the  contest  and  cheer  our 
final  victory.  At  the  close  of  the  Rebellion,  the  nation  was 
summoned  to  witness  the  mingling  of  the  blood  of  our  noblest 
patriot,  Abraham  Lincoln,  with  that  of  all  the  immortal  victims 
who  had  preceded  him  through  mortal  struggles  and  agonies  to 
an  eternal  oasis  of  glory.  Over  the  grave  of  Slavery  the  world 
now  consecrates  the  mingled  sacrifice  —  a  sacred  ovation  to 
Liberty. 

"  How  sleep  the  brave  who  sink  to  rest, 

By  all  their  country's  wishes  blest ! 

"When  Spring,  with  dewy  fingers  cold, 

Returns  to  deck  their  hallowed  mould, 

She  there  shall  dress  a  sweeter  sod 

Than  Fancy's  feet  have  ever  trod. 

By  fairy  hands  their  knell  is  rung ; 

By  forms  unseen  their  dirge  is  sung ; 

There  Honor  comes,  a  pilgrim  gray, 

To  bless  the  turf  that  wraps  their  clay, 

And  Freedom  shall  awhile  repair, 

To  dwell,  a  weeping  hermit,  there." 

As,  in  the  time  of  our  Saviour,  women  were  the  last  at  the 
cross  and  the  first  at  the  grave,  so,  in  our  day,  they  are  the  last 
and  most  faithful  in  the  army  hospital  and  the  most  watchful  at 
the  soldiers'  cemetery.  We  now  behold  around  us  their  labors 
of  love  and  sisterly  sympathy.  In  tbe  recent  war,  men  were 
not  the  only  patriots,  nor  are  they  our  only  victors.  The  women, 
in  their  proper  spheres,  fought  as  valiantly  and  as  triumphantly, 
and  they  were  the  ministering  angels  of  our  army,  our  navy,  and 
our  country.  They  organized  our  Union  Aid  Societies,  and  with 
self-sacrificing  labors  of  love  they  perpetuated  the  supplies  of 
our  heaven-honored  Sanitary  Commissions.  When,  war-worn  or 
wounded,  the  soldier  retired  a  brief  time  from  the  contest,  they 
welcomed  him  home  with  the  sunshine  of  warm  hearts,  consoled 
him  with  patriotic  words  of  cheer  and  comfort,  and,  when  recu- 
perated through  their  tender  ministrations,  even  encouraged  him 
to  return  to  the  field  of  duty  and  danger.  They  visited  our  hos- 
pitals, and  remained,  self-exiled,  far  from  homes  of  love  and 
comfort,  to  cheer  the  Union  soldier  when  disabled,  either  in  the 
hospitals,  camps,  or  swamps  of  Dixie.  We  cannot  realize  all 
the  women  of  the  North  endured  during  every  day  of  four 
years  of  war.  Their  husbands,  or  fathers,  or  sons,  or  brothers — 
in  some  instances  all — were  in  the  field.  We  were  not  always 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  359 

in  danger.  Even  weeks  passed,  at  times,  during  which  we 
seemed  safe  ;  but  our  wives,  our  mothers,  our  sisters,  and  our 
daughters,  feared  the  passing  hour  was  that  of  danger — perhaps 
of  death.  We  may  study  me  lives  of  all  the  glorious  women 
of  ancient  and  modern  times,  of  sacred  and  profane  history — 
the  heroines  of  religion  or  patriotism,  who  have  triumphed  over 
evil  in  any  age;  or  been  self-immolated  for  a  great  and  God- 
engendered  principle  anywhere ;  but  when  we  remember  our 
mothers,  our  wives,  our  sisters,  and  our  danghters,  the  Union- 
loving  women  of  the  war  and  of  to-day,  we  nnd  that  the  race 
of  heroines  endures  in  our  country,  and  that  nobler  spirits  never 
graced  the  earth,  nor  were  redeemed  in  heaven,  since  the  crea- 
tion of  woman,  when  "  the  morning  stars  sang  together  and  the 
sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy  !  " 

At  the  conclusion  of  Dr.  Allen's  remarks,  General  Tyndale, 
of  Philadelphia,  was  called  upon,  and  made  some  appropriate 
remarks,  referring  to  the  brave  men  who  had 'died  on  the  battle- 
fields of  the  South  in  defense  of  our  homes,  our  fathers,  moth- 
ers, wives,  and  daughters  ;  to  those  who  had  suffered  thirst  and 
hunger,  and  endured  long  marches,  that  the  cause  of  liberty 
and  free  government  might  triumph,  as  being  entitled  to  all  the 
honors  which  a  free  people  could  bestow.  Arid  all  lie  could  say 
in  their  praise  was  felt  by  every  patriot  in  the  land.  At  the 
conclusion  of  General  Tyndale's  remarks,  the  ladies  and  gentle- 
men proceeded  to  decorate  the  graves,  placing  upon  each  of  the 
boards  at  the  heads  of  the  graves  a  bouquet  or  wreath  of  flow- 
ers, and,  in  some  cases,  strewing  flowers  upon  the  graves.  Some 
of  the  most  beautiful  flowers  and  wreaths  were  placed  upon  the 
graves  of  the  u  unknown  "  dead — a  touching  testimonial,  that, 
though  their  names  were  unknown,  their  patriotism  was  remem- 
bered by  grateful  hearts.  The  ceremony  concluded,  the  people 
returned  to  the  shade,  when  Col.  George  H.  Harlow  came  for- 
ward and  requested  the  assembly  to  raise  their  right  hands ;  and 
as  they  did  so,  he  read  the  following  in  a  distinct  and  impressive 
manner : 

"  Before  Almighty  God,  and  within  the  precincts  of  the  last 
resting-place  of  our  heroic  dead,  we  renew  our  devotion  to  the 
Union  and  the  cause  for  which  they  gave  their  lives,  and  we 
here  again  renew  our  vows  to  defend  and  perpetuate  Freedom 
and  the  Union ;  to  all  of  which  we  pleo"ge  our  lives,  our  for- 
tunes, and  our  sacred  honor.  So  help  us  God." 

The  Long  Metre  Doxology  was  then  sung,  the  benediction 
pronounced,  and  the  large  assembly  retired  from  the  cemetery 
and  proceeded  to  the  cars,  arriving  in  the  city  at  about  half-past 
5  o'clock,  P.  M. 


360  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

IN  CAEROLL  COUNTY,  ILL. 

"  The  hearts  of  our  people  will  not  consent  that  the  graves 
of  our  soldiers  should  be  unremerabered,"  said  the  editors  of 
the  TJiomson  Courier.  Our  own  county  honored  the  memory 
of  its  loyal  hearts.  The  only  public  ceremony  was  at  Mt.  Car- 
roll. Although  not  present,  we  learu  that  the  ceremonies  were 
interesting  and  impressive.  The  old  friends  and  neighbors  of 
the  gallant  dead  tenderly  cherish  their  memories  as  they  honor 
their  deeds.  No  truer  nor  better  men  were  found  in  the  service 
than  the  sons  of  "  Little  Carroll."  "  When  men  have  shown 
themselves  brave  by  deeds,  their  honors  also  should  be  displayed 
by  deeds."  These  our  neighbors  "  were  taken  away  from  their 
glory  rather  than  their  fear."  Their  example,  their  patriotism, 
their  principles,  we  commend,  more  forcibly  than  by  words,  by 
the  honors  paid  to  them,  and  the  place  given  them  in  the  love 
and  esteem  of  all  true'  Americans.  It  is  the  sentiment  which 
Mr.  Lincoln  expressed  so  worthily  on  the  battle-field  of  Gettys- 
burg: 

"  In  a  larger  sense  we  cannot  ctonsecrate,  we  cannot  hallow 
this  ground.  The  brave  men,  living  and  dead,  who  struggled 
here,  have  consecrated  it  far  above  our  power  to  add  or  detract. 
The  world  will  little  note  nor  long  remember  what  we  SAY  here, 
but  it  can  never  forget  what  they  Dm  here.  It  is  for  us,  the 
living,  rather  to  be  dedicated  to  the  great  task  remaining  before 
us — that  from  these  honored  dead  we  take  increased  devotion  to 
the  cause  for  which  they  here  gave  the  last  full  measure  of  de- 
votion— that  we  here  highly  resolve  that  the  dead  shall  not  have 
died  in  vain — that  the  nation  shall,  under  God,  have  a  new  birth 
of  freedom,  and  that  Government  of  the  people,  by  the  people, 
and  for  the  people,  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth." 

For  the  honorable  deeds  of  the  gallant  dead,  and  for  the  glo- 
rious cause  in  which  they  met  their  fate,  their  graves  were  beau- 
tified on  Saturday — less  beautiful  than  the  affection  and  esteem 
which  paid  the  tribute.  The  hearts  of  the  people  were  enlisted, 
and  the  service  was  one  of  mournful  pleasure  and  of  sincere 
devotion  to  the  memory  of  our  heroes.  As  long  as  this  free 
Republic  stands,  let  the  graves  of  the  conquerors  of  the  great 
Rebellion  be  annually  decorated  with  flowers ;  let  us,  in  these 
solemn  yet  beautiful  ceremonies,  renew  our  pledges  to  aid  and 
assist  those  whom  they  have  left  as  a  sacred  charge  upon  a  na- 
tion's gratitude — the  soldiers'  and  sailors'  widows  and  orphans. 

"  Give  the  dead  soldier  room, 
.    But  oh,  seal  not  his  tomb, 
For  he'll  fall  into  rank  if  you  utter  his  name. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS*  GRAVES.  361 

Sleep  on,  boy  in  blue, 
And  dream  the  dream  through. ; 
Good  night  to  thy  form,  but  good  morn  to  thy  fame  ! " 

AT  DECATUK,  ILL. 

"  The  love  that  survives  the  tomb,"  says  Irving,  "  is  one  of 
the  noblest  attributes  of  the  soul.  If  it  has  its  woes,  it  has  like- 
wise its  delights  ;  and  when  the  overwhelming  burst  of  grief  is 
calmed  into  the  gentle  fear  of  recollection,  then  the  sudden  an- 
guished and  convulsed  agony  of  the  present,  ruins  of  all  that 
we  most  loved,  are  softened  away  into  pensive  meditation,  and 
all  that  in  the  day  of  its  loveliness.  Who  would  root  sorrow 
from  the  heart,  though  it  may  sometimes  throw  a  passing  cloud 
over  the  bright  hour  of  gayety,  or  spread  a  deeper  sadness  over 
the  hour  of  gloom  ;  yet  who  would  exchange  it  for  even  the 
song  of  pleasure  or  the  burst  of  revelry  ?  No  ;  there  is  a  voice 
from  the  tomb  sweeter  than  songs ;  there  is  a  remembrance  of 
the  dead  to  which  we  turn  from  the  charm  of  the  living." 
This  fact  was  strikingly  exemplified  last  Sunday  afternoon,  in 
Greenwood  Cemetery,  at  Decatur,  where  an  immense  crowd — 
we  may  say  almost  the  entire  adult  population  of  the  city,  of 
both  sexes — assembled  to  witness  the  deep,  sad,  and  solemn 
scene  of  strewing  the  graves  of  departed  heroes  with  flowers. 
The  affecting  ceremonies  were  opened  by  the  Rev.  S.  D.  Pul- 
ford,  rector  of  the  Episcopal  church,  offering  up  a  fervent 
prayer.  He  was  followed  by  Rev.  A.  L.  Brooks,  pastor  of  the 
Second  Presbyterian  church,  in  an  address  marked  with  great 
earnestness,  pathos,  and  power,  which  was  listened  to  by  the 
vast  concourse  with  breathless  silence.  Next  came  the  solemn 
yet  beautiful  and  affecting  scene  of  singing,  and  strewing  the 
graves  of  the  soldiers  with  flowers.  The  exercises  were  con- 
cluded by  Rev.  F.  G.  Thearle,  pastor  of  the  Baptist  church, 
pronouncing  the  benediction,  prefaced  by  a  few  appropriate  re- 
marks, after  which  the  crowd  commenced  to  slowly  and  solemn- 
ly wend  their  way  from  the  city  of  the  dead  back  to  the  city 
of  the  living.  As  we  turned  to  leave  the  "  sacred  grounds,"  we 
could  not  help  thinking  of  the  many  brave  and  gallant  youths 
from  this  county,  now  sleeping  their  last  sleep  in  the  far  sunny 
South,  on  the  fields  where  they  had  fallen,  far  away  from  home 
and  friends,  whom  to  meet  and  see,  and  receive  a  welcome  and 
a  blessing  at  home,  was  the  uppermost  thought  that  animated 
their  patriotic  hearts.  Who  can  forget  their  struggles,  their 
privations,  and  their  fidelity  to  principle  ?  The  men  who  went 
forth  from  Macon  and  fell  martyrs  to  their  principles,  were 
among  the  worthiest  of  Illinois'  sons  ;  and  co-aid  they  have  be- 


362  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

held  the  large  and  sorrowing  assembly  at  the  cemetery  last 
evening — could  they  have  beheld  those  gray-haired  old  men 
bowed  down  with  age  and  grief,  and  those  of  middle  age,  as 
well  as  many  of  their  comrades,  devoting  one  afternoon  to  their 
memory — and  could  they  have  beheld  the  many  fair  daughters 
of  Decatur,  beautiful  as  Beatrice  Cenci,  as  modest  as  Ruth,  and 
as  pure  as  the  blue  ether  of  heaven,  decorating  the  graves  of 
those  who  fell  for  the  same  cause,  they  would  have  exclaimed, 
"  How  well  they  love  us  ! — we  are  not  forgotten." 

AT  AURORA,  ILL. 

Long  before  the  hour  appointed  for  the  procession  to  move 
into  line  and  march  to  the  different  cemeteries,  the  people  had 
begun  to  gather  on  Broadway,  in  front  of  the  hall  of  the  G.  A. 
R.,  and  by  the  time  they  were  ready  to  move,  the  streets  were 
densely  packed.  When  the  hour  for  marching-  arrived,  the  pro- 
cession formed  on  Broadway,  with  Col.  J.  W.  Parrington  as 
Marshal,  and  moved  into  line.  The  Grand  Army  Band,  play- 
ing a  patriotic  air,  after  the  Marshal,  then  came  a  platoon  of  sol- 
diers on  foot,  among  their  number  many  of  our  most  respected 
citizens  and  business  men.  Next  to  the  "  platoon  "  came  two 
beautiful  black  horses,  arrayed  in  the  war  trappings  of  an 
officer.  They  were  intended  to  represent  the  horses  of  Col. 
Silas  Miller  and  Major  Harkness.  Next  to  the  horses  came  a 
band — volunteered  for  the  occasion — of  Dr.  Hamlin,  the  famous 
"  Wizard  Oil  Man."  Next  to  Dr.  Hamlin  came  the  soldiers  on 
foot,  and  the  old  soldiers  and  officers  who  were  not  in  the  line, 
with  a  musket.  Next  came  the  German  Band ;  and  then  the 
long  string  of  carriages.  After  crossing  the  island  and  the 
bridges,  and  on  arriving  at  River  street,  on  the  west  side,  the 
bands  played  the  "  Dead  March,"  while  the  procession  moved 
slowly  up  the  street.  Here  the  west  side  citizens  had  congre- 
gated, filling  up  River  street,  and  all  fell  in  and  tramped  slowly 
up  to  the  cemeteries.  Hundreds  of  little  children,  all  bearing 
in  their  hands  bouquets  of  flowers,  gathered  by  their  own  little 
hands,  followed  along  on  the  side  of  the  procession.  The  boys 
and  girls — even  the  colored  children — had  secured  little  flags, 
and  carried  them  in  their  hands.  The  G.  A.  R.  Band,  when  the 
procession  reached  the  west  side  cemetery,  played  that  soul- 
inspiring  air,  so  much  loved  by  the  soldiers  during  the  late  war, 
"  John  Brown's  Soul  is  Marching  On."  After  passing  the  yard, 
Dr.  Hamlin's  Band  played  a  Quickstep.  While  passing  between 
the  west  side  cemetery  and  the  Catholic  grounds,  the  citizens, 
many  of  them,  sent  out  beautiful  bouquets  to  the  soldiers.  On 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  363 

approaching  the  Catholic  cemetery,  they  played  "  The  Cottage 
by  the  Sea."  Arriving  within  the  yard,  the  platoon  and  citi- 
zens formed  a  hollow  square.  The  choir  of  Aurora  chanted  that 
beautiful  piece,  "  What  is  Life  ?  " 

From  the  associations  of  this  burial-place  the  Catholic  priest 
had  kindly  been  invited  to  make  the  address,  or  the  prayer ; 
but  on  his  having  magnanimously  declined  the  honor,  the  Mar- 
shal, after  a  prayer  by  Rev.  Charles  Button,  introduced  Col.  D. 
F.  Carnahan,  who  spoke  as  follows : 

Fellow-soldiers,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  and  citizens — all  who 
prize  the  memory  of  those  who  sleep  so  sweetly  in  these  hon- 
ored graves  :  We  have  assembled,  for  the  first  time  in  our  his- 
tory, to  pay  a  floral  tribute  to  the  departed  heroes — our  com- 
rades and  friends.  We  are  gathered  where  our  thoughts  should 
be  many,  but  our  words  few.  We  have  come  with  memorous 
offerings  to  departed  comrades,  and  we  lay  them  above  their 
sleeping  dust  silently,  reverently.  We  stand  in  thought,  as  it 
were,  by  the  very  altar  where  our  brave  soldiers  laid  down  their 
lives  in  sacrifice  for«their  country.  It  is  a  place  where  thoughts' 
should  be  very  busy  in  summoning  up  the  memories  of  the  de- 
parted. 'The'  garlands  which  we  weave,  the  flowers  which  we 
bring,  the  words  which  we  utter,  are  in  memory  and  honor  of 
the  fallen  soldiers  who  sleep  beneath  the  turf  which  we  to-day 
visit,  and  as  well  also  in  honor  and  memory  of  all  who  every- 
where fill  graves  in  the  cause  of  the  Union.  Our  acts  to-day 
are  representative.  In  garlanding  these  graves,  we  would  gar- 
land all  similar  graves  ;  in  remembering  the  soldiers,  we  would 
remember  all  the  soldier-dead.  We  need,  therefore,  to  send  our 
thoughts  forth,  far  and  swift,  to  every  .great  camp,  along  every 
line  of  march,  into  every  unpretentious  spot  where  a  soldier  un- 
strapped his  knapsack,  wrapped  him  in  his  blanket,  and  laid 
him  down  to  die.  We  should  recall  every  prized  one,  as  well 
as  the  many  whom  in  camp  and  hospital  we  have  seen  wither 
like  autumnal  leaves,  or,  like  winter  leaves,  fall  in  the  stormy 
bla*st  of  battle.  We  should  recall  the  many  hasty  burials  and 
the  lonely  graves  which  we  have  seen.'  Ah !  fellow-soldiers, 
you  remember  what  lonely  spots  we  used  to  bury  the  brave 
boys  in  !  You  remember  how  lonely  your  comrade  died  that 
dark  night — how  lonely  he  laid  through  that  day,  until  the  little 
squad  laid  him  slowly  and  sadly  dpwn  in  that  lonely  grave,  and 
left  him — left  him,  to  march  on,  and  on,  and  on  ;  and  there,  far 
from  your  home,  he  sleeps  to-day.  But  is  he  forgotten  ?  Your 
swelling  heart  answers,  No.  Some,  indeed,  were  buried  by 
those  who  did  not  know  their  names,  and  could  only  label  the 
little  head-board  with  the  sad  word,  "  Unknown."  And  have 


364  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

you  not  feared  that  many  of  those  little  head-boards  on  which 
you  marked  so  carefully,  with  tear-dimmed  eye,  the  name  of 
your  comrade,  and  your  company,  and  your  regiment — that 
even  those  little  marks  and  monuments  are  gone — the  soldier 
actually  sleeps  in  an  "  unknown  grave,"  with  only  now  and 
then  a  stranger  to  pass  by  and  say,  "  This  is  the  grave  of  a 
Union  soldier."  Compared  with  this,  the  money  spent  is  noth- 
ing, the  debt  incurred  is  nothing.  We  can  lose  the  money,  and 
can  pay  the  debt,  and  live  in  comfort  all  the  while,  and  be  rich 
after,  our  country  restored  to  greater  prosperity  than  ever,  but 
our  three  hundred  thousand  dead  are  gone  forever.  But  who 
can  say  that  the  price  paid  is  too  great  for  the  boon  bought  with 
their  blood  ?  They  have  given  us  this  magnificent  Republic,  for 
the  first  time  free  indeed,  and  one  forever  free  beyond  a  perad- 
venture.  Their  blood  has  melted  away  four  million  fetters,  lift- 
ed four  million  free  hands  gratefully  to  heaven,  invested  four 
million  of  our  people  with  civil  rights,  and  washed  away  the 
foul  stain  of  shame  from  Freedom  s  escutcheon.  That  blood 
has  settled  forever  every  question  as  to  the  perpetuity  of  this 
Union,  and  sealed  the  settlement  with  its  crimson  stamp.  All 
honor,  then,  to  the  brave  soldiers  whose  bodies  mouldeV,  because 
their  blood  saved  our  nation's  life,  and  sealed  the  immortality 
of  our  free  Government.  Then 

"  Bring  flowers — bring  flowers  o'er  their  graves  to  shed, 
As  a  crown  for  the  brow  of  the  loyal  dead." 

And  thus  be  it  ever ;  yea,  while  flowers  bloom,  grass  springs, 
or  water  runs.  As  long  as  these  waters  flow  southward  free  to 
the  ocean,  may  we  remember  how  our  brave  ones  poured  South 
at  their  country's  call.  'As  long  as  grass  grows  green  on  these 
prairies,  may  their  memories  flourish  in  our  hearts  as  the  green 
bay  tree.  As  long  as  flowers  deck  our  earth,  may  we  have 
hearts  and  hands  to  deck  the  soldier's  grave.  They  do  de- 
serve it. 

"  For  our  boys  in  blue  were  brave  and  true, 

For  God  and  their  country  dying ; 
With  a  watchful  pride  that  is  ever  new, 

We'll  garland  the  graves  where  they're  lying. 
And  well  we  may ;  where  our  heroes  lie 

The  very  ground  is  holy  ; 
His  name  who  dared  for  his  country  to  die, 
Is  sacred,  though  ever  so  lowly." 

But  not  alone  with  pleasure  should  we  remember  the  fallen.  It 
is  well  to  remember  them  thus,  and  it  is  a  pleasant  thought  that, 
as  balmy  Spring  travels  northward,  and  flowers  spring  in  its 
pathway,  true  hearts  and  hands  have  gathered  flowers  and  show- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        365 

• 

ered  them  ceaselessly  on  these  heroes'  graves.  But  I  have  ima- 
gined that,  if  the  fall  of  these  flowers  should  awake  these  dead 
for  a  moment,  many  such  an  utterance  as  this  would  be  heard  : 
*'  Thanks  for  these  tokens,  but  bring  no  more  such  vain  obla- 
tions ;  bring  no  more  fading  flowers  to  my  grave,  until  you 
have  borne  substantial  fruits  to  my  toiling  wife,  my  uneducated 
child,  my  crippled  comrade."  I  was  glad  when  the  Grand  Com- 
mander of  the  G.  A.  R.  issued  his  command :  When  flowers 
come,  and  your  land  blooms  in  beauty,  bear  flowers,  to  soldiers' 
graves ;  and  I  should  be  better  pleased  if,  in  autumn,  another 
command  should  come  :  When  fruits  are  ripe,  wyhen  your  houses 
teem  with  plenty,  bear  a  portion  to  the  needy  bereaved.  And 
God  grant  that  this  may  be  ever,  while  a  soldier  or  a  soldier's 
friend  remains  to  remember  what  the  soldiers  of  the  Union  did 
for  us.  Flowers  must  be  borne  to  their  graves  in  Spring,  and, 
in  Fall,  fruits  to  those  made  needy  by  the  war. 

After  this  short  speech,  the  platoon  of  soldiers  filed  past  each 
grave,  part  on  each  side,  each  soldier  scattering  the  flowers  upon 
the  graves  of  the  different  soldiers  buried:  After  the  soldiers 
came  the  citizens,  each  casting  their  tribute  of  evergreens  and 
flowers  upon  the  green  sod,  the  German  band  playing  a  dirge 
while  this  was  in  process.  The  soldiers  then  fired  three  rounds 
as  a  funeral  Salute  over  the  graves,  and  the  Catholic  who  had 
"  nailed  the  flag  beneath  his  cross,"  and  died  true  to  his  faith  in 
each,  was  left  to  the  silence  of  his  last  camping-ground.  The 
procession  then  marched  to  the  West  Side  Cemetery,  the  band 
playing,  u  Rally  Round  the  Flag."  As  they  came  up  to  the 
cemetery,  only  martial  music  was  played.  On  entering  the 
grounds,  the  soldiers  formed  a  hollow  square  as  before,  and  the 
choir  sang  "  Oh,  Wrap  the  Flag  around  me,  Boys."  Then  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Clark  made  a  prayer,  and  the  Marshal  introduced 
Sergt.  John  C.  Sherwin,  who  said  : 

COMRADES,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN:  Three  years  have  now 
fully  passed  since  mild-eyed  Peace  first  smiled  upon  us,  after 
the  decision  of  the  bloody  issues  of  the  time,  and  smoothed  with 
her  benignant  glance  the  iron  frowns  of  war.  We  are  assem- 
bled now  in  quiet  and  security,  instead  of  clamor  and  tumult. 
There  are  no  more  exhausting  marches  over  mountains  and 
through  valleys ;  no  more  long  nights  of  watching ;  no  long 
lines  of  imperial  blue,  with  their  "  Liberty  or  Death."  We 
come  here  to-day  with  flowers,  and  with  our  words,  to  honor 
our  comrades  who  are  gone.  And  yet,  what  are  words,  espe- 
cially here  in  the  presence  of  these  graves  of  men  who  passed 
through  the  hell  of  battle,  who  have  been  where  muskets  vol- 
lied,  where  artillery  thundered,  where  shell  crashed  and  shot 
t 


366  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

• 

plunged — men  who,  in  "  war's  red  touchstone,  rang  the  true 
metal."  What  are  our  weak,  futile,  senseless  words  over  the 
graves  of  men  whose  deeds  are  immortal  ?  One  of  the  greatest 
nations  of  antiquity  had  the  custom  of  crowning  the  brows  of 
her  living  victors — those  who  had  conquered  in  battle — with 
wreaths  of  oaken  leaves.  The  soldiers  who  have  conquered  in 
this  war  expect  no  crown  and  ask  no  chaplet  of  flowers  ;  but 
they  have  instituted  among  themselves  the  custom  of  decorating 
the  graves  of  those  who  have  fallen,  with  flowers.  Tranquil, 
and  humble,  and  subdued,  O  fallen  comrades,  we  come  this  day 
to  lay  our  sweet  tribute  of  flowers  upon  thy  graves.  The  offer- 
ing is  not  much,  but  it  is  all  we  have.  Their  perfume  will  soon 
escape — their  very  substance,  under  the  not  midsummer  sun, 
will  soon  wither  and  fade  entirely  away  ;  but  were  we  to  pile 
up  the  columns  of  moulded  bronze  or  chiselled  marble  upon 
thy  graves,  they  would  soon  crumble  and  fall  to  the  ground — in 
a  few  years  they  would  be  useless  to  thy  name.  Thy  deeds  are 
thy  monument — valorous,  heroic,  constant,  brave,  and  true — 
thy  deeds  are  thy  monument.  Its  base  is  down  deep  in  the 
hearts  of  thy  countrymen,  its  apex  is  among  the  stars.  God's 
own  glories  play  about  its  summit,  and  bathe  it  in  His  supernal 
light.  It  stands  eternal,  immutable,  enduring,  and  lasting  as 
thy  own  courage  and  truth.  Oh,  comrades  1  we,  your  survivors, 
standing  by  your  graves,  and  in  the  shadow  of  that  monument 
which  you  have  thus  built  for  yourselves  in  the  hearts  of  your 
countrymen — with  the  remembrance  of  your  toils  and  your  de- 
votion fresh  in  our  hearts,  remembering  what  you  did  that  your 
country  might  live,  and  that  liberty  might  exist — bring  these 
our  only  gifts,  as  the  fittest  offerings  for  the  tombs  of  conquer- 
ors. We  lay  these  flowers  upon  thy  graves,  and  for  the  rest  we 
are  silent. — The  band  of  Dr.  Hamlin  then  played  a  beautiful 
and  touching  dirge,  while  the  solemn  procession  filed  past  each 
grave  marked  with  the  starry  flag — the  sign  of  each  hero's  rest- 
ing-place. Then  forming  again  into  line,  the  procession  moved 
toward  the  city,  the  bands  playing  all  the  way.  They  passed 
np  to  Oak,  then  down  to  Galena,  over  to  Downer  Place  down 
to  the  river.  As  they  came  back  to  River  street,  a  large  con- 
course of  people  met  them,  and  fell  into  line  for  the  East  side. 
The  minute  guns  were  firing  all  the  while.  When  they  arrived 
at  Broadway,  the  street  was  completely  blocked  up,  with  only 
room  for  the  procession  to  pass.  As  they  passed  up  Broadway, 
many  were  seen  weeping  at  the  doors  and  windows.  At  Clark 
Seminary  the  only  demonstration  was  a  large  flag  displayed 
from  one  of  the  upper  windows.  When  the  head  of  the  pro- 
cession arrived  at  North  Avenue,  near  the  Seminary,  the  last 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  367 

carriages  were  just  entering  the  bridge.  At  Spring  Lake  Ceme- 
tery, they  formed  around  the  monument  of  Col.  Silas  Miller,  on 
which  was  displayed  a  large  wreath  of  evergreens  and  flowers. 
After  grounding  arms,  the  choir  sang,  "  Send  them  home  ten- 
derly. A  prayer  was  then  offered  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Willing, 
after  which  the  Marshal  introduced  Surgeon  D.  W.  Young,  who 
said  : 

COMRADES  AND  FELLOW-CITIZENS  :  To  me  the  ceremonies  of 
the  day  have  been  peculiarly  interesting.  They  have  brought 
back  to  my  mind  vividly  many  of  the  trying  scenes  and  events 
of  the  late  terrible  war.  As  we  have  marched  from  cemetery 
to  cemetery,  ray  thoughts  have  been  carried  back  to  our  lonely, 
dusty,  and  fatiguing  marches  through  Missouri,  Arkansas,  Mis- 
sissippi, Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Georgia,  Alabama,  and  the  Caro- 
linas.  As  we  passed  from  grave  to  grave  and  deposited  the 
flowers  from  our  bouquets,  now  almost  exhausted,  it  has  remind- 
ed me  of  the  many  hard-fought  battles  through  which  most  of 
you  have  passed — has  taken  me  back  to  the  terrible  struggle 
and  slaughter  of  Pea  Ridge,  Corinth,  Perry ville,  and  the  many 
battle-fields  where  we  left  so  many  of  our  noble  comrades,  that 
our  regiment  had  soon  dwindled  down,  until,  like  the  remnant 
of  our  bouquets,  it  became  small  in  size  and  few  in  number. 
With  these  come  recollections  of  the  hardships  endured,  and 
the  mighty  achievements  of  the  noble  men  prominently  before 
me.  I  say,  well  may  we  turn  out  with  music  to  strew  flowers 
on  the  graves  and  erect  monuments  to  their  memories.  We 
should  indeed  consider  it  a  rare  privilege,  and  should  practice  it 
annually,  faithful  to  the  end  of  time.  Yes,  fellow  citizens,  well 
may  the  places  where  the  ashes  of  such  men  repose  be  marked 
with  costly  monuments  and  beautified  with  flowers.  The  sad- 
dest thought  is,  that  so  many  sleep  in  "  unknown "  graves, 
where  they  fell  upon  the  field,  with  their  faces  toward  the 
enemy — by  the  wayside,  in  the  swamps,  and  upon  the  Southern 
hills — where  their  graves  are  recorded  among  that  mighty  host 
with  the  simple  inscription,  "  Unknown."  There  they  lie — 
noble  boys ! — where  we  buried  them,  in  trenches  and  ditches, 
simply  wrapped  in  their  soldier-blankets — no  monuments,  no, 
not  even  a  common  board  or  simple  stake  to  mark  their  lonely 
graves. 

Comrades,  while  your  duties  and  positions  called  you  to  the 
immediate  front,  where  the  fierce  battle  raged  and  the  destruc- 
tion was  done,  my  duties  and  position  called  me  farther  to  the 
rear.  I  was  less  Exposed  ;  still  it  was  my  painful  duty  to  nurse 
and  comfort  the  dying,  and  mend  and  remodel  the  torn  and 
lacerated  fragments  of  human  forms  as  they  came  from  the 


368  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

trench  and  field.  I  desire  now  and  here  to  say,  and  to  bear 
testimony  to  their  noble  patriotism  and  sacred  memories,  that, 
among  the  many  thousands  who  passed  through  my  hands,  and 
whom  I  saw  upon  the  field  and  in  the  hospitals,  mangled,  torn, 
lacerated,  and  dying,  not  one  ever  in  my  hearing  said  he  regret- 
ted that  he  had  enlisted,  or  complained  of  his  fate.  No  ;  the 
noble  fellows  gave  their  limbs  and  their  lives  freely  and  uncom- 
plainingly that  the  nation  might  be  saved,  and  this  freed  Re- 
public, with  its  sacred  institutions,  preserved  and  perpetuated. 
I  ask,  then,  is  it  not  eminently  proper  that  we  should  decorate 
the  graves  of  those  who  have  accomplished  and  endured  so 
much,  and  perpetuate  their  names  to  the  end  of  time  ?  "When 
I  compare  these  men,  their  deeds  and  their  sufferings,  with  the 
able-bodied  peace-sneaks  who  loitered  in  the  rear  and  at  home, 
speculating  upon  the  Government  and  upon  soldiers'  rations, 
meeting  in  conventions  and  resolving  the  four  years  of  terrible 
and  destructive  war,  that  saved  the  nation  and  crushed  the  Re- 
bellion, and  sundered  the  shackles  of  the  slave,  a  failure !  I 
claim  great  odds  in  favor  of  the  soldier.  In  my  opinion,  the 
stay-at-hoines  should  crave  such  opportunities  as  this  to-day — 
yes,  pray  for  their  coming — in  order  that  they  might  turn  out 
in  force  to  decorate  the  fallen  heroes'  graves.  It  should  be  a 
pleasure  to  them  ;  they  should  be  willing  to  go  on  foot  into  the 
various  swamps  and  wildernesses  of  the  South,  to  hunt  the  un- 
marked and  unm.onumented  graves  of  those  noble  "  Boys  in 
Blue,"  to  secure  the  opportunity  to  decorate  them. 

Comrades  and  Fellow-citizens,  while  I  wish  to  encourage  and 
urge  such  demonstrations  as  this  to-day — while  I  desire  very 
much  to  see  every  Union  soldier's  grave  marked  by  a  monu- 
ment and  decorated  with  the  sweetest  and  brightest  flowers,  I 
desire  equally  to  urge  upon  you  the  fact  that  we  as  soldiers,  and 
you  as  citizens,  have  other  and  even  more  sacred  duties  to  per- 
form. The  noble  cripple  is  in  our  midst,  and  their  families,  the 
widows,  wives,  and  children  of  the  sacred  dead,  demand  and 
deserve  our  kindest  attention.  They  have,  morally,  the  first 
claim  upon  the  property  of  this  nation — yes,  yours  and  mine. 
Their  husbands,  fathers,  and  protectors  laid  down  their  lives 
that  the  nation  might  live,  and  we  enjoy  it.  I  say,  feed  and 
clothe  the  living  maimed  and  crippled  heroes  ;  care  for  the 
widows ;  feed  and  clothe  and  educate  the  orphans  of  the  de- 
ceased soldier,  so  that  they  may  become  honored  and  useful 
members  of  society.  This  will  produce  loftier  monuments  and 
more  fragrant  flowers  than  art  or  cultivation  can  produce.  I,  as 
an  American  citizen,  a  taxpayer  of  the  Republic,  and  a  soldier 
of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  United  States,  demand  and  urge 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  369 

that  a  more  liberal  allowance  and  provision  shall  be  made  for 
the  families  of  the  fallen  soldiers.  1  claim  they  should  at  least 
be  placed  upon  a  par  with  those  greedy,  fat,  and  lazy  "  bond- 
holders." I  say,  pay  them  their  poor  pittance — their  bounties 
and  pensions — in  as  good  money  as  you  pay  the  "  bondholder  " 
his  interest  and  his  bonds.  If  the  one,  a  rich  and  idle  consumer 
of  poor  men's  earnings,  rolling  in  wealth  and  easy  comfort — if, 
I  say,  they  can  draw  from  the  public  treasury  their  dollar  in 
gold  for  the  greenbacks  they  paid — let  the  poor  wounded, 
maimed,  and  crippled  soldier,  or  his  lonely,  starving  widow  and 
orphan  children  draw  their  dollar  in  gold  for  the  life  or  the 
limb  they  paid. 

In  conclusion,  I  say,  a  nation,  a  State,  a  county,  a  town,  a 
city,  a  people,  that  will  allow  their  maimed  and  crippled  sol- 
diers to  be  sent  to  a  poor-house,  or  compel  them  to  beg  from 
house  to  house  about  the  streets  for  the  necessaries  of  life,  are 
not  fit  to  enjoy  the  blessings  of  a  free  and  enlightened  govern- 
ment. 

After  this  speech,  the  G.  A.  Band  played  that  beautiful 
piece,  "  Lincoln's  Fuueral  March,"  while  the  decorations  were 
in  process.  Then  firing  the  three  rounds,  they  marched  on 
down  Lincoln  Avenue  to  the  old  cemetery.  At  the  residence  of 
Mr.  Terry,  the  observatory  was  handsomely  decorated  with 
nags,  and  on  the  front  of  his  residence  was  displayed  in  full 
view  a  large  and  magnificent  portrait  of  the  late  ^President  Lin- 
coln, surrounded  with  a  beautiful  wreath  of  flowers  and  flags. 
While  the  procession  passed  down  Lincoln  Avenue,  the  bell  of 
the  M.  E.  church  was  tolled.  At  Fox  the  procession  turned 
and  went  to  Root,  thence  down  to  the  old  cemetery,  where  the 
hollow  square  was  again  formed,  the  platoon  "  grounded  arms," 
and  assumed  the  "  place  rest."  The  choir  sang,  "  We  shall 
Sleep,  but  not  Forever,"  when,  after  a  prayer  by  the  Rev.  Mr- 
Ebbs,  the  Marshal  introduced  Capt.  A.  0.  Little,  who  said : 

Ladies  and  Gentlemen,  and  Comrades,  victors  and  survivors 
of  many  a  sanguinary  field :  Standing  here  to-day,  amid  these 
marble  monuments,  lifted  up  with  pious  and  reverential  care, 
to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  the  departed  dead,  and  amid  these 
grass-covered  and  soon  to  be  flower-strewn  graves,  the  blue  and 
lofty  dome  of  the  eternal  heavens  above  my  head,  the  green  and 
flower-begemmed  earth  beneath  my  feet,  and  in  the  presence  of 
this  audience,  it  is  with  extreme  reluctance  that  I  lift  up  my 
feeble  voice  amid  such  surroundings,  to  break  this  solemn  and 
impressive  silence.  But  the  hour,  the  day,  the  circumstances 
of  our  meeting  here,  the  memory  of  the  heroic  deeds  and  the 
heroic  names  we  have  gathered  together  to  honor,  these  must  be 
24 


370  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

at  once  my  apology  and  defense.  We  have  met  to  do  honor  to 
the  memory  and  the  dust  of  men  better  than  their  time — men 
who  stood  out  before  their  age,  and  in  sublime  self-abnegation 
gave  their  lives  that  liberty  might  be  perpetuated  among  the 
American  people,  and  freedom  made  possible  for  the  race. 
Standing  here  among  these  monuments  of  the  fragility  of  all 
things  human,  we  are  impressively  reminded  of  the  brevity  of 
human  life,  and  how  "  we  light  mortals  eport  our  brief  life 
minuet  above  bottomless  abysses,  separated  from  us  only  by  a 
film,"  and  how  all  "  life,  like  a  spent  steed,  is  panting  toward  its 
goal."  *  *  *  In  all  the  worlds  of  God  there  is  no  effect 
without  a  cause,  and  in  the  boundless  universe  every  particle  of 
matter,  and  every  attribute  of  mind,  from  the  dust  we  tread 
beneath  our  feet  up  to  systems  of  worlds  careering  through  the 
realms  of  space — from  the  first  feeble  evidence  of  reason  in  the 
infant  mind,  up  through  endless  gradations  to  the  all-compre- 
hensive mind  of  Him  who  dwelleth  in  the  circle  of  the  heavens 
— all,  all  is  governed  by  law,  fixed  and  inexorable,  and  which 
eternally  goes  crashing  around  in  iron  grooves.  It  follows  that, 
in  the  economy  of  the  universe  there  are  no  accidents ;  calami- 
ties do  not  spring  up  spontaneously,  but  are  the  legitimate  off- 
spring of  violated  law.  All  the  varied  forms  of  sin — "  that 
blood-thirsty  wolf  prowling  around  the  human  fold  " — are  but 
the  sequences  of  crime  and  violated  law.  War — ofttimes  God's 
"Damascus  blade"  of  retributive  justice,  cleaving  down  the 
colossal  forms  of  tyranny  and  wrong — is  but  the  logical  ultimate 
of  our  godless  systems  of  ethics  and  economics — our  practical 
atheism,  professing  Christianity,  and  our  abnegation  of  that 
law,  the  crowning  attribute  of  God — inexorable  justice.  In 
this  perhaps  too  material  age,  busied  with  the  vast  moneyed 
interests  of  commerce  and  trade,  cotton  and  corn,  we  are  prone 
to  forget  or  swift  to  ignore  this  great  underlying  principle  of 
God's  moral  government.  Still,  as  in  Spring-time  buds  and 
blades  are  silent  but  sure  prophecies  of  coining  harvests  of  fruit 
and  golden  maize,  so  the 'love  of  truth  and  justice  cropping 
scantily  out  here  and  there  from  the  inner  depths  of  the  soul  of 
the  grim  trenchant  man  of  the  world,  are  certain  harbingers, 
foretelling  the  ultimate  triumph  of  the  just  thing  and  the  true, 
and  induce  the  belief  that  in  some  age,  be  it  never  so  remote, 
humanity  will  rise  to  an  altitude  sufficiently  commanding  to  see 
and  to  acknowledge  that  the  immutable  laws  of  justice  have 
their  source  and  seat  in  the  bosom  of  Divinity  ;  that  they  alone 
can  give  permanence  and  security  to  the  present,  and  guard 
against  the  vicissitudes  and  changes  incident  to  the  future.  It 
is  familiar  knowledge,  that  for  more  than  three  quarters  of  a 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        371 

century  we  had  violated  and  spurned  these  immutable  laws  ;  in 
a  more  than  figurative  sense,  "  Justice  had  fled  to  brutish 
beasts."  In  the  meridian  splendor  of  the  grandest  of  the  ages, 
the  most  enlightened  people  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  professed 
believers  in  the  common  brotherhood  of  man  and  universal 
fatherhood  of  God,  enunciated  a  doctrine  new  and  strange  in 
these  centuries  of  ours,  that  there  is  no  law  higher  than  the 
statutes  of  men.  Democratic  demagogues  assembled  in  Na- 
tional Conventions,  and  elsewhere,  were  not  the  only  men  who 
sent  up  an  atheistical  howl  against  the  Higher  Law.  While 
Justice,  weeping,  stood  afar  off,  the  "  keel  of  our  Christian 
civilization  "  surged  over  the  prostrated  forms  of  one  seventh 
part  of  our  entire  population,  and  men  there  were  of  every 
party,  and  priests  of  every  creed,  who  dared,  with  stony  heart 
and  impious  tongue,  to  ask  God's  blessing  on  the  cruelty. 

From  the  banks  of  the  Tiber,  Rome,  which  had  "rocked  the 
cradle  of  two  civilizations,"  ruled  the  world  and  gone  down  to 
ruin,  conjured  us  by  the  mangled  remains  of  her  murdered 
Tully ;  and  Greece,  through  the  eloquent  lips  of  her  dying 
Demosthenes,  plead  with  us  to  lay  the  foundations  of  oui 
governmental  fabric  upon  the  immutable  principles  of  justice. 
But  the  ceaseless  activity  and  intense  individuality  of  the 
American  mind,  regardless  of  consequences,  and  impatient  of 
restraint,  either  human  or  Divine,  drove  its  ploughshare  of  utili- 
tarianism through  creeds  and  formulas  of  the  past,  hoary  with 
age,  and  stamped  with  venerable  authority,  and  from  amid 
their  ruins  evoked  a  new  genius,  with"  golden  front  and  sinews 
of  iron,  which  pointed  to  its  railroads  and  telegraphs,  its  mines 
of  iron  and  of  gold,  its  fields  of  coal  and  its  granite  warehouses, 
its  dextrous  agents  dancing  upon  fragile  ropes  above  the  thun- 
ders of  Niagara,  riding  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind,  linking 
together  continents  by  sub-marine  cables,  uniting  oceans  by 
isthmus  canals,  and  said,  lo !  this  is  my  age,  the  age  of  material 
power  and  material  inspiration  ;  and  maddened  with  ambition, 
lusting  for  gain,  insatiate  of  power,  unmindful  or  regardless  of 
the  warning  lessons  of  the  past,  with  more  than  oriental  devo- 
tion we  knelt  and  worshipped  at  its  shrine.  In  vain  did  the 
voice  of  history  on  the  one  hand,  thundering  along  the  course 
of  rained  and  desolated  empires,  pealing  out  from  the  buried 
grandeur  and  magnificence  of  the  past,  portray  to  us  the  inex- 
orable sequence  of  national  injustice  and  crime  ;  and  equally  in 
vain  on  the  other  did  the  genius  of  our  republican  institutions, 
standing  at  the  golden  gates  of  the  future,  and  holding  in  her 
hands  the  bloody  cerements  of  the  past,  warn  us  by  the  disas- 
trous fall  of  other  nations,  great  and  powerful  as  ours,  to  be- 


372  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

ware  of  the  whirlpools  and  maelstroms  of  wrong  and  error  into 
which  they  had  fallen,  and  had  sunk  to  rise  no  more.  But 
admonitions,  warnings  and  consequences  were  alike  unheeded  ; 
forgotten  or  ignored  was  the  great  law  of  retributive  justice, 
firm  in  the  economy  of  God  as  the  pillars  of  the  universe,  sure 
as  the  march  of  the  planets  or  the  heave  of  the  sea — and  our 
grand  old  ship  of  state,  cut  loose  from  her  ancient  moorings, 
with  traitor  captain  and  traitor  crew,  drifted  amid  waters  strange 
and  unknown  to  the  patriot  masters  who  "  wrought  her  ribs  of 
frteel."  But  the  mailed  hand  of  retributive  justice  was  at  length 
laid  upon  us  ;  like  a  "  thunderbolt  from  a  cloudless  sky,"  like 
the  sudden  "  bursting  forth  of  volcanic  fires,"  internecine  and 
civil  war  burst  upon  us.  There  was  a  change  of  programme  ; 
there  was  a  sudden  shifting  of  the  scenery  in  the  solemn  drama 
of  our  national  affairs,  when  God  reached  forth  his  hand  and 
tore  aside  the  curtain,  and  discovered  us  to  ourselves  and  to  the 
world,  on  the  brink  of  disunion  and  fatricidal  strife.  At  such 
a  sight  good  men  and  angels  might  weep ;  we  might  fancy  a 
"  snickering  laugh  ran  thro'  the  world  below,"  and  Death  grinned 
horribly  a  ghastly  smile.  But  if  the  shock  was  great,  the  recoil 
was  greater ;  "  as  lightning,  like  a  bright  wild  beast  leaps  from 
its  thunder  lair,"  the  loyalty  of  the  nation  wakened  from  its 
torpid  dream  of  fancied  security,  instinctively  rushed  to  arms. 
Then  over  all  our  broad  domain  rolled  the  wild,  desolating  sea 
of  civil  war.  It  dashed  in  spray  and  foam  along  the  rock- bound 
shores  of  New  England ;  on  black,  treacherous  wave  broke  in 
upon  the  heart  of  the  empire  city  ;  westward  in  its  all-embrac- 
ing arms  it  crushed  Missouri ;  it  crested  the  eternal  snows  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  with  a  crimson  spray ;  it  burst  in  frenzied 
fury  over  Texas;  while  in  Pennsylvania,  over  Virginia,  the 
Carolinas,  Georgia,  Mississippi,  and  Tennessee,  it  surged  a  vast 
red  sullen  tide.  The  ground  swell  reached  the  continent  of 
Europe,  and  the  startled  nations  in  wonder,  not  unmingled  with 
awe,  shuddered  and  turned  pale.  For  four  agonizing  years  we 
sweltered  on  in  a  sea  of  fraternal  blood ;  for  four  years  retribu- 
tion gleamed  from  the  polished  shafts  of  a  million  bayonets,  and 
thundered  from  the  sullen  mouths  of  ten  thousand  cannon. 
Not  until  the  demands  of  justice  had  been  satisfied  ;  not  until 
we  had  offered  up  a  bloody  holocaust  of  half  a  million  slain, 
did  God  roll  back  the  over-arching  cloud  of  lowering  gloom. 
Not  until,  as  has  been  well  said,  '*  What  we  refuse  to  see  He 
had  set  in  a  light  so  ghastly  bright  that  it  almost  dazzled  us 
blind  ;  not  until  what  we  refused  to  believe  He  had  written  all 
over  the  continent,  with  the  sword's  point  dipped  in  the  blood 
of  our  best  and  most  beloved." 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  378 

But  the  great  rebellion  is  ended.  Its  sun  went  down  in  a 
sea  of  blood ;  God  grant  it  may  rise  no  more.  The  continent 
no  longer  trembles  as  though  an  earthquake  rent  it,  beneath  the 
tramp  of  the  marshalled  hosts  of  war. 

"  The  drums  are  all  silent,  the  bugles  are  still — 
There's  a  pause  in  the  valley,  there's  a  halt  on  the  hill." 

God  has  crowned  our  efforts  in  the  cause  of  humanity  with  mar- 
vellous success.  Our  song  of  triumph,  with  increasing  strength 
and  volume,  echoes  and  re-echoes  from  an  ocean  on  either  hand, 
the  lakes  behind,  and  the  Mexique  Gulf  before;  even  our 
former  enemies — mayhap  it  be  in  a  subdued  strain — join  with 
us.  The  poor  and  the  oppressed  of  all  lands  catch  up  and  give 
to  immortality  the  undying  paean.  Already  the  horizon 
brightens — years  of  resplendent  glory,  peace,  and  prosperity, 
oh  anting  the  choral  hymn  of  the  ages,  advance  to  meet  us. 
Joyfully  we  welcome  thee.  All  hail !  hereafter,  future !  so 
auspiciously  dawning  upon  us.  Bnt  these  inestimable  blessings, 
and  the  prospect  of  a  bright  and  happy  future,  were  secured  to 
us  by  a  terrible  sacrifice.  That  the  blessings  of  free  government 
might  be  preserved  to  us  and  to  our  children,  and  freedom  be 
no  longer  a  mere  possibility,  or  experiment,  but  an  adamantine 
actuality  among  men,  three  hundred  thousand  of  our  fathers, 
husbands,  brothers,  and  sons — nobler,  better,  sublimer  far  than 
we — offered  themselves  a  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  nation. 
And  to-day,'  from  the  Potomac  to  the  Rio  Grande,  from  the 
everglades  of  Florida  to  the  Ohio,  their  bones  lie  bleaching  and 
mouldering  amid  the  ruins  of  an  hundred  battle-fields — where 
the  grass  grows  greener  and  the  flower  blooms  fairer  because  of 
their  blood.  In  those  grand  and  harmonious  ages  which  we 
hope  are  yet  to  come,  when  oppression  and  wrong  shall  all  have 
passed  away,  the  sublime  sacrifice  and  the  heroic  death  of  these 
men  shall  challenge  the  profoundest  reverence  and  the  highest 
admiration  of  the  philosopher,  the  historian  and  the  statesman. 
The  poet,  inspired  by  the  lofty  theme,  shall  fling  to  the  world 
songs  of  "  lovelier  beauty  and  harmony,  of  yet  sweeter  accord ; " 
and  before  the  painter  and  sculptor,  inspired  by  their  lofty  deeds 
and  heroic  daring,  the  star  of  Parrhasius  ana  Praxiteles  shall 
grow  dim.  When  the  scattered  ashes  of  this  grand  period  in 
our  history  shall  be  gathered  up  and  treasured  in  "  history's 
golden  urn,"  generations  yet  unborn,  deep  within  the  bosom  of 
the  future,  struggling  with  new  and  stranger  forms  of  despotism, 
shall  instinctively  turn  to  that — the  grandest  era  in  human  his- 
tory-— for  light  and  guidance,  for  lofty  examples  of  heroism  and 
patriotism ;  and  there  rekindle  the  fires  of  liberty,  the  love  of 


374  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

justice  and  constitutional  equality,  and  from  thence  shall  gather 
into  their  souls  such  grand  inspirations,  such  hatred  of  oppres- 
sion and  wrong,  as  shall  ultimately  break  every  yoke,  and  make 
men  everywhere,  and  for  all  succeeding  time,  what  God  de- 
signed they  should  be,  equal  in  franchises,  equal  in  immunities, 
equal  before  the  laws  of  men,  as  they  are  equal  in  the  Courts  of 
Heaven. 

I  have  said  that  three  hundred  thousand  gave  their  lives  that 
the  nation  might  be  free,  and  the  estimate  is  not  too  great. 
They  were  swept  from  the  land  of  living  things  by  hunger  and 
thirst,  by  pestilence,  and  every  conceivable  form  of  disease ; 
from  the  dungeon  and  the  "  dead  line,"  by  the  deadly  knife  of 
the  assassin,  and  the  sharp  rifle  of  the  ruflian,  and  in  the  white 
heat  of  battle,  as  leaves  are  shaken  down  by  autumnal  storms, 
and  thrust  foully  into  the  earth — I  had  almost  said  to  be  forgot 
— for  to-day  a  vast  majority  of  them  sleep  in  "  unmarked 
graves/'  No  monumental  shaft  in  solemn  grandeur  lifts  its 
stately  head  proclaiming  to  the  world,  here  lie  the  fallen  heroes 
who  gave  their  lives  that  the  nation  might  be  free.  Forgotten, 
did  I  say  ?  No  ;  by  all  the  generous  blood  shed  on  a  thousand 
battle-fields  in  defence  of  human  rights,  no  ;  by  the  sacred  mem- 
ories which  cluster  around  the  names  in  that  long  line  of  mar- 
tyrs to  the  cause  of  liberty,  reaching  down  through  all  the  ages, 
110  ;  by  the  sacred  shrines  of  human  freedom,  they  are  not  for- 
gotten. We  may  forget  them — the  nation  which  they  died  to 
save,  may  forget  them — but  God  never  forgets.  Where  the 
Mississippi  chants  their  eternal  requiem — where  the  Potomac 
rolls  down  to  the  sea — God's  angels  are  keeping  watch  and 
ward  above  their  graves.  No,  my  dead  comrades,  you  are  not 
forgotten.  Sleep  in  peace.  Hands  'seen  and  unseen  are  this 
day  strewing  flowers  above  your  heads,  and  presently  the  world's 
benediction  shall  fall  upon  your  sacred  graves.  This  generation 
may  not  be  worthy  to  lift  the  monuments  which  shail  perpetu- 
ate to  the  latest  time  the  memory  of  your  heroic  deeds,  your 
toil,  your  suffering,  and  your  martyrdom,  but  a  generation,  yet 
to  be,  of  loftier  soul  and  nobler  thought,  shall 

"  Glean  up  your  scattered  ashes  into  history's  golden  urn." 

To  the  dead  and  the  living  who  joined  that  glorious  army  of 
freedom,  and  fought  for  the  liberties  of  the  race,  not  this  nation 
only,  but  the  world  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  which  it  can  never 
pay.  In  concluding,  let  me  say,  a  just  regard  for  the  inestima- 
ble services  they  have  done  the  cause  of  numan  freedom,  and 
especially  the  cause  of  freedom  in  America,  demands  that  their 
memories  be  kept  ever  sacred,  and  in  our  consciousness,  ever 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  375 

fresh  and  dewy  as  the  breath  of  God.  Build  them  monuments 
in  every  part  of  our  broad  domain ;  make  them  of  the  purest 
Parian  marble  ;  you  cannot  make  them  purer  than  their  heroic 
and  disinterested  deeds.  Build  them  to  the  sky ;  you  cannot 
lift  them  to  the  heights  of  their  lofty  fame.  To  my  dead  com- 
rades sleeping  here,  and  everywhere  in  this  land,  redeemed  and 
regenerated  by  their  generous  blood — in  the  name  of  every  man 
and  woman  in  America — in  the  name  of  the  down-trodden  and 
oppressed  of  every  land  and  clime,  I  say,  sleep  in  peace.  Com- 
ing generations  shall  hold  sacred  your  graves.  History  shall  do 
you  justice.  Peace  to  your  sacrea  ashes.  Hail !  and  farewell. 

The  graves  were  then  decorated  here  as  at  the  other  ceme- 
tery, the  last  round  was  fired,  and  the  procession  marched  to  the 
Park,  where  the  choir  sung  "  Our  Country,"  when  the  Marshal 
introduced  the  Rev.  Chas.  Button,  who  addressed  the  audience 
in  a  touching  and  eloquent  speech,  as  follows : 

LADIES,  GENTLEMEN,  COMRADES  oy  THE  CONQUERING  ARMY  OF 
THE  REPUBLIC  :  It  is  well  that  we  are  met  to-day  to  gar- 
laud  the  graves  of  our  fallen  heroes.  It  is  in  accordance  with 
the  throbbings  of  every  loyal  heart,  and  in  a  line  of  the  patriot- 
ism of  the  ages.  Ancient  Greece  paid  especial  respect  to  the 
memories  of  her  sons  fallen  in  battle  in  defence  of  the  Repub- 
lic. At  the  funeral  ceremonies,  and  on  the  return  of  each  anni- 
versary occasion,  the  magistrates  appointed  the  most  distin- 
guished orators  to  address  the  people  upon  the  virtues  of  the  dead, 
the  cause  in  which  they  fell,  and  to  impress  upon  the  living  the 
duty  of  imitating  their  gallant  defenders.  Thus  Pericles,  among 
the  Athenians,  pronounced  the  eulogy  over  those  who  were  first 
slain  in  the  Peloponesiau  war;  and  Demosthenes,  the  silver- 
tongued  orator,  performed  the  same  service  for  those  who  fell  in 
the  ill-fated  battle  of  Chaeronea ;  and  among  the  Romans,  those 
who  were  distinguished  in  battle,  or  had  gained  a  victory,  were 
crowned  with  palm  leaves ;  a  branch  of  cypress  or  pine  was  fixed 
upon  the  doors  of  their  houses,  while  they  were  borne  tenderly 
to  their  graves  upon  their  shields,  and  the  gratitude  of  the  na- 
tion was  spoken  out  over  them,  and  a  monument,  suitably  in- 
scribed, was  set  up  where  they  were  lain. 

Ptolemy  took  up  the  body  of  Alexander  the  Great,  and  in  a 
golden  com'n  bore  it  from  Babylon  to  Alexandria,  with  great 
pomp  and  ceremony.  And  the  early  Christians  pronounced 
eulogies,  and  partook  of  the  sacrament  of  the  supper  over  the 
graves  of  the  martyrs  of  the  faith.  And  we  come  to-day  to  pay 
our  tribute  of  respect  to  the  martyrs  of  liberty,  to  those  who 
died  that  the  nation  might  live ;  and  as  Cranton  sung,  so  we 
eay: 


376  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

"  It  is  a  happy  fate  to  lie  entombed, 
In  the  deep  recesses  of  a  \vell-loved  land." 

And  as  we  bow  at  each  soldier's  grave,  we  can  exultingly  say : 

"  Beneath  this  stone  lies  Bias,  who  was  horn  in  the  illustrious  Prienean 
land,  the  glory  of  the  whole  Ionian  race." 

Fellow-citizens  and  Comrades,  it  is  no  ordinary  service  we 
perform  to-day !  We  come  to  call  up  the  mighty  deeds  of  valor 
in  the  past,  to  kindle  anew  the  sacred  fires  of  Patriotism  on  the 
altar  of  liberty,  and  to  bind  a  chaplet  of  flowers  on  the  brows 
of  the  heroic  dead,  emblem  of  a  nation's  gratitude,  and  pledge 
of  enduring  memory.  In  a  national  sense,  the  ground  where 
they  now  lie  is  holy,  and  every  witnessing  bush  a  sentinel  of 
liberty.  "  A-fire  with  God,  and  let  him  who  sees  take  off  his 
shoes."  On  the  high  funeral  pile  of  the  honored  dead,  among 
the  ancient  pagans,  a  living  eagle  was  bound,  which,  as  the 
flames  consumed  the  bodyrof  the  dead,  liberated,  flew  heaven- 
ward, and  thus  was  fabled  to  bear  away  the  soul  of  him  they 
would  deify,  and  fix  it  among  the  stars  of  light.  In  another 
sense  our  eagle,  the  genius  of  liberty,  shall  mount  higher  and 
higher,  and  fly  in  broader  circling  flights,  as  he  rises  from  the 
sepulchres  of  our  slain  heroes,  and  will  build  his  nest  fast  by  the 
altar  of  God,  in  the  grand  temple  their  hands  have  made  for 
him.  But  why  do  we  bring  our  flowers  and  lay  our  tributes  to- 
day on  these  graves  ?  All  history  attests  that  mere  brute  cour- 
age and  power  can  have  no  abiding  place  in  her  annals.  It  was, 
then,  the  spirit,  the  moral  quality  of  our  late  contest,  which 
points  the  victories  they  gained,  with  the  golden  tips  of  national 
blessing,  as  truly  as  the  steel  pointed  the  weapons  with  which 
they  fought.  It  was  a  war  of  principles,  of  mighty  ideas, 
brought  along  from  the  past.  And  our  victories  have  projected 
themselves  into  the  pregnant  future,  and  on  the  four  sides  of  the 
grand  national  shaft  which  shall  yet  be  raised  up  in  sight  of  the 
whole  world,  we  will  inscribe  Religion,  Liberty,  Equality,  Frar 
ternity.  The  angel  of  mercy  brought  the  cup  of  republican 
liberty  down  from  heaven.  He  lingered  awhile  in  the  States 
of  Greece  and  Rome,  and  offered  it  to  the  Swiss  Cantons,  and 
States-general  of  Holland,  and  for  a  day  held  it  up  to  the  view 
of  the  French.  And  then  he  brought  it  across  the  ocean,  and 
pressed  it  to  the  lips  of  the  Pilgrim  fathers,  and  they  passed  it 
on  to  the  statesmen  of  their  times.  And  the  glowing  utterances 
of  Adams,  Hancock,  Otis,  Ames,  Henry,  and  others,  were  taken 
up,  and  by  the  pen  of  Jefferson  were  embodied  in  our  immortal 
declaration  of  right,  and  with  the  point  of  the  sword  our  great 
Washington  engraved  this  declaration  upon  the  national  entab- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        377 

lature.  Such  was  the  origin  and  such  the  baptism  of  our  liberty, 
and  such  were  the  witnesses  attending  it.  The  thunder-storm 
and  the  tornado  are  made  the  ministers  of  God,  yoked  to  the 
car  of  His  purposes.  And  so  is  war.  A  soldier's  bayonet  drove 
back  the  spring  which  revealed  the  horrors  of  the  inquisition. 
The  battle  axe  of  the  hastily  gathered  legionaries  struck  away 
the  foundations  of  the  old  Bastile,  though  opposed  by  the  royal 
troops,  and  the  prediction  of  Louis  XVI.,  who  lazily  turned 
upon  his  bed  at  midnight,  and  said,  It  is  only  an  insurrection. 

The  tide  of  popular  liberty,  from  the  scaffold  of  Hampden, 
rolled  the  rough  edge  of  war  around  the  throne  of  Charles  I., 
and  from  which  he  first  went  into  exile,  and  then  to  execution. 
Charles  Martel  met  the  "  shadow  of  the  sun,"  on  the  plains  of 
Tours,  in  a  seven  days'  battle  of  unexampled  slaughter,  but  the 
issue  gave  us  the  best  living  type  of  civilization,  and  the  Bible 
instead  of  the  Koran.  And  often  has  the  halberd  of  the  soldier 
cut  away  the  coils  of  ignorance  and  superstition,  from  which 
priests  and  statesmen  could  no  more  extricate  themselves,  than 
could  Laocoon  from  the  coils  of  the  sea  serpent.  And  it  was  only 
"  a  fiery  gospel  writ  in  burnished  rows  of  steel."  which  could 
possibly  carry  conviction  to  the  hearts  of  our  people,  on  the  sub- 
ject of  a  gigantic  wrong  among  us.  And  this  it  was  that  gave 
freedom  to  4,000,000  of  men,  and  placed  in  their  hands  the  bal- 
lot— the  defensive  weapon  of  freemen. 

But  our  brothers  went  forth  to  the  high  places  of  the  field ; 
a  million  of  men  sprang  to  arms,  and  swore  by  Him  who  liveth 
forever  that  the  "jewel  of  Liberty  shall  remain  forever  in  the 
family  of  Freedom."  Our  mothers,  like  the  Spartan  matrons, 
said,  "  Go,  my  son,  and  may  God  protect  you  in  duty  and  the 
right."  And  each  noble  boy  replied : 

"  Who  would  be  a  traitor  knave, 
Who  would  fill  a  coward's  grave, 
Who  so  base  as  be  a  .-lave, 
Let  him  turn  and  flee." 

It  was  for  country,  with  its  glorious  historical  and  traditional 
past,  for  which  they  endured  hardships  in  the  bivouac,  the 
march,  and  in  the  red  strife.  It  was  a  glorious  day  for  the 
American  name  when,  in  the  distant  port  of  Smyrna,  a  captain 
of  a  man-of-war  looked  down  upon  an 'adopted  citizen  in  chains 
and  said,  "Do  you  wish  the  protection  of  my  government?" 
Martin  Kosta  answered,  "I  do."  "Then  you  shall  have  it," 
said  Ingraham,  and  the  man  was  set  free.  And  it  was  for  this 
proud  eminence  that  our  boys  took  the  starry  banner  and  bore 
it  in  triumph  across  the  burning  sands  of  Carolina,  the  swamps 


378  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

of  Georgia,  and  from  the  banks  of  the  Cumberland,  the  Missis- 
sippi, the  Ogeechee,  and  up  Missionary  Ridge  and  Lookout 
Mountain,  and  planted  it  on  its  rocky  heights. 

Leonidas  brandished  his  sword  flashing  in  the  sunlight  at 
Thermopylae,  and  said,  "  Witness,  ye  rocks  and  hills,  I  swear 
Greece  shall  be  free."  So  our  Sherman  rose  up  in  his  saddle 
and  pointed  his  sword  to  the  sea,  and  the  veterans  hewed  a  pas- 
sage to  Savannah. 

And  the  Cumberland  went  down  with  our  flag  flying,  and 
fighting  with  her  guns  to  the  last.  And  let  us  not  forget  our 
Kearsarge  and  our  brave  Farragut.  But  at  what  a  cost  was 
this !  Three  hundred  thousand  of  our  men  have  died  as  the 
result  of  this  war !  And  what  a  debt  we  owe  the  survivors,  and 
to  the  families  of  the  slain,  and  to  the  country  !  Let  it  never  be 
said  that  the  Republic  is  ungrateful  to  its  defenders  and  their 
families.  And  let  us  year  by  year  perpetuate  the  memory  of 
our  fallen  comrades  by  a  service  like  the  present ;  and  as  we  bow 
at  their  graves,  with  God  we  will  leave  them. 

"Bring  flowers,  pale  flowers,  o'er  the  grave  to  shed, 
A  crown  for  the  brows  of  the  soldier  dead; 
For  this  thro'  the  leaves  hath  the  white  rose  burst, 
For  this  in  the  woods  was  the  violet  nursed, 
Though  they  sigh  in  vain  for  what  once  was  ours, 
They  are  love's  last  gift, — bring  flowers,  bright  flowers." 

Thus  ended  the  first  decoration  ever  held  in  Aurora. 

Ax  BUNKER  HILL,  ILL. 

The  comrades  of  the  Post  at  Bunker  Hill  set  at  work  ear- 
nestly, and  it  was  publicly  announced  that  on  the  day  specified 
the  graves  of  the  soldiers  sleeping  in  the  cemetery  at  that  place 
would  be  decorated. 

Long  before  the  hour  arrived,  the  people  of  the  surrounding 
country  and  neighboring  towns  commenced  making  their  appear- 
ance laden  with  flowers.  Business  was  entirely  suspended,  and 
at  half-past  two  o'clock  a  procession  was  formed,  headed  by  the 
Bunker  Hill  brass  band,  next  the  members  of  the  Post,  then 
citizens  and  strangers  generally,  and  proceeded  to  the  beautiful 
cemetery. 

Before  this  the  soldiers'  monument  was  finely  decorated — a 
wreath  of  evergreen  winding  from  the  base  to  the  top,  from 
which  floated  the  flag  for  which  so  many  now  sleeping  here  had 
bravely  fought.  The  tolling  of  bells,  and  the  faint  strains 
of  music  gently  reaching  the  ear,  indicated  that  the  procession 
had  commenced  its  inarch.  Soon  it  arrived  on  the  ground,  and 
forming  a  circle  the  exercises  commenced : — 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  379 

1.  Music  by  the  Band ;  2.  Reading  of  Order  No.  11 ;  3.  Yo- 
cal  Music — "  Toll  the  bell,  the  braves  are  sleeping  ;"  4.  Praver, 
bv  Rev.  J.  W.  Lane;  5.  Yocal  Music — "Lay  him  low;''  6. 
THE  ORATION — by  Mr.  E.  W.  Hayes : 


ORATION. 


Standing  beneath  this  serene  sky,  overlooking  these  broad 
fields  now  teeming  with  wealth  and  beauty,  making  glad  and 
ravishing  the  heart  of  every  beholder,  with  the  almost  limitless 
prairie  spread  out  before  us,  and  the  graves  of  our  brethren 
beneath  our  feet — it  is  with  hesitation,  with  reverential  awe,  with 
an  almost  overpowering  sense  of  weakness,  that  I  lift  my  poor 
voice  to  break  the  silence  of  God  and  Nature  ;  but  the  duty  to 
which  you  have  called  me  must  be  performed.  Grant  me,  I  beg 
you,  your  indulgence,  your  sympathy. 

It  was  appointed  by  the  laws  of  Athens,  that  the  obsequies 
of  the  citizens  who  fell  in  battle  should  be  performed  at  the  pub- 
lic expense,  and  in  the  most  honorable  manner.  Their  bones 
were  carefully  gathered  from  the  funeral  pyre  on  which  their 
bodies  had  been  burned,  and  brought  home  to  the  city.  There 
they  lay  in  state  for  three  days  before  the  interment,  under  tents 
of  honor,  to  receive  the  votive  offerings  of  relatives  and  friends 
— flowers,  weapons,  precious  ornaments,  painted  vases — the  last 
tributes  of  surviving  affection.  Ten  coffins  of  funeral  cypress 
received  the  honorable  deposits — one  for  each  of  the  tribes  of 
the  city — and  an  eleventh  to  the  memory  of  the  unrecognized 
but  not  unhonored  dead,  together  with  those  whose  remains 
could  not  be  recovered.  On  the  fourth  day  the  mournful  pro- 
cession was  formed.  Mothers,  wives,  sisters,  and  daughters  led 
the  way,  and  to  them  it  was  permitted,  by  the  simplicity  of 
ancient  customs,  to  utter  aloud  their  lamentations  for  the  beloved 
and  lost;  male  relatives  and  friends  of  the  deceased  followed  ; 
citizens  and  strangers  closed  the  train.  Thus  marshaled,  they 
moved  to  the  place  of  interment  in  that  famous  ceramicus,  the 
most  beautiful  suburb  of  Athens,  which  had  been  adorned  by 
Cimon,the  son  of  Miltiades,  with  walks,  fountains,  and  columns  ; 
whose  groves  were  filled  with  altars,  shrines  and  temples,  and 
whose  gardens  were  kept  forever  green  by  streams  from  the 
neighboring  hills,  and  shaded  by  trees  sacred  to  Minerva;  whose 
circuit  enclosed 

*        *        "  the  olive  grove  of  Academe, 
Plato's  retirement,  where  the  Attic  bird 
Trilled  his  thick-warbled  note  the  summer  long ;" 

whose  pathways  gleamed  with  the  monuments  of  the  illustrious 
dead,  the  work  of  the  most  consummate  masters  that  ever  gave 


380  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

lite  to  marble.  There  beneath  the  over -arching  plane-trees,  on 
a  stage  erected  for  the  purpose,  it  was  ordained  that  a  funeral 
oration  should  be  pronounced  by  some  citizen  of  the  republic  in 
the  presence  of  the  assembled  multitude. 

ouch  were  the  honors  required  to  be  paid  at  Athens  to  the 
memory  of  those  who  fell  for  their  country's  cause.  We,  friends 
and  comrades  in  armsj  have  met  this  day  in  pursuance  of  an 
order  from  the  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic,  which  has  been  read  in  your  hearing.  The  object  of 
our  coming  together,  as  you  have  just  heard,  is  to  give  some 
token  of  remembrance  to  our  dead  comrades ;  to  show  to  all 
mankind  that  we  have  not  forgotten  their  noble  lives,  their 
glorious  death.  On  this  beautiful  day  we,  the  soldiers  of  the 
.Republic,  have  gathered  in  little  groups  all  over  our  beloved 
country  to  pay  an  humble  tribute  to  the  noble  sacrifice  they 
made  for  the  salvation  of  liberty,  of  human  right;  and  this  day 
shall  the  same  grand  anthem  be  echoed  by  the  old  hills  of  the 
frozen  North,  and  re-echoed  over  the  broad  savannas  of  the 
sunny  South.  This  day  shall  the  willow  and  cypress  be  twined 
to  their  memory  from  the  mountains  to  either  sea — from  where 
the  sun  bids  our  land  a  bright  "  Good  Morning,"  to  where  his 
last  ray  kisses  her  a  fond  "  Good  Night" — from  vespers  even  to 
the  curfew's  toll,  shall  this  day  speak  their  praises  and  their 
worthy  deeds. 

When  first  foul  treason  reared  her  hideous  head  within  our 
borders,  and  the  deep-toned  war-dogs  bayed  death  from  their 
black  and  horrid  throats,  and  the  tocsin  sounded  the  call  to  arms, 
then  from  valley,  plain  and  hillside  went  up  one  shout  of  patrio- 
tic fervor  that  made  the  welkin  ring.  Then  were  seen  our 
youth — our  noble  youth — hastening  to  obey  their  country's  call — 

"From  North,  and  East,  and  West  they  came, 
They  left  their  plowshares  in  the  mould, 
Their  flocks  and  herds  without  the  fold, 
Their  sickles  in  the  unmown  grain, 
Their  corn  half  garner'd  on  the  plain, 
To  right  their  wrongs,  come  weal,  come  woe, 
To  perish  or  o'ercome  the  foe." 

Then  he  who  but  yesterday  was  a  beardless  boy  tending  his 
father's  flocks  or  learning  some  useful  calling,  to-day  stood  forth 
a  man,  proud  of  his  country,  of  his  birth-right  of  freedom,  a 
patriotic  fire  kindling  his  eye  and  bracing  his  sinews.  They 
came — not  as  serfs  or  slaves  come,  with  fear  and  trembling,  to 
obey  the  behest  of  their  tyrant  master  ;  but  with  ioyful  alacrity 
they  came  to  offer  their  services — if  need  be,  tneir  lives — in 
freedom's,  law's  and  their  country's  cause.  Then  did  we  see 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  381 

men,  strong  men,  shed  tears,  great  crystal  tears,  and  pure  as  the 
dewdrop  —  not  because  they  were  called  upon  to  leave  home, 
friends,  and  calling,  for  the  hard  services  of  the  tented  field, 
but  —  because  the  ranks  were  full  and  they  had  been  left  out. 

Soon  came  the  shock  of  arms,  the  horrid  din  of  battle  ;  but 
'to  you,  my  comrades,  who  have  stood  in  the  awful  breach  where 
Death  and  Hell  held  revel,  it  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  describe 
the  scene.  Each  one  of  you  can  call  to  mind,  aye,  could  not 
drive  them  from  memory  if  you  would,  the  stern  array  of  battle 
when  each  moment  expectation  waited  for  the  cannon's  opening 
roar  —  when  glancing  down  the  formed  line,  each  man  marked 
the  countenance  of  Yiis  friend  and  breathed  silent  prayer  to  the 
Great  Almighty  Father,  that  when  the  strife  should  cease  they 
might  be  permitted  to  meet  each  other  safe  from  harm.  Then 
all  were  pale  and  silent,  with  firm  set  lips  and  heaving  breasts, 
but  with  a  look  that  told  of  victory  or  death. 

Hark  !  did  you  hear  that  gun  ?  It  was  the  signal  for  the 
fight.  Forward  —  and  then,  grant,  oh  !  merciful  Father,  that  we 
may  never  see  such  sights  again.  The  hard  contested  battle 
over,  the  field  was  either  lost  or  won,  and  those  of  us  who  had 
been  spared  gathered  again  within  our  camp.  TJie  roll  —  the 
saddest  ever  heard  —  was  called  ;  one  and  another  answered  not  ; 
a  brother,  friend  or  comrade  was  not  there  ;  he  was  gone,  for- 
ever gone  ! 

"  We  buried  him  darkly  af  dead  of  night, 

The  sods  with  our  bayonets  turniug 
By  the  struggling  moonbeams  misty  light, 
And  the  lantern  dimly  burning. 

"  No  useless  coffin  enclosed  his  breast, 

Nor  in  sheet  nor  fn  shroud  we  wound  him  ; 
But  he  lay  like  a  warrior  taking  his  rest 
With  his  martial  cloak  around  him. 

"  Few  and  short  were  the  prayers  we  said, 

And  we  spoke  not  a  word  of  sorrow, 
But  we  steadfastly  gazed  on  the  face  of  the  dead 
And  bitterly  thought  of  the  morrow. 


"  Slowly  and  sadly  we  laid  him 

From  the  field  of  his  fame  fresh  and  gory; 
We  carved  not  a  line,  we  raised  not  a  stone, 
But  we  left  him  alone  in  his  glory." 

Mayhap  we  left  him  where  he  fell,  with  none  but  foes,  cruel, 
savage  foes,  to  gather  up  his  precious  dust  ;  or  what  is  almost 
Worse,  in  that  last  fearful  charge  he  was  taken  a  prisoner, 
dragged  away  to  those  most  miserable  pens,  where  thousands 
were  crowded  together,  to  starve,  and  droop,  and  die  a  death 


382  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

lingering  and  awful  beyond  comparison.  Go  with  me  now, 
when  all  is  hushed  and  calm  and  still.  The  day  is  gone,  and 
from  yon  azure  arch  the  silver  moon  sheds  down  her  quiet 
light ;  no  sound  is  heard  save  the  distant  sentries'  tread,  and 
the  low  deep  groan  of  the  wounded  or  the  parting  prayer  of  the 
dying.  But  let  me  throw  a  pall  over  a  scene  which  no  words 
can  adequately  depict,  and  on  which  no  one  who  has  a  heart  in 
his  bosom  desires  to  dwell.  Scarce  one  among  us,  fellow-sol- 
diers, but  has  bent  over  some  dying  comrade  to  catch  the  last 
whispered  accents  of  his  voice,  the  last  message  of  love  to  those 
at  home — a  mother,  wife,  or  sister  far  away — and  often  have  we 
heard  the  sentiment :  "  Dulce  et  decorum  est  pro  patria  rnori." 

"  "We  saw  in  death  his  eyelids  close,  calmly 
As  to  a  night's  repose  ;  like  flowers  at  set  of  son. 

Come  to  the  bridal  chamber,  Death  ; 

Come  when  the  mother  feels  for  the  first  time  her  first-born's  breath  ; 

Come  when  the  blessed  seals  which  bind  the  pestilence  are  broke, 

And  crowded  cities  wail  its  stroke  ; 

Come  in  consumption's  ghastly  form, 

The  earthquake's  shock,  the  ocean's  storm ; 

Come  when  the  heart  beats  high  and  warm 

With  banquet,  song  and  dance  and  wine, 

And  thou  art  terrible.     The  tear. 

The  knell,  the  groan,  the  pall,  the  bier. 

And  all  we  know,  or  dream,  or  fear 

Of  agony  are  thine. 

But  to  the  hero, 

When  his  sword  has  won  the  battle  for  the  free, 

Thy  voice  sounds  like  a  prophet's  words, 

And  in  its  hallowed  tones  are  heard 

The  thanks  of  millions  yet  to  be.  [cUrae." 

Rest,  soldier,  rest!   there  is  no  prouder  grave,  even  in  our  own  proud 

To  you,  fathers,  mothers,  wives,  sisters,  children  of  the  fallen 
brave,  I  hardly  dare  to  speak.  Their  memory  is  a  precious 
boon.  Your  emotions  would  shame  my  poor  words,  but  know 
ye  this — we  have  not  forgotten  them.  For  their  death  our 
nation  owes  you  a  debt  of  gratitude  it  never  can  repay,  and 
while  a  boy  who  wore  the  blue  survives  it  shall  not  be  forgotten. 
Well  do  you  remember  those  days  of  gloom,  of  anxious  solici- 
tude, of  dire  suspense,  when,  with  trembling  fingers  and  blinded 
eyes,  you  scanned  those  long  lists  of  killed  and  missing,  and 
when  at  last  the  sad  news  came  that  your  dear  one  was  number- 
ed with  the  dead,  how  you  bowed  your  head  with  grief,  still 
thanking  God  for  this — he  did  his  duty  well,  and  died  an 
honored  soldier's  death.  How  much  prouder  and  more  consol- 
ing is  the  memory  of  that  dear  friend  than  his  presence  could 
have  been  had  he  proved  recreant  in  the  hour  of  danger.  I  knew 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        383 

an  aged  man  who  had  two  sons ;  the  one  fled  his  home  and 
country  to  avoid  his  duty,  the  other  fell  on  the  field  of  battle ; 
and  as  that  old  man  spoke  to  me  of  his  unworthy  son,  he  said : 
"  Oh,  that  he  had  died  as  his  brother  !  Then  my  tears  would 
have  been  tears  of  love  and  pride,  not  tears  of  shame  !  "  As- 
sembled friends,  we  who  have  gathered  here  this  day  have  a 
strong,  an  indissoluble  tie  to  bind  us  to  our  country  and  to  each 
other  in  the  death  of  those  whose  memory  we  this  day  commem- 
orate. They  have  left  to  us  a  priceless  legacy — a  country  saved 
with  liberty  secure.  Let  us  guard  it  well,  remembering  this, — 

"  That  Freedom's  battle  once  begun, 
Bequeathed  from  bleeding  sire  to  son, 
Though  oftimes  baffled  'tis  ever  won." 

And  they  have  left  us  something  more.  Their  widows  and 
orphans  are  among  us,  and  by  kindly  care  and  sympathy  for 
these  we  can  best  show  our  honor  for  their  memory.  That 
sympathy  which  says,  "  Be  ye  clothed  and  fed,"  and  yet  turneth 
the  hungry  and  naked  away  empty,  is  not  such  as  God  and  hu- 
manity can  commend ;  not  such  as  evinces  gratitude  to  those 
who  gave  a  husband  or  a  father  for  the  purchase  of  inestimable 
blessings  to  our  common  country.  That  care  which  can  calmly 
see  the  soldiers'  orphaned  children  reared  in  ignorance  or  crime 
and  not  stretch  forth  a  hand  for  their  rescue,  is  not  the  care  of 
the  Christian  or  the  patriot,  not  the  care  taught  by  that  rule, 
"  As  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  unto 
them?' 

While  we  this  day  call  to  mind  the  fallen  brave,  let  us  not 
forget  our  martyred  chieftain.  He  who  for  four  long  years  with 
noble  courage  steered  the  ship  of  state  over  a  raging  sea ;  whose 
eye  was  ever  watchful  when  dangers  thickened  round,  and  his 
hand  steady  on  the  helm  when  the  night  was  darkest  and  the 
tempest  roared ;  to  him  the  soldier  ever  looked  with  confidence 
and  hope.  Just  when  the  ship  had  reached  the  haven  where 
Peace  stood  smiling  on  the  shore,  then  he  was  stricken  down  by 
treason's  foulest  blow.  He  died  for  Freedom's  holy  cause, — 

"  That  cause  for  which  we  wave  the  sword  on  high, 
And  swear  with  her  to  live,  for  her  to  die." 

Proceed  we  now  to  garland  the  monuments  and  deck  the 
graves  of  our  sleeping  comrades  with  earth's  purest,  brightest, 
sweetest  offspring — flowers.  Let  us  bring  our  tributes  to  their 
tombs  with  thankful,  grateful  hearts  for  the  peace  we  now  en- 
joy, for  a  country  saved  from  the  curse  of  treason,  for  the  good- 
ness of  God  in  preserving  our  lives  while  so  many  fell  by  our 
side,  and  for  permitting  us  this  day  to  do  this  humble  act  of 
homage  to  their  memory. 


384  MEMORIAL   CEREMONIES 

"Bring  flowers,  young  flowers,  to  deck  this  stone, 
"Which  tell  of  brave  spirits  that  from  earth  have  flown ; 
Bring  flowers,  they  are  springing  in  wood  and  vale, 
Their  breath  floats  out  on  the  Southern  gale, 
And  the  touch  of  the  sunbeam  hath  wakened  the  rose, 
Whose  perfume  is  sweet  to  our  comrades'  repose. 

Bring  flowers,  bright  flowers,  from  hillside  and  plain, 
Their  colors  recall  the  deeds  of  the  slain, 
They  are  emblems  of  valor,  honor,  and  truth ; 
They  remind  us  of  those  who  have  died  in  their  youth; 
Who  died  by  the  hands  of  traitors  and  knaves — 
Who  were  willing  to  die,  but  not  to  be  slaves. 

Bring  flowers,  fresh  flowers,  from  quiet  homes, 
Where  a  son  or  a  brother  never  comes : 
Let  them  be  sprinkled  in  the  tear-drop's  dew, 
For  they  tell  of  a  memory  that's  ever  true ; 
That  shall  always  cling  through  coining  time 
To  the  one  who  was  taken  in  manhood's  prime. 

Bring  flowers,  pale  flowers,  on  the  grave  to  shed, 

Where  sleep  their  long  sleep  our  country's  dead  ; 

For  this  through  its  leaves  the  white  rose  burst; 

For  this  in  the  wood  was  the  violet  nursed ; 

Though  they  smile  in  vain  for  what  once  was  ours, 

They  are  Love's  last  gift !     Bring  flowers,  bring  flowers !  " 

After  the  oration,  the  band  took  a  prominent  position  on  an 
elevated  portion  of  the  grounds.  The  procession  then  marched 
to  each  grave,  and  after  the  announcement  was  made  by  the 
Adjutant  of  the  Post,  as  to  when  the  soldier  enlisted,  the  num- 
ber of  his  regiment,  the  length  of  service,  the  place  and  time  of 
death,  the  decorating  committee,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Flanna- 
gin,  Atchison,  and  Mathie,  received  the  contributions  of  flowers 
and  wreaths  and  strewed  them  over  the  graves.  The  same  scene 
was  repeated  at  each  grave  until  the  entire  number  had  been 
decorated.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  soldiers : 

Serg't  Leander  Bird,  enlisted  at  Bunker  Hill,  111.,  Aug.  1862 
in  Co.  A,  97th  Reg.  111.  Yols.  Died  in  hospital  at  Memphis,  Tenn., 
July  1, 1863.  Corp.  Sam'l  Bird  enlisted  at  Bunker  Hill,  111.,  Aug. 
1862,  in  Co.  A,  97th  Reg.  Yols.  Died  in  hospital  at  Jefferson 
Barracks,  Mo..  July  1,  1863.  Lieut.  Theodore  H.  Gildemeister 
enlisted  at  Bunker  Hill,  April,  1861,  in  Co.  F,  7th  Reg.  HI. 
Yols.  Afterward  transferred  to  Mississippi  Marine  Brigade, 
and  commissioned  as  Second  Lieut.  Honorably  mustered  out 
with  his  command.  Died  at  his  home  near  Bunker  Hill,  April 
25,  1866.  Lieut.  A.  C.  Atchison  enlisted  at  Bunker  Hill,  111., 
April  15,  1861,  in  Co.  F,  7th  111.  Yols.  Honorably  discharged 
at  expiration  of  term.  Re-enlisted  Aug.  8,  1862,  in  Co.  A, 
97th  111.  Yols.,  commissioned  as  First  Lieut.  Killed  in  battle 
May  20,  1863,  before  Yicksburg,  Miss.  Frederick  Davis  en- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  385 

listed  at  Bunker  Hill,  El.,  July,  1861,  in  Co.  F,  7th  HI.  Infan- 
try. Died  at  Bunker  Hill,  1862,  while  absent  from  his  com- 
mand by  reason  of  sickness.  Joseph  Tupper,  a  member  of  Co. 
C,  114th  Keg.  111.  Vols.,  died  at  Bunker  Hill  while  on  leave  of 
absence.  Lieut.  J.  B.  T.  Mead  entered  service  1861,  was  com- 
misioned  as  Adjutant  28th  111.  Infantry.  Mortally  wounded  in 
battle  of  Pittsburg  Landing,  Tenn.,  April  6,  1862,  died  at 
St.  Louis,  Mo.,  April  26,  1862.  George  A.  Adams  enlisted 
at  Bunker  Hill,  111.,  1861,  in  Co.  B,  1st  Missouri  Cav.  Died  in 
hospital  Sept.  24,  1861.  David  H.  Stark  enlisted  1864  in  Co. 
— ,  152d  Reg.  111.  Yols.  Died  Feb.  — ,  1867,  at  his  home  near 
Bunker  Hill.  Samuel  Squires  enlisted  in  1862  at  Bunker  Hill, 
111.,  in  Co.  A,  97th  Keg.  HL  Vols.  Died  in  hospital  at  Jefferson 
Barracks,  Mo.,  Marcn  1,  1863.  James  Breath  entered  the 
service  at  Bunker  Hill,  Feb.  1864.  Died  at  Camp  Butler,  111., 
while  awaiting  muster.  Gilbert  Hamilton  enlisted  at  Bunker 
Hill,  April,  1861,  in  Co.  F,  7th  Keg.  Ill  Yols.  Discharged  at 
expiration  of  term.  Re-enlisted  in  the  59th  111.  Yols. ;  trans- 
ferred to  the  Kara  Fleet,  and  died  on  board  the  Ram  Monarch, 
Feb.  8,  1863.  Theodore  Sneideker  enlisted  Aug.  11,  1862,  in 
Co.  B,  80th  Keg.  111.  Yols.  Died  at  Bridgeport,  Alabama, 
April  9,  1864.  H.  A.  M.  Wick,  a  member  of  Co.  B,  1st  Mo. 
Cavalry,  died  in  hospital  at  Rolla,  Mo.,  Dec.  3,  1861.  Harman 
T.  Davis  enlisted  in  Mississippi  Marine  Brigade,  Dec.  10,  1862. 
Discharged  by  reason  of  disability,  May  10,  1863.  Re-entered 
service  in  144th  Reg.  111.  Yols..  October,  1863.  Discharged  at 
expiration  of  term.  Died  at  his  home  near  Bunker  Hill. 
George  Rickner  entered  service  July,  1861,  in  Co.  F,  7th  Reg. 
HI.  Yols.  Died  in  hospital  at  Fort  Holt,  Kentucky,  Nov.  27, 
1861.  Albert  Rodney  Sawyer,  Asst.  Surg.  33d  Mo.  Infantry, 
entered  service  Sept.  18,  1863  ;  discharged  Jan.  20,  1864,  bv 
reason  of  physical  disability.  Died  at  his  home  in  Bunker  Hill, 
May  21,  1868.  Win.  Truesdale,  commissioned  as  Colonel  and 
placed  on  staff  duty  as  Chief  of  Secret  Police,  Army  of  the 
Cumberland.  Died  at  his  home  in  Bunker  Hill,  Nov.  26, 1867. 
Geo.  W.  Love  enlisted  in  Co.  G,  10th  Mo.  Infantry.  Mustered 
out  in  1862,  on  account  of  disability.  Died  October,  1867. 

AT  ELGIN,  ILL. 

At  2  o'clock,  p.  M.,  the  soldiers  formed  in  column  by  twos 
in  the  following  order  :  Elgin  Brass  Baud  ;  Martial  Band  ;  Flag 
draped  in  mourning  and  decked  with  a  laurel  wreath  ;  Capt.  G. 
F.  Lewis,  P.  C. ;  Soldiers  in  column  by  twos ;  Citizens  on  foot ; 
Citizens  in  carriages.  At  half-past  2  the  column  moved  off, 
taking  Chicago,  Centre,  and  Du  Page  streets  in  their  route  to 
25 


386  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

the  cemetery,  each  soldier  carrying  a  beautifiil  bouquet  present- 
ed by  the  ladies  of  Elgin.  As  the  column  arrived  at  the  ceme- 
tery gate,  without  halting,  undoubled  files  and  in  single  rank, 
preceded  by  the  Martial  Band  playing  a  funeral  dirge,  and  con- 
ducted by  J.  B.  Newcomb,  filed  to  the  left,  and  as  they  passed 
a  soldier's  grave,  each  comrade  strewed  flowers  upon  it.  There 
were  twenty-nine  of  them,  those  silent  sleepers,  the  representa- 
tives of  every  battle-field  of  the  war.  Their  resting-places  were 
distinguished  from  all  others  by  flags,  and  many  of  them  by 
beautiful  wreaths  and  bouquets  placed  there  by  the  hands  of 
affection.  But  there  were  a  few  that  seemed  lost  and  friendless 
in  this  u  silent  city  of  the  dead  " — a  plain,  paint-lettered  board 
to  mark  the  spot,  that  will  soon  decay  and  their  names  be  for- 
gotten. 

After  the  graves  of  all  had  been  visited  and  decorated,  the 
soldiers  formed  in  a  hollow  square  around  the  stand,  where  a 
temporary  pole  had  been  raised,  upon  which  a  flag  was  flying 
at  half-mast.  Rev.  C.  E.  Dickenson  offered  up  a  fervent  prayer, 
which  was  followed  by  a  quartette  entitled  "  They  are  Gone." 
Rev.  W.  D.  Atchison  was  then  introduced. 


ADDRESS   BY   REV.   W.    D.   ATCHTSON. 


FELLOW-CITIZENS  :  I  am  quite  conscious  that  I  shall  speak 
upon  this  occasion  under  a  feeling  that  the  subject  to  be  brought 
before  you  is  not  altogether  a  new  one.  I  may  say  some  things 
that  have  been  said  by  others  over  the  fall  of  those  to  whom  we 
now  come  to  pay  honor.  And  yet  I  am  reminded  that  ninety- 
two  years  have  passed  away  since  the  beginning  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary struggle,  and  although  the  defenders  of*  our  cause  then 
have  all  passed  away,  we  never  tire  of  speaking  and  hearing  of 
their  noble  deeds  and  sacrifices  for  liberty  ;  and  when  we  con- 
sider the  circumstances  under  which  our  comrades  fell,  we  shall, 
I  trust,  never  tire  of  telling  to  our  children,  and  children's  chil- 
dren, their  heroic  deeds.  Standing  in  this  silent  city  of  the 
dead,  where  the  jars  and  tumults  of  life  that  disturb  us,  trouble 
not  the  quiet  sleepers  beneath  the  sod,  we  are  reminded  of  that 
mortality  that  awaits  us,  the  living.  But  we  are  also  reminded 
by  the  many  tokens  of  friendship  we  see  around  us,  that  though 

Death  may  the  bonds  of  life  unloose, 
It  can't  dissolve  our  love. 

Here  the  affections  of  the  living  often  linger  by  the  tomb  of 
departed  loved  ones  ;  and,  dear  as  the  place  is  to  them  on  this 
account,  it  is  rendered  doubly  so  to  us  from  the  fact  that  here 
rests  a  number  of  our  fallen  patriots,  who,  by  their  manly 
efforts,  aided  in  the  deliverance  of  our  country  in  her  hour  of 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        387 

peril.  And  it  seems  highly  fitting  in  this  beautiful  May  month, 
now  as  the  trees  are  putting  forth  their  foliage,  ana  the  air 
comes  to  us  freighted  with  the  fragrance  of  Spring,  that  we 
should  pay  some  token  of  respect  to  their  memory.  But  why 
all  this  demonstration  for  them  ?  Why  not  make  the  same  for 
others  who  have  fallen  in  peace  ?  Because,  in  a  peculiar  sense, 
it  may  be  said  that  these  men  did  not  die  a  common  death.  Of 
them  it  may  truthfully  be  said,  They  died  not  for  themselves, 
but  for  us.  Neither  did  they  die  in  a  common  cause — not  com- 
mon, because  of  its  importance  and  righteousness.  This  gave 
them  courage  in  the  day  of  battle.  By  the  great  Teacher  it  has 
been  truthfully  said :  u  Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this, 
that  he  lay  down  his  life  for  his  friends."  And  this  is  precisely 
what  our  gallant  dead  have  done.  It  was  not  that  they  loved 
war ;  for  they  were  educated  in  schools  of  industry,  and  were 
taught  to  love  the  ways  of  peace.  They  were  not,  like  the 
ancient  Greeks  and  Romans,  educated  to  glory  in  war.  But 
while  they  were  educated  in  schools  of  peace,  they  were  taught 
to  love  liberty  and  to  respect  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  their 
own  beloved  land.  And  it  was  only  when  these  were  assailed, 
and  the  Flag  insulted  by  traitors,  that  they  sprang,  as  if  by 
magic,  to  its  rescue,  and  only  accepted  war  as  the  last  and  most 
fearful  way  to  peace  and  safety.  And  although  not  educated  to 
the  use  of  arms,  they  were  neither  wanting  in  courage  nor  skill 
in  the  day  of  trial ;  thus  convincing  the  world  that  intelligence, 
when  the  necessity  arises,  makes  its  possessor  all  the  stronger. 
Did  the  world  ever  witness  such  a  sight  ?  An  army  born  in  a 
day — composed  of  men  from  every  walk  and  calling  in  life, 
from  the  field,  the  shop,  the  counter,  the  college,  the  school,  the 
court,  the  pulpit,  and  the  sea.  I  have  said  that  they  died  for 
their  friends  and  country.  And  who  reap  the  fruit  of  their  toil 
and  zeal  ?  We  and  our  children.  They  sleep  on  every  battle- 
field of  the  Republic,  and  in  every  cemetery  in  the  land,  hold- 
ing it  sacred  for  God  and  liberty.  "  They  died  to  make  men 
free."  But  for  them,  where  would  our  liberty  have  been  ? 
Trampled  in  the  dust !  And  when  I  look  around  me  to-day, 
on  these  beautiful  farms,  and  at  those  costly  residences,  those 
steepled  churches  and  free  schools,  I  am  ready,  with  you,  to 
bend  by  their  graves,  and  with  a  full  heart  acknowledge  that  to 
their  courage  and  endurance,  under  God,  we  enjoy  all  these. 
In  our  own  beautiful  cemetery  sleep  twenty-nine  of  those  who 
went  forth  to  battle  and  die  for  us.  These  represent  no  less  than 
sixteen  different  regiments  and  nearly  every  great  battle  of  the 
war.  They  are  dead, -but  not  forgotten,  as  the  proceedings  of 
this  day  fully  show.  And  let  none  think  for  a  moment  that  this 


388  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

act  of  thus  decorating  the  graves  of  loved  comrades  is  a  cold, 
formal,  heartless  act.  It  is  the  impulse  of  noble  and  manly 
affections  strengthened  and  made  sacred  by  the  perils  of  battle. 
Comrades,  you  stand  to-day  members  of  one  of  the  grandest,  if 
not  the  grandest  army,  the  sun  in  the  heavens  ever  shone  upon, 
stretching  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  you  stand 
pledged  to  be  true  to  the  great  principles  for  which  you  and 
your  fellow-comrades  fought.  "  Part  of  the  host  have  crossed 
the  flood,"  and  soon  time's  rapid  flight  will  bear  us  all  away  to 
sleep  together  on  the  bosom  of  the  land 'we  love  the  most.  But, 
not  to  be  forgotten ;  your  graves  will  be  Meccas  to  which  the 
living  will  come  to  kindle  the  fires  of  patriotism  anew  in  their 
own  breasts.  Unborn  generations  will  rise  up  to  call  you 
blessed,  and  unborn  hands  will  decorate  your  grave,  as  you 
have  the  graves  of  your  comrades.  Let  us,  in  the  language  of 
the  immortal  Lincoln,  uttered  as  he  stood  upon  the  bloody  field 
of  Gettysburg,  remember  that,  while  we  "  cannot  consecrate 
ground  already  consecrated  by  so  many  of  our  honored  dead, 
we  can  be  here  dedicated  to  the  great  task  before  us,  and  from 
these  honored  ones  we  may  take  increased  devotion  to  the  cause 
for  which  they  gave  the  last  full  measure  of  devotion,  and  here 
highly  resolve  that  these  martyrs  shall  not  have  died  in  vain." 
Your  work  will  not  be  done  until  every  revolted  State  shall 
again  be  represented  in  the  Halls  of  Congress,  and  that,  too,  on 
the  principles  of  "  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness." 
In  this  work  there  must  be  given  unceasing  devotion,  and  I 
doubt  not  but  that  it  will  be  given.  Let  traitor  hands  again  be 
raised,  and  the  sword  of  these  guardians  of  our  liberty  would 
leap  from  its  scabbard,  flashing  in  the  sunbeams  of  heaven  with 
more  brightness  and  terror  than  ever  before,  turning  every  way 
to  guard  the  Tree  of  Liberty.  Comrades,  never  lose  sight  of 
this  fact : 

Soldiers  brave  are  all  for  Union, 

North  and  South,  East  and  "West ; 
All  the  States  in  loved  communion, 

Heart  and  hand  with  freedom  blessed  : 
We  are  a  band  of  brothers, 

All  the  States  are  sisters,  too ; 
And  in  time  there  will  be  others 

That  shall  happy  vows  renew. 
Let  the  hopeful  words  be  spoken, 

On  the  wings  of  promise  borne  ; 
Never  shall  the  links  be  broken, 

Never  shall  the  flag  be  torn  ! 
Union  now  and  Union  ever, 

Soldiers  brave  for  Union  all ; 
We  will  keep  it  safe,  and  never 

Shall  our  glorious  Union  falL 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  3S9 

No,  never  !  It  will  be  sweet  to  thus  pass  away,  to  mingle  our 
dust  with  those  who  now  rest ;  to  feel,  as  we  lie  down,  that  the 
work  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  has  not  been  in  vain. 
No ;  like  a  belt  of  light,  their  work  will  span  the  globe,  and 
when  that  day  shall  come  that  shall  witness  the  "  sword  beaten 
into  plowshares  and  the  spear  into  pruning-hooks,  and  the  des- 
erts shall  blossom  like  a  garden,"  not  only  will  the  mighty  gen- 
erations that  follow  us  here,  but  from  Africa  and  India,  will 
men  look  to  the  sun  in  the  Western  skies,  and  feel  that  the  sac- 
rifices of  this  great  army  sleeping  under  his  beams,  led,  in  no 
small  degree,  to  the  peace  and  glory  that  they  will  then  enjoy. 
The  monument  that  you  may  erect  on  this  spot  will  wear  away 
before  the  touch  of  Time ;  but  the  monument  that  the  true 
soldier  has  erected  by  his  devotion  shall  never  fade  ! 

At  the  close  of  the  address,  the  singers  were  again  intro- 
duced, and  sang,  "  Our  Own  Brave  Boys." 

AT  WATERLOO,  ILL. 

In  the  forenoon  of  the  30th  of  May,  the  invited  comrades 
(thirty-five)  of  Post  No.  279,  Columbia,  111.,  under  command 
of  C.  Renter,  their  P.  C.,  arrived,  armed  and  equipped,  with 
colors  flying  and  a  fine  band  of  music,  and  were  conducted  to 
headquarters.  At  1  o'clock,  p.  M.,  the  parade  was  formed  ;  the 
members  of  the  G.  A.  R.  numbered  eighty-two,  all  armed  and 
equipped,  and  marched — P.  A.  Comrade  W m.  Lofink  command- 
ing— as  follows  :  Two  guides  with  rods,  dressed  in  mourning  ; 
Twelve  Musicians ;  The  Colors  of  the  49th  Regiment  111.  Vol. 
Inf.,  carried  by  Capt.  S.  Sondag,  accompanied  by  two  color  ser- 
geants, 4  boys — sons  of  soldiers — carrying  baskets  with  flowers ; 
next  marched  Comrade  C.  H.  Kettler,  Commander  of  Post  No. 
274  and  Speaker  of  the  day  ;  Colors  of  the  Post  No.  274 ;  Com- 
rades of  Post  No.  279  ;  Colors ;  Comrades  of  Post  No.  274 ; 
Late  Soldiers  of  different  regiments,  and  Citizens. 

With  reversed  arms,  appropriate  music,  and  colors  in  mourn- 
ing, they  marched  through  a  part  of  the  town,  directly  to  the 
graveyard,  situated  about  half  a  mile  from  the  town,  and  halting 
in  the  centre  of  the  same,  formed  in  line,  where  Comrade  Capt. 
C.  H.  Kettler  delivered  the  following  address : 

LADIES,  GENTLEMEN,  AND  COMKADES  :  You  have  assembled 
here  to  perform  an  office  as  graceful  as  it  is  beautiful.  This 
amiable  custom  of  decorating  with  flowery  tokens  of  esteem 
and  admiration  the  graves  of  our  heroic  dead,  finds  its  original 
in  the  affections  and  in  the  gratitude  of  all  good  men,  as  you 
yourselves  this  very  day  can  personally  bear  witness.  If  you 
should  need  further  proof  of  this  fact,  it  will  be  necessary  only 


390  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

to  recollect  that,  in  every  age  and  in  every  nation  in  which 
valor  and  patriotism  were  held  to  be  virtues,  this  custom  has 
been  punctiliously  and  feelingly  honored.  Hence  you  have 
come  around  and  among  these  green  graves,  that  you  may  be 
enabled  to  truthfully  affirm,  that  you  have  left  no  duty  unper- 
formed and  no  honor  unbestowed. 

And,  my  friends,  the  warmth  and  bounteousness  of  the 
affection  which  fills  your  hearts  for  the  friends  and  the  lovers, 
for  the  sons  and  the  fathers,  for  the  brothers  and  the  husbands, 
who  repose  in  these  silent  graves,  is  reflected  from  the  aspect  of 
vernal  Nature  whch  surrounds  us  this  day.  All  Nature  is  ma- 
turing with  genial  warmth.  The  floral  May,  which,  with  her 
abounding  beauties,  is  grateful  to  the  eye,  will  soon  be  followed 
by  the  "leafy  month  "  of  June.  Let  the  hue  of  this  "  leafy 
month  of  June  "  color  with  perennial  freshness  the  memories  of 
the  brave  soldiers  whom  you  to-day  reverently  honor. 

My  friends,  it  needs  not  for  me  to  speak  about  the  excellen- 
cies and  virtues  of  these  good  men  who  have  fallen  in  their 
country's  cause,  and  who  now  lie  in  peace  in  this  beloved  ceme- 
tery. They  were  all  upright  citizens  of  this  County  ;  they  lived 
with  you  and  among  you.  They  went  forth  from  you  with 
Spartan  courage  and  with  Athenian  intelligence,  at  the  call  of 
their  country ;  they  endured  the  hardships  of  campaign  in 
Spring,  in  Summer,  in  Autumn,  and  in  Winter ;  they  marched 
weary  marches  over  our  widely-extended  land  ;  and  they,  among 
three  hundred  thousand  heroes,  shed  their  blood  for  the  life  of 
their  country.  The  war,  which  they  successfully  waged,  created 
four  millions  of  freemen  out  of  four  millions  of  slaves,  and 
maintained  the  United  States  of  America,  as  a  nation,  "  one  and 
inseparable." 

The  comrades  and  citizens  then  decorated  the  graves  (eight), 
and  three  volleys  were  tired  over  their  graves.  After  leaving 
the  graveyard,  they  marched,  with  music  and  flying  colors, 
through  the  town  to  headquarters. 

AT  PEOKIA,  ILL. 

The  demonstration  here  was  attended  with  great  interest 
throughout.  Before  the  sun  had  made  its  appearance  in  the 
morning,  the  monument  in  the  court-house  square  was  hung 
with  evergreens.  A  guard  was  detailed  from  the  Harlow  Zou- 
aves, and  placed  around  the  monument,  and  the  flags  in  the  city 
were  unfurled  at  half-mast,  in  honor  of  the  dead. 

At  about  10  o'clock,  the  Ladies'  League,  the  surviving  com- 
rades of  the  soldiers,  and  a  number  of  ladies  and  gentlemen, 
proceeded  to  Springdale  Cemetery,  where  the  ceremony  of 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  391 

decorating  the  graves  in  the  soldiers'  resting-place  was  per- 
formed. The  soldiers'  burying-groimd  is  situated  in  the  centre 
of  Springdale,  on  a  beautiful  knoll,  and  here  repose  the  remains 
of  thirty -three  fallen  heroes.  The  graves  were  decorated  with 
flowers  and  wreaths,  preceded  by  the  singing  of  sun  appropri- 
ate hymn  by  the  Quartette  Club,  and  a  prayer  by  Rev.  G.  F. 
Stearns,  when  the  party  returned  to  the  city.  About  2  o'clock 
the  soldiers  assembled  at  the  armory  of  the  Harlow  Zouaves, 
and  marched  to  the  court-house  square,  where  a  large  assem- 
bly had  already  gathered  in  front  of  the  County  and  Circuit 
Clerk's  offices.  After  music  by  Spencer's  Baud,  the  Rev.  W. 
II.  Roberts  offered  a .prayer,  and  the  Quartette  Club  sang 
another  song.  Capt.  W.  T.  Dodds,  Marshal  of  the  day,  then 
introduced  R.  G.  Ingersoll,  who  delivered  the  following 


EULOGY. 


Again  we  have  assembled  to  honor  the  heroic  dead,  and  to 
consecate  ourselves  anew  to  the  great  cause  for  which  they  sac- 
rificed all.  To  their  sacred  memory  this  monument  rises,  and 
for  their  dear  sakes  it  is  again  covered  with  flowers  and  the  air 
filled  with  perfume.  There  is  no  more  sacred  duty  than  to 
honor  the  ashes  of  the  grand  dead.  These  men,  whose  names 
are  upon  this  marble,  were  the  defenders  of  more  than  their 
country — of  more  than  the  Union.  They  were  the  defenders 
of  Humanity,  Liberty,  and  Progress.  With  their  strong  arms 
they  leveled  to  the  dust  as  many  prejudices  as  enemies.  In  the 
name  of  the  Future  they  slew  the  monsters  of  the  Past.  They 
destroyed  the  false,  but  they  established  the  true.  They  abol- 
ished the  infinitely  infamous  institution  of  Slavery.  They  es- 
tablished the  first  and  the  only  free  Government  in  the  world. 
They  finished  what  the  Revolutionary  fathers  commenced. 
They  took  the  flag  where  it  fell  from  their  august  hands,  and 
carried  it  to  a  sublimer  victory.  They  dedicated  our  country  to 
Freedom.  They  laid  the  foundations  of  the  great  temple  in 
which  future  generations  will  perform  the  grand  rites  of  the 
religion  of  humanity.  They  rolled  the  stone  from  the  sepul- 
chre of  Progress,  and  found  therein  two  angels,  clad  in  shining 
garments — Liberty  and  Union — who  said  to  them,  Progress  is 
risen.  With  their  blood  they  purified  the  flag.  Their  victories 
allowed  us  to  tear  from  the  statute-books  laws  made  in  the  in- 
terest of  robbers.  Their  achievements  made  it  possible  for 
courts  to  do  justice.  They  took  a  living  coal  from  the  altar  of 
Progress,  touched  the  lips  of  the  people,  and  all  over  our  fair 
land  men  speak  for  and  are  willing  to  die  for  the  rights  of  man. 
They  broke  the  shackles  from  four  million  bodies  and  from 


392  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

thirty  million  souls.  Yonr  country  was  in  danger  ;  your  insti- 
tutions had  been  attacked  ;  armies  were  in  the  field  endeavor- 
ing to  destroy  you.  Some  one  had  to  go,  or  the  United  States 
would  be  erased  from  the  map  of  the  world  ;  some  one  had  to 
go,  or  the  old  flag  would  be  torn  forever  from  the  heavens ; 
some  one  had  to  go,  or  the  experiment  of  free  government  was 
an  eternal  failure  ;  some  one  had  to  go,  or  Liberty  was  in  dan- 
ger of  perishing  from  among  men  ;  and  these  heroic  men,  whose 
names  are  on  this  monument,  went.  To  defeat  the  enemy,  some 
one  had  to  die.  In  order  that  the  splendid  eagle  of  victory 
might  alight  on  our  standard,  some  one  had  to  die,  and  these 
men  died.  They  met  death  everywhere,  and  in  every  form — 
upon  the  weary  march,  on  guard  in  darkness  and  in  the  storm, 
on  the  deadly  skirmish  line,  amid  the  roar  of  battle,  in  the  infi- 
nite excitement  of  the  charge,  where  victory  was  achieved,  in 
defeat  and  disaster,  in  the  hospital  filled  with  pain,  in  the  pris- 
ons of  the  South,  face  to  face  with  famine,  upon  the  treacherous 
waves  of  the  inconstant  sea — everywhere  where  honor  called, 
they  laid  down  their  lives,  dying  nobly,  grandly,  sublimely,  for 
the  right.  Dismay  they  never  knew.  Fear  was  a  stranger. 
Grander  than  the  Greek,  braver  than  the  Roman,  were  these 
soldiers  of  liberty,  attacking  the  strongholds  of  treason.  Man 
after  man,  company  after  company,  regiment  after  regiment 
sprang  to  the  conflict,  scaled  heights,  laughing  at  shot  and  shell, 
shouting  defiance  in  the  very  face  of  death,  sweeping  to  victory 
as  wave  on  wave  of  the  great  sea,  by  some  wild  storm  impelled, 
relentless  rushes,  roaring,  raging,  round  the  ragged  rocks. 
These  men  we  cannot  honor.  We  can  honor  ourselves  by  de- 
fending the  principles  for  which  they  died — by  endeavoring  to 
pay  the  debt  of  gratitude  we  owe  them — by  reciting  to  others 
the  deeds  they  did,  and  keeping  their  dear  memory  in  our 
hearts  forever.  These  men  gave  victory  to  our  country,  victory 
to  humanity,  to  progress.  Had  it  not  been  for  them  and  their 
comrades,  we  should  have  been  a  miserable  and  disgraced  peo- 
ple to-day.  But,  thanks  to  their  achievements,  America  is  still 
the  first  nation  of  the  world.  We  praise  them  because  they 
fought  for  man ;  we  remember  them  because  they  destroyed  the 
barbarism  of  our  country,  and  left  our  flag  without  a  stain.  As 
the  earth,  sweeping  through  the  constellations,  shall  bring  again 
this  day,  again  the  graves  of  all  the  glorious  dead  will  be  gar- 
landed, again  and  again  will  be  told  their  shining  deeds,  again 
and  again  will  they  be  tearfully  thanked  in  the  name  of  all  that 
is  dear  to  the  heart  of  man.  Men  will  become  truly  free.  Civil 
and  religious  liberty  will  be  the  birthright  of  all.  Slavery  in 
all  its  forms  of  caste,  prejudice,  superstition,  and  robbery,  will 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        393 

have  fled  the  earth.  We  are  more  for  liberty  now  than  ever 
before.  We  are  more  in  favor  of  education.  We  have  more 
respect  for  the  rights  and  feelings  of  others ;  and  so  it  is  all 
over  the  world.  Everywhere  we  hear  the  mutterings  of  the 
coming  storm  that  will  level  thrones  with  the  earth.  We  feel 
the  tremblings  of  the  earthquake  that  will  finally  devour  the 
wretches  who  are  robbing  and  oppressing  the  people  in  the 
name  of  law,  government,  and  security,  and  even  in  the  name 
of  God.  Tyranny  is  as  insecure  the  world  over,  as  snow  on  the 
lips  of  a  volcano.  Prejudices  are  dying ;  man  is  becoming 
splendid  ;  Liberty  is  beginning  to  abide  with  us.  We  can  now 
speak  for  the  right.  During  the  war  the  moral  atmosphere  was 
purified  by  the  roar  of  cannon,  as  the  material  air  is  purified  by 
the  artillery  of  heaven.  Men  grew  grand  then,  and  they  are 
growing  grander  still.  We  have  concluded  to  give  to  others  all 
the  right  we  claim  for  ourselves.  We  say  to  all,  You  shall  own 
your  own  labor  ;  you  shall  own  your  own  soul ;  and  you  shall 
be  protected  in  these  sacred  rights  wherever  the  flag  floats  and 
the  eagle  flies.  It  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  say  anything  of  the 
issues  of  to-day.  Every  man  knows  how  he  stood  during  the 
war — whether  he  was  for  or  against  his  country — whether  he 
honors  the  dead  who  died  for  the  country,  or  not.  I  shall  judge 
no  one.  But  here,  t)y  this  monument  covered  with  immortal 
names,  I  thank  all  who  were  on  the  side  of  Liberty — all  who 
were  in  favor  of  preserving  the  nation,  that  freedom  might  be 
given  to  all.  And  now  that  the  fearful  struggle  is  over,  I  am 
willing  to  forgive  even  those  who  fought  on  tne  other  side,  the 
moment  they  are  in  favor  of  liberty  for  all  men.  The  moment 
they  from  their  hearts  are  in  favor 'of  doing  justice  to  all,  that 
moment  I  am  willing  to  take  them  by  Jhe  hand  and  forget  the 
past.  In  a  little  while  we  go  to  our  homes.  Let  us  consecrate 
ourselves  again  to  the  cause  of  Liberty.  Human  Liberty  is  the 
shrine  at  which  I  worship.  Progress  is  the  religion  in  which  I 
believe.  Liberty  is  forever,  tyranny  but  for  a  time.  Liberty  is 
the  condition  precedent  to  all  progress.  Let  us  talk  for  liberty, 
work  for  liberty,  until  all  are  free.  The  people  have  eyes — give 
them  light.  They  have  lungs — give  them  air.  They  have 
souls — give  them  liberty.  Do  not  forget  the  debt  we  owe  to 
these  dead  soldiers  whose  graves  you  have  adorned  to-day.  If 
there  is  beyond  this  life  a  better  and  nobler,  these  men  are  in 
Paradise.  If,  after  the  storms  of  this  world,  there  is  rest,  these 
men  are  at  peace.  If  it  is  given  to  the  departed  to  know  of  the 
affairs  of  earth,  these  men  are  looking  upon  us  filled  with  un- 
utterable joy  that  their  sacrifices  were  not  made  in  vain.  To 
their  comrades  now  living  we  tender  again  and  again  our  more 


394  MEMORIAL   CEREMONIES 

than  thanks — the  love  of  our  hearts.  The  dead — the  immortal 
dead,  whose  bodies  rest  beneath  the  flowers — we  leave  clasped 
in  the  loving  arms  of  the  Infinite  forever. 

Alter  the  eulogy  and  music  by  the  band,  the  ceremony  of 
decorating  the  monument  was  performed  in  a  most  impressive 
manner.  Each  soldier  placed  upon  the  monument  a  sprig  of 
Syringa,  its  language  expressive  of  memory  and  fraternal  love. 
After  which,  Rev.  Mr.  Roberts  pronounced  the  benediction,  and 
the  crowd  dispersed. 

There  is  something  beautiful  in  these  outward  manifestations 
of  remembrance  of  their  fallen  comrades  by  the  living  soldiers. 
It  struck  us  as  a  most  appropriate  act.  The  men  who  were  laid 
to  rest  in  those  thirty-three  graves,  and  whose  names  are  en- 
graved upon  the  monument,  were  once  as  full  of  life,  and  as 
hopeful  of  the  future,  as  those  who  performed  the  acts  of  grate- 
ful remembrance  last  Saturday.  To  be  sure,  they  knew  that 
some  of  them  must  die,  but  there  were  none  but  thought  he 
might  return,  even  while  he  bared  his  breast  in  defense  of  his 
country.  Although  willing  to  die,  he  hoped  to  live.  Such 
manifestations  as  that  of  Saturday  will  keep  their  memory 
greener,  although  it  could  never  perish  while  the  heart  glowed 

with  a  single  generous  impulse. 

• 

AT  QUINCY,  ILL. 

The  ceremonies  in  Quincy  were  very  interesting.  The  words 
spoken  were  few,  but  they  came  from  the  heart.  About  2  o'clock 
p.  M.,  the  children  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  Sunday 
School  assembled  at  their  hall,  over  the  Post  Office,  and  witn 
garlands  and  bouquets,  marshaled  into  order  by  their  teachers, 
they  marched  out  to  Woodland  Cemetery.  At  their  head  was 

«/  _  «/ 

carried  an  old  tattered  and  torn  battle-nag.  A  large  number 
of  citizens  on  foot  and  in  carriages  followed  the  procession,  car- 
rying their  flowery  tributes.  Arriving  at  the  Cemetery,  while 
Rosenbusch's  Band  performed  a  solemn  dirge,  the  procession 
proceeded  to  the  graves  of  the  two  hundred  Union  soldiers  who 
had  died  in  the  hospitals  of  Quincy.  Gathering  around  the 
graves  of  the  fallen  heroes,  General  Frentiss  made  a  few  impres- 
sive remarks,  explaining  the  object  of  their  visit  to  the  city  of 
the  dead.  All  present  then  joined  in  singing  "My  Country, 
'tis  of  thee,"  after  which  a  short  prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Emery.  At  the  conclusion  of  the  prayer  another  song  was  sung, 
while  preparations  were  being  made  to  strew  the  graves  with 
flowers.  Then  this  impressive  and  beautiful  ceremony  was  par- 
ticipated in  by  the  loyal-hearted  children  and  citizens,  while 
they  sang  "  We'll  gather  at  the  River." 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        395 

Proceeding  to  the  graves  of  Quincy's  own  soldiery,  where 
has  been  erected  a*  noble  monument  by  the  "  Sisters  of  the  Good 
Samaritan,"  the  company  a°;ain  sang  an  appropriate  dirge. 
After  which  the  Rev.  S.  S.  Hunting,  late  Chaplain  of  the  9th 
Army  Corps,  delivered  an  address.  Then  followed  "  Nearer 
Home,-"  sung  by  four  young  ladies,  all  joining  in  the  chorus. 
Rev.  J.  C.  Sargent,  Pastor  Fifth  Street  Methodist  Church,  sang 
"  My  Mission,"  and  several  other  songs.  He  was  followed  by 
Gen.  Bane,  who,  after  a  short  address,  read  the  following  statis- 
tics :  No.  of  Soldiers  buried  in  National  Cemeteries,  238,666 ; 
buried  in  Private  Cemeteries  to  be  removed,  13,161 ;  yet  to  be 
removed  from  battle-fields,  76,263 ;  making  a  total  of  328,090. 
There  are  308  Cemeteries  in  the  United  States,  in  which  are 
buried  Union  soldiers,  81  being  National  Cemeteries.  Illinois 
has  28,000  dead,  and  Quincy  214.  Otber  statistics  were  given 
relative  to  the  number  of  men  in  the  field,  etc.,  after  which  the 
General  read  the  following  poem,  written  by  an  old  gray-headed 
soldier  of  the  city : 

Deep  sleeping  'neath  this  sacred  ground, 

The  soldier  rests  in  peace ! 
Here  strew  sweet  flowers  all  around, 

Nor  let  the  custom  cease ! 
But  annually  our  love  renew, 

Through  all  the  coining  years; 
Bring  flowers — the  red,  and  white,  and  blue, 

And  bathe  them  with  your  tears. 

These  soldiers  will  not  hear  our  tread, 

Nor  the  cannon's  loudest  roar, 
Yet  still  perchance  their  souls  perceive 

Our  presence  at  their  door. 
Then  scatter  flowers  to-day  all  'round, 

Upon  each  soldier's  grave  ; 
Our  flowers  to-day,  only  abound 

As  offerings  to  the  brave. 

After  marching  around  the  monument  singing  "  "We'll  gather 
at  the  River,"  and  strewing  flowers  afresh  upon  the  graves  of 
the  sleeping  heroes,  all  quietly  and  sadly  departed  for  their 
homes. 

AT  JOLIET,  ILL. 

A  large  number  of  the  citizens,  ladies,  and  gentlemen  of 
Joliet,  visited  Oakwood  for  the  purpose  of  decorating  with  flow- 
ers the  graves  of  the  soldiers  who  are  buried  there.  Mr.  W.  A. 
Steele  was  President  of  the  day.  A  praver  was  offered  by  the 
Rev.  C.  H.  Remington,  and  an  address  delivered  by  Dr.  B.  H. 
Cheney. 


396  MEMORIAL   CEREMONIES 

DR.  CHENEY'S  ADDRESS. 

SOLDIERS  AND  FRIENDS  : — It  gave  me  no  little  surprise  when 
I  was  asked  to  make  a  few  remarks  to  you  at  this  time.  And  I 
am  prompted  by  no  feelings  of  affectation,  nor,  on  the  other 
hand,  by  any  desire  to  rid  myself  of  a  task,  when  I  say  that  I 
am  not  the  proper  person  to  address  you  on  this  occasion.  For, 
at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  I  was  not  a  resident  of  Joliet,  and 
in  the  army  I  was  personally  known  to  but  few  who  enlisted 
from  here.  Furthermore,  I  was  never  personally  acquainted 
with  any  of  the  dead  in  this  place,  in  whose  memory  we  are  to- 
day gathered  together.  Under  these  circumstances,  I  repeat,  it 
was  a  matter  of  no  small  surprise  to  me  that  I  should  be  called 
upon  to  address  you.  But  unavoidable  circumstances  prevented 
your  committee  from  selecting  a  more  suitable  person.  It 
seemed  to  me,  however,  no  more  than  justice  to  you  as  well  as 
to  myself,  that  I  should  say  a  few  prefatory  words  of  apology 
before  calling  your  attention  to  any  ideas  which  the  day  and 
occasion  might  suggest.  We  are  assembled  in  pursuance  of  a 
call  issued  to  the  members  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic 
by  their  commanding  officer,  Maj.  Gen.  Logan;  a  call  in  which 
"  to-day  is  designated  for  the  purpose  of  strewing  with  flowers 
or  otherwise  decorating  the  graves  of  comrades  who  died  in  de- 
fence of  their  country  during  the  late  rebellion,  and  whose  bodies 
now  lie  in  almost  every  city,  village,  and  hamlet  churchyard  in 
the  land."  It  is  needless  to  allude  to  the  eminent  fitness  and 
propriety  of  such  a  call  as  this ;  and  it  speaks  none  the  less 
loudly  to  us  who  are  not  members  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic,  nor  the  less  earnestly  to  the  relatives  and  friends  of 
the  departed.  It  is  well,  indeed,  in  any  case,  that  we  should 
sometimes  step  aside  from  our  daily  avocations,  from  the  hurry 
and  worry  of  toil,  which  makes  us  forgetful  of  others,  in  con- 
cern for  our  individual  selves,  to  contemplate  within  the  hal- 
lowed precincts  of  man's  last  resting-place  the  lives  of  those 
who  have  gone  before  us.  This  is  no  more  than  a  just  tribute 
to  their  memory,  and  an  impressive  lesson  for  ourselves.  But 
how  much  more  fitting,  how  much  more  of  a  duty  it  is,  that  we 
should  consecrate  an  hour  to  the  memory  of  those  who  were  our 
former  comrades  in  arms ;  who  willingly  and  voluntarily  gave 
themselves  a  sacrifice  for  their  country ;  whose  lives  were  the 
price  of  the  freedom  we  enjoy !  And  what  a  reflection  it  is,  to 
remember  that  this  is  not  simply  a  local  gathering ;  that  we  are 
not  alone  here  in  Joliet  in  paying  these  offices  to  the  dead,  but 
that  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land, — for,  alas, 
where  is  there  a  spot  in  all  the  land,  some  soldier  or  sailor  does 
not  lie?  North,  South,  East,  and  West,  are  assembled  to-day, 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  397 

the  remnant  of  the  hosts  who  once  marched  victorious  against 
presumptuous  rebellion  :  assembled,  not  as  formerly,  at  call  of 
bugle  or  drum,  nor  armed  with  shining  steel,  but  bearing  only 
wreaths  and  garlands,  while  with  uncovered  heads,  and  sad 
hearts,  they  pay  tribute  to  the  memory  of  those  who  once  stood 
shoulder  to  shoulder  with  them.  Surely,  at  such  a  time,  the 
most  callous  heart  must  soften ;  the  most  indifferent  must  feel 
the  warm  glow  of  patriotism ;  while  each  and  every  one  must 
realize  in  his  inmost  soul,  the  sadness  and  solemnity  which  the 
place  and  occasion  so  forcibly  suggest. 

But,  in  the  first  place,  we  are  naturally  led  to  reflect,  what 
powerful  motive  was  it  which  led  those  who  sleep  around  us, 
and  you,  soldiers,  to  leave  home,  kindred,  and  friends  ;  to  en- 
dure unnumbered  and  untold  hardships;  to  peril  life  itself!  It 
must  be  something  beyond  and  above  everything  else  which  will 
induce  a  man  voluntarily  to  do  all  this.  It  was  patriotism,  you 
say.  Yes,  but  what  is  patriotism  ?  Love  of  country.  True,  but 
what  is  love  of  country  ?  Can  you  tell  me  what  it  means  ?  No. 
It  cannot  be  told  in  words.  Only  the  heart  knows  its  definition. 
He  who  has  not  felt  it  in  his  heart,  tingling  his  hand,  and  nerv- 
ing his  arm,  knows  not  what  love  of  country  is.  It  both  prompts 
and  enables  a  man  to  give  up  all  that  he  holds  most  dear;  all 
that  makes  his  life  sweet ;  even  that  life  itself.  It  cannot,  then, 
be  a  mere  attachment  to  a  certain  part  of  the  earth's  surface, 
simply  because  the  accident  of  birth  made  us  its  natives.  Still 
less  can  it  be  an  intrinsic  love  for  a  flag,  which  is  but  a  symbol 
of  nationality.  And  yet,  if  in  a  foreign  land,  a  handful  of  earth 
from  home  will  move  the  very  depths  of  our  nature,  and  you 
stand  ready  to  defend  every  foot  of  your  native  soil  with  your 
life.  The  sight  of  this  flag,  at  anytime,  thrills  our  hearts  with 
emotion,  while  every  other  is  regarded  with  indifference  or  cu- 
riosity. Why  is  this  ?  As  I  said  before,  this  feeling  cannot  be 
expressed  in  words,  but  we  may  obtain  some  conception  of  the 
might  of  its  influence  and  the  grandeur  of  its  power,  if  we  re- 
flect that  it  lifts  us  up  from  all  sordid  and  selnsh  motives  into 
the  grand  brotherhood  of  common  interests,  hopes  and  princi- 
ples. It  was  in  the  latter  that  lay  the  strength  of  the  Union. 
It  is  in  the  latter  that  her  strength  still  lies.  It  was  no  hatred 
of  the  South;  no  enmity  to  her  customs  or  institutions,  which 
roused  the  IsTorth  to  arms ;  which  filled  each  patriot's  heart  with 
indignation,  and  compressed  his  mouth  with  stern  resolve.  It 
was  because  the  principles  which  are  the  bulwark  of  our  liber- 
ties, and  the  safeguards  of  our  perpetuity  as  a  Government, 
were  attacked.  Previous  to  the  war,  many  thought  the  feeling  of 
patriotism,  as  regards  the  General  Government,  was  not  very 


398  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

strong;  that  the  Government  had  never  been  sufficiently  cen- 
tralized to  engender  and  foster  such  a  feeling ;  and  that  such 
was  the  independence  of  State  governments,  sectional  feeling 
would  rise  superior  to  any  attachment  to  the  Country  at  large. 
This  was  more  particularly  the  view  at  the  South,  where  patri- 
otism was,  in  many  instances,  almost  confined  within  State 
boundaries.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  I  was  a  resident  of 
Louisiana,  and  have  often  heard  such  views  expressed.  But  how 
did  the  result  justify  them  ?  Did  not  the  pulse  of  the  nation 
"  close  with  a  shock  on  its  heart "  at  the  sound  of  the  first  gun 
against  Sumter  ?  And  when  the  first  shudder  of  horror  was 
passed — horror  that  this  flag  had  been  fired  upon  ;  and  fired 
upon,  not  by  foreign  foes  from  some  fancied  grievance,  or  from 
jealousy  of  our  growing  power,  but  by  those  whom  it  protected  ; 
those  who  owed  all  that  they  had  and  were  to  it ;  those  who  had 
grown  up  under  its  folds ; — when  this  first  shudder  of  sorrow 
and  horror  had  passed,  the  great  heart  of  the  Nation,  which 
had  stood  for  a  moment  still,  gave  a  throb  of  indignation,  which 
sent  the  warm  life-blood  pulsating  from  one  end  of  the  land  to 
the  other,  thrilling  every  nerve,  and  rousing  each  member  to 
self-defense.  The  feeling  was  so  universal  that  it  at  once  gave 
rise  to  a  phrase  which  became  hackneyed;  that  very  fact  show- 
ing the  unanimity  and  determination  of  which  it  was  the  expo- 
nent. "  The  Union  must  and  shall  be  preserved."  Mark  you, 
shall  l>e.  The  necessity  of  its  preservation  was  no  better  estab- 
lished than  its  certainty.  The  issue  of  the  conflict  was  not  to  be 
doubted  for  a  moment.  Why  ?  Because  the  principles  for 
which  these  dead  heroes,  and  you,  soldiers,  fought,  were  identi- 
cal with  those  of  Truth,  and  "the  eternal  years  of  God  are 
hers ! "  At  no  time,  not  even  at  the  darkest  hour,  were  the 
clouds  so  thick  that  the  sun  of  Justice  did  not  shine  through  the 
rifts,  bidding  us  go  forward  with  confident  hearts.  It  might 
take  longer  or  shorter;  it  might  demand  greater  or  less  of  pre- 
cious sacrifice;  but  the  result  was  morally  certain.  The  Union 
must  be,  and  it  was  preserved!  This  leads  me  to  consider,  for 
a  moment,  what  has  been  gained  by  this  terrible  war.  "War  is, 
in  itself,  always  an  evil,  and  brings  many  evils  in  its  train.  But 
we  may  be  sure  that  so  great  an  evil  never  aiflicts  mankind, 
without  other  evils  previously  existing  as  a  cause.  It  is  only  a 
merciful  Father  who  overrules  these  evils  to  the  ultimate  good 
of  his  children;  whose  judgments  are  unsearchable;  whose 
motives  we  dare  not  presume  to  consider ;  whose  ways  are  the 
majesty  of  mysteries.  Enough  that  out  of  great  evil  He  brings 
good  ;  enough  that  He  permits  those  who  "  go  forth  weeping, 
bearing  precious  seed,  to  come  again  rejoicing,  bringing  their 
sheaves  with  them." 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  399 

It  is  not  unfitting,  then,  that  we  look  about  us  after  the 
struggle  is  over,  to  see  what  has  been  gained  by  so  great  sacri- 
fice. What  do  we  reap  from  so  precious  seed  ?  What  sheaves 
may  we  bring  home  rejoicing  ?  First,  and  above  all,  the  Union 
has  been  preserved  ;  the  Government  has  become  established 
upon  surer  foundations ;  it  has  been  shown  that  treason  will  no 
more  be  tolerated  in  this  land  of  liberty,  than  within  the  realms 
of  the  autocrat  of  the  Russias ;  it  has  been  demonstrated  that 
freedom  and  lawlessness  are  not  synonymous,  but,  on  the  con- 
trary, incompatible.  Furthermore,  the  nation  has  awoke  to  a 
higher  aim,  and  a  purer  life,  since  the  first  blow  at  her  existence. 
Unprincipled  men  have  not  been  wanting  to  improve  the  oppor- 
tunities offered  to  enrich  themselves  at  their  country's  expense, 
but  the  mass  of  the  people  are  honest  in  heart,  stern  in  purpose, 
and  untiring  in  endeavor  to  maintain  the  laws,  and  preserve  the 
country.  Let  us  not  omit  to  mention  among  the  good  results 
of  the  war,  the  freedom  which  it  brought  to  four  millions  of 
another  race.  Although  having  no  such  object,  this  was  one  of 
its  inevitable  results.  And  GOD  forbid  that  any  prejudice  of 
color  should  blind  our  eyes,  or  fetter  our  tongue,  in  the  recog- 
nition of  the  fact  that  this  is,  in  itself,  a  great  good.  This  stable 
Government,  then  ;  this  nation,  tried  like  gola  in  the  furnace  of 
affliction  ;  our  country,  literally  born  again  in  anguish  and  sor- 
row, and  rebaptized  with  precious  blood,  is  the  heritage  which 
our  martyred  dead  have  left  to  us ;  to  their  children,  and  to 
ours.  Shall  we  not  cherish  their  memories  2  Shall  we  not 
bring  our  children,  and  our  children's  children  here,  and  say  to 
them,  "  Uncover  your  head,  and  pay  reverent  homage  to  those 
who  counted  their  lives  nothing,  that  you,  and  I,  and  all  who 
should  survive  them,  might  continue  to  enjoy  those  inestimable 

Erivileges  and  blessings  which  they  had  themselves  enjoyed  ? " 
hall  we  not  say  to  them,  and  to  ourselves,  "  Let  us  be  also  ever 
ready  to  maintain,  at  any  cost,  this  heritage  intact?" 

Here  lies  the  genial  and  gifted  BARTLESON  ;  the  first  in  Joliet 
to  enroll  himself  among  his  country's  defenders ;  whose  earnest 
spirit  saw  but  one  course  to  take,  and  he  took  it ;  whose  ardor 
could  not  be  restrained  by  the  comforts  and  fascinations  of 
home,  nor  weakened  by  the  allurements  and  rewards  of  profes- 
sional fame  ;  nor  yet  subdued  by  subsequent  disease,  imprison- 
ment, and  disabling  wounds;  whose  best  monument  is  the 
memory  of  his  endearing  virtues,  his  pure  patriotism,  and  daring 
bravery.  Noble  commander  of  a  thousand  brave  men,  where 
are  they  to-day  i  Alas  !  how  many  of  them  returned  only  as 
he  returned. 

Yonder  rests  the  cultured  MATTESON,  to  whom  luxury  and  ease 


400  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

were  as  nothing,  when  duty  and  his  country  called ;  who  gladly 
endured  every  privation,  and  willingly  faced  death,  so  that  he 
might  aid  in  putting  down  rebellion  against  the  government  he 
loved.  Further  on  lies  that  is  left  us  of  the  brave  and  youthful 
GROVER  ;  who,  upon  the  threshold  of  a  life  full  of  rich  promise 
for  the  future,  did  not  hesitate,  but  cheerfully  gave  that  life  to 
his  country.  Here,  too,  sleep  RANDALL  and  MARSH,  the  pride 
and  hope  of  fond  parents  and  friends ;  whose  hands  were  ever 
ready  to  defend  the  right,  and  who  sealed  with  their  blood  their 
devotion  to  the  cause  of  justice  and  truth.  Here  rest  the  re- 
mains of  SHAW  and  RATCLIFF,  among  the  first  to  lay  down  their 
lives  in  the  common  cause.  And  here  are  CLARK  and  REY- 
NOLDS, whose  weary  march  is  over,  whose  duty  is  well  done. 
Yonder  shaft  marks  the  spot  where  lies  the  gallant  BOWEN; 
who,  the  hero  of  many  hard-fought  fields,  yet  lived  to  stand 
upon  the  threshold  of  his  country  s  deliverance,  and  who  saw 

"  E'en  in  Death's  night. 
The  golden  glow  of  Freedom's  dawning  light  I " 

And  here  are  ANDREWS,  ATKINS,  one  of  the  NICKERSONS, — the 
other  still  lies  at  Gettysburg,  where  he  fell, — BASSETT,  and 
COPPY,  and  DIKEMAN,  and  others ;  some  killed  by  the  enemy's 
bullet,  others  the  victims  of  exposure,  want,  and  disease.  But 
what  matters  it  how  or  where  they  fell?  They  are  none  the  less 
their  country's  heroes.  For  he  is  no  less  a  martyr  and  a  hero, 
who,  wasted  by  privation  and  disease,  surrenders  his  life  to  his 
country  upon  the  narrow  cot  of  the  silent  hospital,  than  he  who 
gloriously  falls  amid  the  clash  of  arms,  and  roar  of  cannon  upon 
the  field  of  battle.  In  another  county  rests  the  remains  of  the 
brave  and  earnest  ERWIN  ;  who  faced  danger  and  met  death  as 
he  did  every  other  duty — cheerfully,  calmly,  determinedly. 
Although  his  grave  is  not  here,  Will  claims  him  none  the  less 
for  her  own..  Far  to  the  East,  among  the  kindred  and  friends 
of  earlier  years,  sleeps  the  high-spirited  young  ROUSE,  whose  last 
words  come  to  us  like  a  psalm  of  life  and  duty,  in  all  the  elo- 
quence of  sublime  self-sacrifice.  "  It  is  well,  Captain,  my 
country  needed  me ;  Christ  can  save  me."  It  does  not  lessen 
the  grandeur  of  these  words,  nor  do  injustice  to  him  who  uttered 
them,  to  remember  that  they  but  expressed  the  feeling  of  thou- 
sands of  others,  as  devoted  as  he.  Where  is  brave  SNOAD? 
one  of  the  many  victims  to  the  cruel  want  and  fell  disease  of  a 
rebel  prison  ;  those  charnel-houses  where  sickness  and  suffering, 
disease  and  death,  ran  riot  by  the  license  of  a  malignant  foe ; 
where  grim  despair  had  his  seat,  and  upon  whose  portals  was 
written  the  inscription  of  old  :  "  Let  him  who  enters  here  leave 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  401 

hope  behind."  Not  to  open  afresh  old  wounds  do  I  recall  these 
things,  but  it  is  fitting  that  we  should  remember  at  this  time 
what  things  have  been  endured  for  our  sakes.  "What  shall  I  say 
of  LEONABD,  of  HOLMES,  of  WOBTHINGHAM,  of  GREENMAN,  and 
of  unnumbered  others,  who  still  lie  on  the  fields  where  they 
fell  ? — Though  absent,  are  they  not  ever  present  with  us  ? 
Though  we  may  not  strew  their  graves  with  flowers  to-day,  we 
do  not  the  less  cherish  and  reverence  their  memory.  Soldiers 
and  friends  !  these  are  they  who,  being  dead,  yet  speak  to  us ; 
and  the  voice  of  whose  deeds  is  eloquent  in  example  and  pre- 
cept !  Truly  it  is  meet  that  not  the  cypress  and  yew  alone 
should  mark  their  sacred  places  of  rest,  but  that  the  laurel 
wreath  should  be  twined  above  them,  and  that  Nature  should 
give  her  choicest  flowers  of  every  hue  to  adorn  the  patriot's 
grave.  And,  O,  as  we  deck  their  narrow  houses  of  rest  with 
peris)  i  able  flowers,  let  us  rear  and  tenderly  cherish  for  them  in 
our  hearts,  the  perennial  blossoms  of  gratitude,  love,  and  re- 
spect ;  blossoms  which  will  never  fade.  And  may  each  and 
every  one  of  us,  in  the  presence  of  these  sacred  remains,  renew 
with  himself  the  covenant  of  allegiance  to  his  country. 

But  while  we  mourn  our  dead  around  us,  and  while,  with 
mute  hearts  of  grief  that  find  no  words,  we  extend  the  hand  of 
sympathy  to  the  bereaved  and  afflicted  in  our  midst,  let  us  not 
forget  the  many  whose  dead  even  have  never  returned  ;  those 
whose  nearest  and  dearest  on  earth  sleep  in  unknown  graves  on 
southern  soil,  or  rest  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  Many  a  home 
has  had  all  its  light  darkened  ;  on  many  a  hearthstone  are  the 
ashes  of  desolation,  many  a  heart  sorrows  with  a  sorrow  that  has 
no  consolation,  not  even  the  sad  one  of  knowing  where  the  loved 
one  lies.  Perhaps  he  was  reported  "  missing ;  "  there  was  some 
hope,  but  the  heart  grows  faint  with  long  and  cruel  waiting, 
then  sickening  suspense  gives  place  to  the  anguish  of  despair, 
and  then  the  dull  pain,  that  comes  but  once,  but  comes  for  life. 
And  let  us,  too,  remember  the  needy  widow  and  orphan,  and 
be  mindful  of  those  of  our  comrades  who  still  survive,  indeed, 
but  so  wasted  and  crippled  by  disease  and  wounds,  as  to  in- 
capacitate them  for  work.  God  forbid  that  we  should  give  the 
lie  to  professed  patriotism  by  turning  away  when  any  of  these 
need  our  aid.  Let  us  not  sentimentally  write  "  In  Memoriam  " 
on  our  own  hearts  alone,  but  let  us,  also,  with  an  ever  ready 
"hand,  write  it  upon  the  hearts  of  others.  Let  us  show  our  rev- 
erence for  the  dead  by  our  treatment  of  the  living.  Deeds 
speak  volumes,  sentiment  is  but  a  breath.  You  will  pardon  me 
if  I  permit  myself  to  allude  to  a  personal  friend  who  fell  at 
Kenesaw.  I  had  not  seen  him  for  some  four  years,  as  he  served. 
26 


402  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

during  the  first  period  of  the  war,  with  the  army  of  the  Potomac. 
By  accident  I  learned,  just  before  we  reached  Kenesaw  Moun- 
tain, that  he  was  with  our  forces,  in  Gen.  Geary's  division.  Be- 
ing in  a  distant  corps,  however,  I  had  no  opportunity  to  see  him 
until  the  troops  reached  the  vicinity  of  Atlanta.  I  then  called 
and  inquired  for  him,  and  was  told  that  he  was  killed  at  Kene- 
saw. Killed  ?  Dead  ?  I  could  scarcely  believe  it.  He  whose 
hand  I  had  confidently  expected  to  grasp  within  a  moment  in 
friendship,  was  dead.  As  I  rode  back  to  my  quarters,  I  asked 
myself,  "  Why  is  it  that  Wheeler  is  gone  and  I  am  here  ? " 
Why  was  this  finished  scholar,  this  man  of  fine  intellect  and 
large  heart,  who  stood  always  ready  to  aid  in  every  good  word 
and  work,  and  who  would,  so  far  as  human  foresight  went,  be 
of  far  more  use  in  the  world  than  I  could  ever  expect  to  be, — 
why  was  he  taken  and  I  left?  Truly  "Death  loves  a  shining 
mark."  Many  of  our  brightest  and  best  fell  at  their  posts  dur- 
ing duty.  It  is  not,  then,  in  any  magisterial  spirit  that  I  ask 
you  if  this  thought  should  not  find  a  place  in  our  hearts  at  this 
time.  Why  are  we  still  living,  when  so  many  better  than  we 
are  gone  ?  Why  was  it  necessary  that  they  should  be  sacrificed, 
while  we  are  spared  ?  Let  such  a  reflection  teach  us  to  prize 
even  higher  the  blessings  we  enjoy,  as  we  recall  the  price  paid 
for  them.  I  have  thus  endeavored  to  briefly  allude  to  the  na- 
ture of  the  fearful  conflict  through  which  our  beloved  country 
has  passed ;  the  motives  which  led  those  in  whose  memory  we 
are  assembled  to-day,  to  lay  down  their  lives  in  the  struggle ; 
the  blessings  incalculable  which  have  been  bequeathed  to  us, 
and  to  all  posterity,  by  this  sacrifice ;  and  some  of  the  lessons 
which,  it  seems  to  me,  we  should  draw  therefrom.  Oh  !  let  us, 
soldiers,  folio w-countrymen  all,  keep  ever  green  in  our  hearts 
the  memory  of  our  hero-dead  ;  let  us  teach  our  children  to  rev- 
erence them,  and  to  prize  as  they  did  the  principles  in  defence 
of  which  they  fell ;  let  us,  by  our  every  word  and  act,  show  that 
our  reverence  is  not  a  mere  beautifully  expressed  sentiment,  but 
a  deep,  earnest  purpose,  underlying  everything  we  think,  or  say, 
or  do,  as  citizens  of  our  dear  Fatherland.  Thereby  shall  we 
embalm  them  with  spices  more  precious  than  those  of  the 
Orient;  thus  will  their  monuments  be  more  enduring  than 
stone. 

AT  PARIS,  ILLINOIS. 

The  G.  A.  R.,  loyal  citizens,  and  children  of  the  public 
school  at  this  place,  formed  in  procession,  at  the  public  square, 
and  marched  to  the  Presbyterian  grave-yard,  preceded  by  the 
Paris  Brass  Baud,  where  the  graves  of  soldiers  were  decorated, 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  403 

and  appropriate  prayer  made  by.  Rev.  S.  Newell,  D.  D.,  and 
patriotic  song  by  the  children. 

From  thence  they  proceeded  to  the  Cemetery,  where,  after 
decorating  the  graves  of  soldiers,  Col.  W.  B.  McCord  made  the 
following  roll-call  of  Edgar  county  soldiers,  who  lost  their  lives 
in  suppression  of  the  rebellion  : 

FIRST  MISSOURI  ENGINEERS. — John  C.  Helms,  George  C 
Spencer,  Lewis  F.  Roberts,  Samuel  Morton,  Benjamin  Rogers, 
A.  Myers,  Henry  Fodge,  Benjamin  Wood,  Joshua  Huckaby, 
Andrew  Bennett,  Frank  Wallace,  James  Givens,  Alfred  Luce, 
William  Keker,  F.  M.  Quiet,  D.  H.  Hibarger,  William  Jewell, 
Samuel  P.  Ewing,  Samuel  G.  Rackman,  Andrew  Jewell,  Cor- 
poral McDaniel,  John  Miller,  David  Cook. 

SEVENTH  ILLINOIS  CAVALRY. — Col.  Wm.  D.  Blackburn,  B.  F. 
Burton,  Joseph  Buntain,  D.  Beachum,  B.  F.  Buckingham,  J. 
II.  Bawdon,  Emanuel  Burton,  Benjamin  Banning,  James  Car- 
ver, J.  W.  Craig,  James  Denham,  Michael  Dailey,  Henry  Faith, 
John  Grigsby,'  Charles  H.  Hunting,  G.  H.  Harrington,  John 
James,  Lindsey  Green,  J.  A.  Minor,  John  Martin,  J.  W.  Miller, 
Thomas  McCarty,  J.  G.  Johnson,  Joseph  Osborn,  F.  M.  Smith, 
A.  G.  Tweedy,  Eli  Thayer,  J.  W.  Tucker,  Dillard  B.  Tucker, 
J.  Wilson,  James  Givens. 

TWELFTH  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. — Lieut.  John  Koogle,  James 
Canedy,  Reuben  Harris,  Jameo  F.  Stout,  Hiram  Y.  Saunders, 
Samuel  E.  Dust,  George  Yates.  Thomas  Guyman,  Chester  H. 
Phillips,  Albert  G.  Roberts,  Judson  McCormick,  John  Evans, 
Chester  D.  Howe,  John  Brundi«:e,  John  Anthon,  William  H. 
Bull,  Henry  B.  Hall,  Wright  Madden,  Wm.  Thompson,  Haley 
W.  Shirer,  Jesse  K.  Runyan,  H.  C.  Harding,  Tobias  Bowers. 

TWENTY-FIRST  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. — Coir  J.  W.  S.  Alexander, 
William  Nichols,  James  H.  Roberts,  Edward  F.  Minier,  Charles 
Vanamburg,  Milton  Hutton,  George  Benner,  James  Prator, 
John  Gordon,  Tilghman  Hartraft,  John  S.  Buntain,  James 
Pettijohn,  Elias  Pettijohn,  Joseph  T.  Robinson,  George  Blace, 
John  R.  Black,  Isaac  N.  Coughanour,  John  F.  Cassatt,  Richard 
E.  Hamilton,  William  Lewis,  Adam  Lewis,  Hiram  M.  Smith, 
Joseph  F.  Everett,  Elliott  Goodnough,  John  Evans,  Oliver 
Keyser,  Henry  A.  Fhinastock,  Stephen  D.  Jones,  ElishaMilum, 
Daniel  Ertler,  Perlonzo  A.  Roberts,  John  Hanley,  Thomas  C. 
Hurst,  William  C.  Frink,  Elisha  Trout,  George  Dodds,  William 
Dungess. 

TWENTY-FIFTH  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. — Maj.  Charles  Clark,  G. 
W.  Kirby,  Alonzo  Manning,  David  H.  Galway,  John  T.  Ken- 
dall, Jackson  Kendall,  Wm.  W.  Longfellow,  Joseph  Grover, 
Bellows,  David  Loop. 


404  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

TWENTY-NINTH  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY.  —  Capt.  Jason  Sprague, 
Lieut.  A.  Hostetter,  William  Smith,  Oliver  P.  Scott,  Newton 
Johnson,  Peter  Ganty,  John  Davis,  Tilghman  Thornton,  Milton 
"Wheeler.  Charles  Buckingham,  John  Bush,  John  Wimsett, 
Lewis  Clark,  Charles  Alexander,  William  Markwell,  Isaac 
Simpson,  John  Farris,  Harrison  Cursan,  Win.  Terpening,  Ed- 
ward Ryan,  Marion  Scott,  William  O'Neal. 

THIRTY-FOURTH  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY.  —  Jacob  Stoneburner. 

FORTY-THIRD  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY.  —  George  Thompson,  - 


. 

FIFTY-FOURTH  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY.  —  Major  S.  York,  assassin- 
ated by  home  traitors,  Henry  C.  York,  A.  Tabor,  M.  H.  Wilson, 
D.  Moffatt,  F.  Golden,  W.  T.  Golden,  D.  C.  Wood,  J.  Bright, 
J.  Xihizer,  L.  Welman,  J.  Blakesley,  N.  Griffith,  Charles  Ha- 
ney,  J.  W.  Smith,  John  Wade,  William  H.  Miller,  John  Mim- 
sell,.  Thomas  Lang,  Lewis  Battzell,  Horton  H.  Bennett,  Peter 
Hull,  Sr.,  Peter  Hull,  Jr.,  William  Rairidon,  Henry  Luttison, 
Amos  Thomas,  Oscar  Alvord,  J.  W.  Swisher,  C.  T.  Rowell. 

FIFTY-NINTH  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY.  —  Patrick  Reynolds,  W. 
H.  Smith,  J.  W.  Hurst,  Jefferson  Honold. 

SIXTY-SECOND  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY.  —  Lieut.  Calvin  Titus, 
Newton  Y.  Griffin,  Wellington  Adams,  William  Lamasters, 
Gideon  Henson,  John  Hudson,  Waller  Holston,  Jerome  Red- 
mon,  Thomas  Redmon,  William  Mason,  William  Vandine,  Ge- 
rard McKee,  Boon  Connery,  John  Green,  Samuel  D.  Sheets, 
Alexander  Brown,  Allen  Harrington,  Henry  Whitney,  Michael 
Phaheen,  David  Leatherman,  John  Hall,  Joseph  Strucher, 
James  Maples,  Elverton  W.  Chase,  John  Dalton,  Joseph  Smith, 
Marion  Sweat,  J.  W.  Hampton,  John  Breniger,  James  Bennett, 
William  W.  Mansfield,  James  Temple. 

SIXTY-FOURTH  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY.  —  Capt.  J.  Harry  Stoner, 
William  Buckler,  James  Clinton,  Jacob  Givens,  Thomas  Scott, 
Silas  Mishler,  Josiah  Mishler,  Nathan  Wilber,  William  Smith, 
James  McCoy,  Daniel  Rogers,  William  Carlisle,  Jacob  Givens, 
Charles  Boyd,  John  W.  Boyle. 

SIXTY-SIXTH  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY.  —  Col.  A.  K.  Campbell, 
Lieut.  Jlillery  B.  Yanliew,  Andrew  J.  Curnutt,  Amos  Jones, 
•D.  N.  Farnham.  Samuel  Han,  John  James,  Stansbury  Hollis, 
Eli  Tucker,  Thomas  S.  Ewing,  Samuel  A.  McNutt,  Oliver  B. 
Gaston,  Jesse  Brinkerhoof,  Henry  S.  Lease,  James  M.  Wright  — 
who  fired  the  first  shot  at  Fort  Donelson,  —  Arthur  Earnest. 
John  M.  York,  Charles  Paty,  Adoniram  J.  Stone,  William 
Jewell,  Willis  F.  Hukill,  Simpson  E.  Drake,  John  N.  Doak, 
James  Ray,  Jonas  Denton,  -  Denton,  John  Larimer,  William 
Gillis,  John  Watts. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  405 

SEVENTY-NINTH  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. — Col.  Sheridan  P.  Read, 
Capt.  John  H.  Patton,  Carson  Shelledy,  George  W.  Green, 
Abednego  Saunders,  Frank  Ray,  John  Roberts,  Andrew  J.  Rob- 
erts, James  Stokesberry,  Charles  P.  Scott,  Peter  Pross,  John  T. 
Jones,  Samuel  G.  Ewing,  Thomas  E.  Ewing,  William  Morse, 
Charles  W.  Squires,  George  Driskell,  Jerome  Henson,  George 

Kg,  James  L.  Mercer,  Samuel  A.  Russell,  Edward  R.  Harris; 
.Mm  Buckmaster,  George  H.  Herrick,  William  Keyser,  Reuben 
Keyser,  Henry  C.  Thomas,  James  McDaniel,  William  Adkins, 
Cyrus  Benner,  John  D.  Brown,  Barnard  Carr,  George  W.  Ever- 
ett, Thomas  Elliott,  James  W.  Jennings,  Amos  J.  Landsdown, 
Joseph  Rudy,  Wesley  Strickland,  Julius  Y.  Wilhoit,  Theodore 
Arterburn,  Albert  Burton,  Thomas  U.  Blevins,  James  M.  Crist- 
tier,  William  Cristtler,  Benjamin  F.  Fuller,  Marion  France, 
John  W.  Ho  well,  George  Hartsell,  Pleasant  Hendricks,  Samuel 
Hickey,  Robert  McNanney,  A  mater  Moody,  Thomas  K.  Ogden, 
Alexander  Scott,  Joseph  H.  Smitli,  Fred  D.  Stark,  Adolphus  D. 
Wynn,  Asa  Williams,  John  W.  Wate,  Peter  H.  Zink,  Arthur 
E.  Legor,  N.  T.  Ingersoll,  Miles  Arbogast,  John  Adams,  Wil- 
liam Buckannon,  Philip  Brady,  William  Carpenter,  Daniel  L. 
Connor,  John  W.  Crumm,  Daniel  Claybaugh,  William  Clay- 
baugh.  George  H.  Carpenter,  John  Grover,  James  M.  Huffman, 
John  Kirk,  William  R.  Merriman,  Isaac  N.  Price,  David  X. 
Price,  Aaron  Patterson,  Daniel  C.  Patton,  James  B.  Robinson, 
John  T.  Sluss,  John  Schunce,  Emsley  J.  Trogdon,  Samuel 
Waltz,  George  W.  Yakle,  Theodore  M.  Elliott,  D.  C.  Parish, 
C.  P.  Loope,  John  Fregon,  Harvey  Keyser,  Jabez  Sprague, 
George  Leofler,  William  Holston,  Abner  Clinton,  Nathan  Clin- 
ton,   Duck,  James  McHard,  John  M.  Hannah,  James  M. 

Burkett,  William  H.  Cole,  John  Hart,  Robert  Hart,  Thomas 
Porter,  Henry  Paine,  David  H.  Hutson,  Daniel  Rumsey. 

ONE  HUNDRED  THIRTY-FIFTH  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. — Martin 
L.  Brown,  John  Read,  Robert  Tweedy,  Lewis  Ringo,  Samuel 
Bailor. 

ONE  HUNDRED  FIFTIETH  ILLINOIS  INFANTRY. — Lieut.  Joseph 
Hollis,  William  Lawrence,  George  N.  Stark,  Jacob  R.  Rose. 

Miscellaneous :  Gen.  Theodore  Read,  Maj.  F.  M.  Osbourn, 
O.  Carr  Shaw,  Noble  Dows,  Thaddeus  Payne. 

55th  U.  S.  Colored  Infantry  :  Lieut.  Wilson  A.  Price. 

Additional  list :  William  J.  Partridge,  30th  Illinois  Infantry ; 
Joseph  Fears,  do. ;  Isaac  McCann,  34th  do. ;  David  Langley, 
do. ;  David  P.  Clark,  21st  do. ;  Harrison  Nay,  79th  do. ;  John 
Clernmens,  do. ;  Lincoln  J.  Conkey,  do. ;  Harvey  Ray,  66th 
do. ;  E.  B.  Pratt,  do. ;  Jesse  W.  Hendricks,  do. ;  Augustus  C. 


406  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 


do.  ;  William  Ward,  do.  ;  Samuel  E.  Jones,  12th  do.  ; 
Isaac  Blackmail,  do.  ;  Samuel  J.  Joy,  12th'  New  Jersey  In- 
fantry ;  Niles  Collins  ;  John  Lindsey,  Kansas  ;  Oscar  Gooldy  ; 
Isaac  Y.  Quinland,  llth  Indiana  Cavalry  ;  Win.  M.  Powers, 
do.  ;  Harry  Winser,  do.  ;  Francis  Morgan,  do. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  roll-call  of  Edgar  County's  con- 
fributiou  to  the  great  army  of  the  nation's  defenders  who  gave 
their  lives  for  Union  and  Liberty,  the  children  sang  a  patriotic 
song,  and  prayer  was  made  by  Rev.  W.  M.  Reed  ;  after  which, 
Rev.  John  R.  Eads  delivered  the  following 

ADDRESS. 

It  is  with  no  ordinary  emotions  that  we  come  to  this  hour 
and  to  this  hallowed  ground.  We  stand  in  the  midst  of  the 
ashes  of  many  who  yielded  their  lives  in  defense  of  our  im- 
perilled country. 

Dead  must  be  that  heart  which  is  unmoved  by  such  sur- 
roundings. We  are  here  that  we  may,  by  appropriate  ceremo- 
nies, honor  the  memory  of  those  soldiers  who  went  out  from 
this  County  and  lost  their  lives  in  the  late  civil  war.  Thousands 
of  our  fellow-citizens,  in  all  parts  of  our  country,  from  the  Lakes 
on  the  north  to  the  Gulf  on  the  south,  and  from  ocean  to  ocean, 
are  this  day  engaged  in  the  same  generous  and  grateful  task. 

While  we  all  feel  that  this  is  an  occasion  of  no  little  interest, 
widely  variant  are  the  emotions  of  particular  individuals  in  this 
assembly.  Many  are  here  who  lost  no  near  relative  in  our  re- 
cent bloody  war.  They  come,  therefore,  not  to  stand  by  the 

f  raves  of  brother,  husband,  son,  or  father,  but  to  render  patriotic 
onors  to  those  who  gave  their  lives  for  their  country's  good, 
and  to  sympathize  with  those  who  lost  their  friends  in  a  noble 
cause. 

Their  feelings  must  be  different,  in  some  respects,  from  those 
of  many  whose  beloved  dead  lie  here  among  the  remains  of 
cornpanions-in-arms  or  sleep  in  a  soldier's  grave  in  some  distant 
part  of  our  country. 

Some  mothers,  like  Rachel,  refuse  to  be  comforted  because 
their  children  are  not.  Some  of  these  fathers  saw  almost  the 
last  ray  of  earthly  hope  expire  when  a  beloved  son  was  num- 
bered with  the  offerings  made  on  his  country's  altar. 

And  here  are  the  survivors  of  the  dead,  once  their  compan- 
ions-in-arms,  now  joining  with  others  in  honoring  their  fallen 
comrades.  The  martial  music  and  step,  and  the  staccato  words 
of  command,  must  remind  them  of  other  days,  when  stern  duty 
urged  them,  into  thickest  dangers.  But  their  days  of  battle  are 
over,  and  we  earnestly  hope  forever.  A  common  sentiment  of 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  407 

patriotism  animates,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  every  bosom  ;  but  with 
that  sentiment  there  mingles,  in  some  hearts,  much  more  of  the 
feeling  of  bereavement  and  sorrow  than  in  others. 

Some  of  these  graves  received  their  sacred  deposits  early  in 
the  war ;  others  later.  Some  of  the  men  who  offered  them- 
selves from  this  County  did  it  in  response  to  the  earlier  calls  for 
soldiers.  Others  of  them  lingered  at  home,  in  the  bosom  of 
their  families,  and  engaged  in  the  peaceful  arts  of  life,  till  the 
country's  extremest  peril  called  loudly  for  every  man  who  was 
capable  of  military  duty.  And,  though  last  in  the  struggle,  they 
evinced  no  less  courage  and  patriotism  than  those  who  answered 
their  country's  summons  at  an  earlier  day. 

Some  of  both  classes  sleep  in  these  grounds,  some  in  other 
cemeteries  in  this  County ;  others  have  left  their  bones  in  South- 
ern soil — on  the  mountain-tops,  in  the  valleys,  along  the  livers ; 
while  others  still,  perchance,  rest  in  the  ocean's  deep  bed. 

You.  my  bereaved  friends,  bade  them  farewell  in  your  own 
joyous  homes,  pronounced  your  blessings  upon  them,  and  sent 
them  to  the  tented  field  invoking  the  benedictions  of  Heaven 
on  them  and  their  cause. 

Some  of  them  fell  where  the  fight  was  the  thickest ;  some  at 
the  picket  post ;  some  died  in  the  hospital,  of  wounds  or  dis- 
ease ;  and  some  others  wasted  away  in  prison-pens. 

A  few  came  home  to  die  of  wounds  or  army  disease,  in  the 
arms  of  dear  friends.  The  dust  of  some  others  was  gathered 
up  from  the  places  where  they  fell  in  the  face  of  the  enemy,  and 
afterwards  received  in  the  same  bloody  soil  a  soldier's  rude 
sepulture,  and  now  sleep  well  in  these  quiet  grounds.  While 
we  could  all  sincerely  wish  that  the  bones  of  every  one  of  our 
soldiers  who  fell  in  the  recent  war  might  be  deposited  with 
those  of  their  kindred  at  home,  this  cannot  be.  Let  them  rest 
where  they  lie.  Their  names  and  their  deeds  shall  not  be  for- 
gotten. Let  the  grass  and  weeds,  fattened  into  rank  luxuriance 
on  the  blood  of  the  patriot  dead,  cover  the  spot  where  repose 
their  remains,  if  it  must  be  so.  The  cold,  hurrying  Winter 
winds  cover  some  of  their  graves  with  pure,  driven  snow,  and 
moan  over  them  a  soldier's  requiem.  The  Summer  night  weeps 
over  them  its  dewy  tears  in  tender  and  solemn  silence.  The 
first  beams  of  the  morning  sun  kiss  the  pendent  dewdrops  from 
the  straggling  grass  and  weeds  which  bend  over  them,  and  the 
quiet  evening  twilight  lingers  about  these  spots  as  if  to  do  them 
homage. 

In  all  ages  and  among  all  enlightened  people  great  honor 
has  been  paid  to  the  virtues  and  deeds  of  those  who  have  offered 
themselves  as  self-devoted  sacrifices  for  the  public  good.  Sunk- 


408  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

en  to  the  lowest  degradation  must  be  that  people  who  would 
refuse  to  their  noble  and  patriotic  dead  the  reverence  and  hom- 
age which  we  this  day  offer  to  the  memory  of  our  deceased  sol- 
diers. If  there  were  any  considerable  number  in  your  com- 
munity who  were  not  .ready  for  this  task,  or  whose  meed  of 
praise  and  gratitude  toward  those  who  lost  their  lives  in  vindica- 
tion of  the  national  authority  and  integrity  should  be  found 
empty  or  stinted,  I  should  not  like  to  remain  among  you. 

We  feel  almost  ready  to  forgive  the  ancient  heathens  for 
their  deification  of  their  heroes  and  benefactors,  especially  when 
we  reflect  that  this  method  of  honoring  the  worthy  was  but  the 
perversion  of  a  most  generous  sentiment,  and  that  that  perver- 
sion was  due  to  their  want  of  the  Christian  religion.  They 
sought  the  highest  expression  of  their  appreciation  of  those 
whom  they  deified.  "We  do  not  propose  to  imitate  the  ancient 
Greeks  in  the  apotheosis  of  their  heroes ;  but,  under  the  refining 
and  elevating  influences  of  the  Christian  religion,  it  is  the  pur- 
pose of  a  grateful  country  to  write  the  names  of  her  defenders 
on  the  historic  page,  and  engrave  them  on  brass  and  marble, 
that  they  may  be  known  and  honored  in  the  coming  ages. 

Are  there  any  here  this  day — are  there  any  in  all  this  region 
— who  are  ready  to  question  the  propriety,  or  even  the  good,  of 
such  a  demonstration  as  this  ?  Do  they  ask  what  good  there  is 
in  such  a  display  as  we  this  day  witness  ?  What  do  they  mean, 
when  they  ask  for  the  °;ood  there  is  in  these  memorial  exercises? 
What  good,  I  may  ask,  is  there  in  anything  we  do  ?  What 
good  is  there  in  the  railroad  which  runs  through  your  town  and 
county  ?  It  is  easy  to  answer,  that  it  multiplies  population  by 
inviting  immigrants  to  your  county ;  it  facilitates  the  inter- 
change of  commodities  between  different  parts  of  the  country  ; 
it  increases  the  conveniences,  and  cheapens  the  necessaries  of 
life,  and  affords  a  most  agreeable  and  profitable  intercourse  with 
distant  parts  of  the  country.  This  is  all  well  said  ;  but  does  the 
chief  advantage  of  a  railroad  lie  in  these  outward  and  material 
advantages  ?  If  so,  how  can  it  be  shown  that  it  is  any  great 
good  to  your  community  ?  If  you  have,  by  your  railroad,  ten 
thousand  inhabitants  instead  of  five  thousand,  who  possess  no 
moral  or  intellectual  worth,  who  can  say  there  is  any  good  in 
the  increased  number  ?  But  if  you  have  ten  thousand  instead 
of  five  thousand  honest,  good  people,  possessing  moral  and  in- 
tellectual qualities  euch  as  men  should  have,  you  have  a  decided 
advantage  in  the  increased  population.  It  is,  therefore,  just  in 
proportion  as  by  physical  and  material  means  the  higher  moral 
and  intellectual*  qualities  are  developed  and  fostered,  that  these 
means  become  good. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  409 

Tried  by  this  test,  who  can  doubt  the  utility  of  the  signifi- 
cant rites  performed  in  your  presence  to-day  ?  Can  they  fail  to 
awaken  and  cherish  noble,  grateful,  and  patriotic  sentiments  in 
all  hearts?  None  will  be  more  ready  than  myself  to  acknowl- 
edge the  connection  between  material  prosperity  and  the  higher 
improvement  of  men.  Railroads,  manufactories,  improvements 
in  agriculture  and  architecture,  all  have  a  refining  and  elevating 
tendency,  but  they  are  really  useful  only  so  far  as  they  encour- 
age and  facilitate  the  intellectual  and  religious  improvement 
of  our  race.  They  are  to  be  esteemed  just  so  far  as  their  ulti- 
mate tendency  is  to  make  men  better  and  happier. 

The  ceremonies  of  this  occasion,  though  they  may  not  di- 
rectly increase  any  man's  wealth  or  promote  his  physical  health, 
are  to  be  estimated  according  to  their  power  to  beget  and  en- 
courage good  feeling.  If  we  leave  these  grounds  and  carry 
about  with  us  for  days  to  come  any  quickened  and  improved 
sentiments  of  gratitude  and  patriotism,  these  exercises  will 
prove  of  great  value  to  us.  And  now  I  put  this  question  to 
every  one  who  hears  me  :  Do  you  not,  under  the  inspiring  sur- 
roundings and  rites  of  this  hour,  realize  a  quickened  sense  of 
gratitude  toward  God  for  our  country's  integrity,  and  toward 
the  brave  men  who  laid  down  their  lives  to  this  end  ?  and  do 
you  not  feel  that,  by  the  sacrifices  which  it  has  cost  to  preserve 
our  nationality,  as  well  as  to  achieve  it  at  first,  we  are  laid  un- 
der indissoluble  obligations  to  protect  and  transmit  it  unim- 
paired to  the  coming  generations  ?  If  you  will  allow  me  to  an- 
swer this  question,  I  will  say  for  myself,  that  I  feel  committed 
anew  to  do  all  in  ray  power  to  promote  my  country's  welfare, 
and  to  cherish  toward  it  a  more  enthusiastic  reverence  and  affec- 
tion. And  this  expression  of  a  personal  feeling,  I  doubt  not,  is 
heartily  responded  to  by  every  generous  heart  before  me.  Cold 
must  be  the  heart  and  stolid  the  intellect  which  receives  no  fresh 
fire  from  that  altar  on  which  we  have  co'me  this  day  to  lay  our 
offerings.  Even  these  children,  who  have  brought  their  Spring 
flowers  and  sweet  patriotic  songs,  feel  their  young  hearts  stirred 
with  unusual  emotions,  and  cannot  fail  to  receive  impressions 
from  this  day  which  are  to  make  them  wiser  and  better  citizens 
of  this  Republic.  It  is  eminently  appropriate  that  they  should 
participate  in  these  solemn  rites.  It  is  of  the  highest  impor- 
tance to  the  public  weal,  and  to  the  domestic  happiness  of  our 
country,  that  our  children  should  be  taught,  when  young,  senti- 
ments of  patriotism,  honor,  and  liberty,  that  they  may  strength- 
en in  them  with  their  strength  and  grow  with  their  growth. 
They  should  be  taught  that  the  blessings  which  we  enjoy  as  a 
nation  are  the  price  of  much  toil  and  of  the  blood  of  thousands 
^'  our  best  citizens. 


410  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

I  most  earnestly  entreat  the  parents  whom  I  now  address,  to 
spare  no  pains  to  inculcate  in  their  children  the  principles  of 
patriotism,  as  well  as  those  of  private  virtue.  Teach  them  that, 
next  to  God  and  their  families,  their  country  challenges  their 
highest  affection.  Mothers,  as  you  bend  over  the  cradle  of  your 
little  ones,  and  soothe  them  to  sleep,  let  it  be  with  songs  of 
praise  to  God  first,  and  then  with  ballads  celebrating  the  sol- 
dier's deeds,  or  with  the  stately  epic  which  exalts  our  country's 
glory.  And  as  soon  as  they  can  sing,  teach  them  the  numbers 
into  which  the  poets  have  woven  the  beauties,  the  treasures,  the 
virtues,  the  valor,' and  the  noble  institutions  of  Columbia's  fair 
land.  Let  them  be  taught  that  true  patriotism  is  to  be  the 
mainspring  of  their  actions  as  citizens  of  this  Republic — that 
their  first  offerings  are  to  be  made  to  the  God  of  their  being ; 
that  their  second  are  to  be  laid  on  their  country's  altar. 

You  have  done  well  for  your  children  this  day.  They  are 
here  in  large  numbers.  You  have  decked  them  with  chaplets 
and  posies,  and  filled  their  hands  with  evergreen  wreaths  inter- 
twined with  beautiful  and  fragrant  flowers.  You  have  taught 
them  the  sweetest  songs  to  chant  in  this  city  of  the  dead,  about 
these  tombs  of  fallen  heroes.  Y^ou  have  provided  that  they  shall 
be  effectually  taught  sentiments  of  the  true,  the  beautiful,  and 
the  good.  To  us,  who  are  older,  these  graves  of  our  fallen  sol- 
diers appeal  with  unspeakable  solemnity,  to  guard  sacredly  the 
cause  for  which  they  gave  up  their  lives.  The  blood  of  our 
brothers  crieth  to  us  from  the  ground.  Its  language  is,  "  Love 
your  country ;  cherish  her  liberties ;  maintain  her  honor." 
Wretched  ingrates  must  we  be,  utterly  unworthy  of  the  na- 
tional blessings  which  we  enjoy,  if  we  do  not  conscientiously 
and  faithfully  heed  that  sepulchral  voice.  Great  as  our  country 
is  in  the  extent  of  her  territory,  the  variety  of  her  soil  and  cli- 
mate, the  wealth  of  her  fields  and  forests,  and  the  undeveloped 
treasures  of  her  rocky  beds ;  in  her  intellectual  and  moral 
forces,  in  her  science  and  art,  and  in  the  glory  of  her  past  his- 
tory, without  a  constant,  deep,  pure,  Christian  patriotism,  she 
cannot  endure  as  a  republic.  But  it  may  be  asked  by  some,  if 
such  exercises  as  these  do  not  tend  to  excite  sectional  feeling, 
and  to  beget  vindictiveness  toward  those  who  were  recently  at 
war  against  the  Government  ?  I  think  not.  We  are  bound  by 
every  consideration  of  patriotism  and  reverence  toward  those 
wrho  sacrificed  their  lives  for  our  country,  to  honor  their  memory 
now  that  they  are  gone.  This  we  can  do  without  cultivating, 
in  any  low,  sectional  sense,  feelings  of  hostility  toward  the 
South.  "We  honor  these  dead  because  they  fought  and  fell  for 
our  whole  country — for  an  undivided  country — and  not  for  a 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  411 

mere  section  of  it.  All  our  thoughts  and  purposes  and  feelings, 
therefore,  on  this  occasion,  should  have,  and  1  trust  have,  a  na- 
tional and  not  a  sectional  character.  And  while  we  must  for- 
ever, and  without  qualification,  condemn  those  wicked  and  mis- 
guided men  in  the  South  who,  for  the  perpetuation  of  an  insti- 
tution which,  I  doubt  not,  many  of  those  considered  as  allowed 
by  the  law  of  God,  and  which  was  plainly  tolerated  by  the  law 
of  the  land,  plunged  the  country  into  the  most  bloody  war  of 
modern  times,  let  us,  at  the  same  time,  endeavor  to  cherish 
toward  the  whole  South  those  sentiments  of  magnanimity  and 
generosity  which  a  great  nation,  after  a  victorious  struggle,  and 
conscious  of  the  righteousness  of  its  own  cause,  can  well  afford 
to  entertain  ;  and,  above  all,  which  our  holy  religion  teaches  us 
to  exercise  even  toward  our  enemies.  Though  they  were  once 
our  enemies,  and  though  there  are  among  them  now  many  who 
are  just  as  hostile  toward  the  Government  and  its  friends  as  they 
ever  were,  as  a  community  we  should  regard  them  as  our  kin- 
dred, and  as  members  of  this  great  Republic.  I  do  not  now,  in 
these  remarks,  touch  upon  any  questions  of  policy  in  the  politi- 
cal reconstruction  of  the  South.  Tliis  would  not  be  appropriate 
here.  I  only  speak  of  the  sentiments  which  we  should  enter- 
tain toward  this  desolated  and  smitten  section — smitten  of  God 
and  man.  While  we  honor  our  own  dead,  let  us  not  condemn 
them,  if,  prompted  by  natural  affection,  they  weave  garlands  for 
the  graves  of  their  own  soldiers.  We  cannot  ask  them  to  sun- 
der the  ties  of  affection  for  their  fallen  brothel's,  which  death 
itself  has  not  broken.  Let  them  cherish  their  dead.  Let  them 
raise  monuments,  if  they  wish,  to  perpetuate  their  memory. 
Let  them  write  their  names  in  the  fair  pages  of  history ;  let 
them  embalm  them  in  song ;  let  them  show  that  they  have 
hearts  to  love ;  and  the  liberal  Christian  world  will  applaud, 
and  not  condemn.  But  let  them  yield  the  unholy  cause  for 
which  they  fought — a  cause  which  is  held  in  utter  detestation 
and  horror  by  all  the  most  enlightened  Christian  nations  on  the 
earth — let  them  do  this,  and  henceforth  we  are  to  have  one  his- 
tory, one  purpose,  and  one  destiny.  As  we  stand  in  the  midst 
of  these  graves,  let  us  rise  above  all  petty  feelings  of  low  re- 
venge toward  our  brothers  of  the  South ;  let  us  feel  the  holy 
inspiration  of  the  Christian  doctrine,  that  all  men  are  our 
brothers  and  that  it  is  Christ-like  to  do  them  good,  and  not 
harm.  By  the  exhibition  of  Christian  charity  and  a  large- 
hearted  generosity  toward  them,  and  not  by  withholding  de- 
served honors  from  our  own  cherished  dead,  we  are  to  exemplify 
the  spirit  of  our  Master,  and  to  win  back  to  our  country  and 
our  firesides  those  who,  in  an  hour  of  madness,  laid  violent 


412  MEMORIAL    CEEEMONIES 

hands  on  our  fair  Temple  of  State,  and  sought  to  mar  its  almost 
faultless  proportions.  We  most  sincerely  and  solemnly  aver 
that  it  is  not  our  purpose,  that  it  is  not  our  desire,  in  the  honors 
which  we  pay  our  dead,  to  alienate  sections  nor  to  excite  ani- 
mosity or  revenge  among  the  citizens  of  any  part  of  our  com- 
mon country.  But  we  do  purpose  to  do  our  utmost  to  give  an 
imperishable  fame  to  our  nation's  defenders.  They  must  live  in 
its  history.  They  have  accomplished  their  work,  and  now  rest 
from  their  labors.  No  war,  nor  blood,  nor  fatal  fray  will  be 
witnessed  by  them  again.  Silent,  still,  and  undisturbed  is  their 
rest  in  this  consecrated  place.  To  these  graves,  in  the  coming 
days,  the  patriotism  of  this  country  will  make  many  willing  pil- 
grimages. Over  them  many  hearts  will  sadden  and  beat  with 
tenderest  emotions,  till  their  throbbings  shall  cease  in  death. 
Over  the  ashes  of  these  quiet  sleepers  will  be  kindled  anew  the 
waning  fires  of  patriotism  in  many  a  loving  bosom.  Sleep  on, 
now,  ye  fallen  heroes  of  a  noble  battle,  and  let  us  who  live,  live 
for  God  and  our  Country. 

After  the  address,  the  following  original  poem  was  delivered : 

OUK  HONOBED  DEAD.— BY  HKNKY  W.  DAVIS,  M.  D. 

Who  fears  to  speak  of  Boys  in  Blue  ? 

Who  blushes  at  the  name  ? 
When  cowards  mock  such  patriots  true, 

Who  hangs  his  head  for  shame  ? 
He's  all  a  knave,  or  Treason's  slave, 

Who  sneers  at  loyal  dust ; 
But  true  men,  like  you  men, 

Will  weep  to-day  with  us. 

We  bless  the  memory  of  the  brave ; 

We  claim  them  for  our  own  ; 
Some  lie  before  us  in  their  grave, 

Some  sleep  in  graves  unknown. 
'Tis  true,  they're  gone  :  but  still  lives  on 

The  fame  of  those  who  died, 
And  true  men,  like  you  men, 

Remember  them  with  pride. 

Many  there  were  who,  far  away, 

Life's  sacrifices  made, 
And  some  by  strangers'  heedless  hands 

In  lowly  graves  were  laid  ; 
But  though  their  clay  is  far  away, 

Their  memory's  with  us  now ; 
And  true  men,  like  you  men, 

Will  keep  it  with  a  vow. 

The  dust  of  some  beneath  this  earth, 

Among  their  own's  at  rest, 
And  the  same  soil  that  gave  them  birth 

Hath  caught  them  to  its  breast. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        413 

And  we  will  pray,  that  from  their  clay 

Full  many  a  race  shall  start 
Of  true  men,  like  you  men, 

To  act  as  brave  a  part. 

They  rose,  in  dark  and  evil  days, 

To  strike  for  Freedom's  land, 
And  loyal  fires  sprang  up  ablaze, 

That  Treason  could  not  stand. 
With  buoyant  life  they  sought  the  strife, 

They  fell,  and  passed  away ; 
While  true  men,  like  you  men, 

Mourn  them  with  us  to-day. 

Some  fell  where  Mississippi  rolls 

Its  restless,  turbid  title ; 
And,  'iieath  our  banner's  starry  folds. 

Some  on  Atlantic  died. 
But  where  all  fell,  there's  none  can  tell, 

Yet,  at  the  final  call, 
With  true  men,  like  you  men, 

One  Roll  shall  hold  them  all. 

Our  Roster  fails  to  name  the  man 

Who  bore,  o'er  field  and  flood, 
His  country's  altars  in  the  van, 

And  baptized  them  in  blood  ; 
But  when  each  mound,  at  trumpet  sound, 

Shall  ope,  and  all  appear, 
With  true  meu,  like  you  men, 

Will  promptly  answer  "  Here  !  " 

From  North  and  South,  from  East  and  West, 

Their  country's  call  they  heard, 
And  rushed  they  forth,  while  every  breast 

With  patriot  beating  stirred  ; 
They  little  recked  the  death  that  becked 

Them  on,  to  homes  now  here, 
Where  you  men,  like  true'men, 

May  drop  the  manliest  tear. 

They  stood  for  right,  fot  right  they  spake, 

And  stemmed  each  angry  flood, 
While  Southern  gulf,  and  Northern  lake, 

Was  crimsoned  with  their  blood. 
Yet,  thanks  to  God,  one  country's  sod 

Enshrouds  each  fallen  brave ; 
And  true  men,  like  you  men, 

Will  deck  each  honored  grave. 

On  Shiloh's  bloody  plain  went  down, 

In  death,  full  many  a  score, 
And  night's  dark  pall  was  gathered  round 

Stark  forms  in  crimson  gore.  • 

In  tearful  mood  each  comrade  stood, 

And  in  his  heart  he  vowed, 
As  true  men,  like  you  men, 

To  win,  or  wear  their  shroud. 


414  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

They  bore  aloft  the  Flag  that  flashed 

When  Vicksburg's  heights  were  stormed, 
And  fearless  on  the  foe  they  dashed, 

Where  serried  ranks  were  formed. 
And  when  the  flash  and  thunder-crash 

Of  battle  passed  away, 
Of  true  men,  like  you  men, 

'Twas  many  fell  that  day. 

At  New  Orleans,  at  Mobile  Bay, 

With  colors  nailed  to  mast, 
Triumphantly  they  plowed  their  way, 

Though  death  fell  thick  and  fast ; 
And  every  heart,  that  did  its  part 

Ere  life's  last  sigh  was  breathed, 
To  you  men,  as  true  men, 

His  memory  bequeathed. 

And  there's  the  march  which  histories  trace ; 

Among  our  dead  they  be, 
Those  gallant  souls,  who  left  their  base, 

And  sought  the  distant  sea  : 
Recording  age,  on  brightest  page, 

Writes,  "  Death  and  glory  won ; " 
As  true  men,  like  you  men, 

Their  souls  are  marching  on. 

'Twere  vain  to  name  each  glorious  spot, 

Where  freemen  battle  bore — 
In  vain  recall  each  sacred  grot, 

Enriched  by  patriot's  gore ; 
But  here  or  there,  or  everywhere, 

Immortal  dead  they  lay, 
And  you  men,  as  true  men, 

Will  honor  them  to-day. 

See,  who  are  gathered  here  to-day, 

With  wreaths  and  garlands  wove  ; 
Mark  who  will  deck  each  mound  of  clay 

With  mingled  grief  and  love. 
The  father,  mother, -sister,  brother, 

The  wife  and  child  are  found, 
Of  true  men,  who,  true  men, 

Rest  in  this  hallowed  ground. 

Then  live  their  memory — may  it  be 

For  us  a  guiding  light, 
To  cheer  our  love  of  liberty, 

And  teach  us  to  unite. 
Through  good  and  ill,  be  patriots  still, 

For  God  and  right  be  found ; 
Be  you  men,  as  true  men, 
«      As  those  beneath  this  ground. 

It  is  due  to  some  one,  to  me  unknown,  to  say,  that  the  verses 
read  on  Memorial  Day  are  indebted  for  perhaps  all  their  spirit 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  415 

to  a  poem  read  many  years  since,  and  on  which  I  drew  from 
memory  for  some  of  tlie  language  and  the  construction. 

The  exercises  at  the  cemetery  being  concluded,  the  proces- 
sion was  re-formed,  and  marched  to  the  Methodist  graveyard, 
where  the  graves  of  soldiers  were  decorated,  and,  after  benedic- 
tion by  Rev.  W.  M.  Reed,  the  people  quietly  dispersed  to  their 
homes,  feeling  that  it  was  good  for  them  to  have  been  there. 

AT  ALTON,  ILL. 

The  procession  was  formed  about  ten  o'clock,  A.  M.,  at  the 
hall  of  the  Post.  First  in  order  came  the  band ;  next  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Post,  clad  in  their  handsome  Zouave  uniform,  and 
armed  and  equipped  ;  then  followed  in  carriages  and  barouches 
the  invited  guests,  and  many  ladies  and  young  girls.  The  line 
of  march  was  taken  up  to  Middletown,  and  from  thence  through 
the  principal  streets  of  the  city ;  after  which  they  returned  to 
their  hall,  where  a  lunch  was  partaken  of.  The  procession  was 
then  re-formed,  and  proceeded  to  the  cemetery.  The  ceremo- 
nies at  this  place  were  opened  with  prayer  by  the  Post  Chap- 
lain, Lieut.  Wm.  Consley,  after  which  the  ladies  proceeded  to 
decorate,  with  the  wreaths  and  flower?,  the  last  resting-places 
of  the  patriot  dead.  About  110  graves  received  this  tribute  of 
affection.  A  martial  salute  was  then  lired  over  the  graves  by 
the  soldiers.  Eloquent  and  impressive  addresses,  appropriate 
to  the  occasion,  were  then  delivered  by  Capt.  Flannigan,  Com- 
mander of  the  Post,  Prof.  Mitchell,  of  Upper  Alton,  Rev.  D. 
Morgan,  of  New  York,  and  other  gentlemen.  After  leaving 
the  cemetery  the  procession  proceeded  to  Upper  Alton,  where  it 
marched  through  the  principal  streets, -and  then  proceeded  to 
the  cemetery  of  that  place,  where  the  same  impressive  ceremo- 
nies were  performed,  and  speeches  were  made  by  Rev.  Dr.  Fra- 
zer,  of  this  city,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Root,  of  Upper  Alton.  At  Up- 
per Alton  the  participants  in  the  exercises  were  most  cordially 
received  by  the  inhabitants,  and  every  assistance  possible  ren- 
dered them  in  the  performance  of  their  sacred  duty.  On  the 
conclusion  of  the  exercises  at  this  cemetery,  the  procession  re- 
turned to  Alton  and  dispersed. 

One  of  the  pleasantest  incidents  of  the  day  was  the  call 
made  upon  Capt.  Johnson,  of  Upper  Alton.  I'his  gentleman 
was  desperately  wounded  at  Atlanta,  four  years  ago,  and  has 
ever  since  been  confined  to  his  bed.  The  character  of  his  wound 
is  such  that  he  is  compelled  to  lie  constantly  in  one  position — 
upon  his  face.  The  members  of  the  Post  testified  their  sympa- 
thy for  this  long-suffering  hero  by  visiting  him,  giving  him  each 
a  hand  clasp,  and  a  kindly  word,  and  then  uniting  in  patriotic 
songs,  together  with  music  by  the  band. 


416  MEMORIAL    CEEEMONIES 

AT  WESTFIELD,  ILL. 

The  members  of  Post  JSTo.  226,  Department  of  Ells.,  at  West- 
field,  Clark  Co.,  Ills.,  met  Saturday,  May  30th,  at  12  o'clock  M., 
at  their  encampment,  for  the  purpose  of  performing  the  cere- 
mony of  decorating  the  graves  of  their  fallen  comrades,  who 
sleep  in  the  neighboring  cemeteries.  At  l£  o'clock  the  mem- 
bers of  the  encampment  were  formed  in  procession  on  horse- 
back, under  the  direction  of  comrades  C.  C.  Givens,  P.  C.,  arid 
J.  J.  Brown,  S.  V.,  assisted  by  comrades  E.  Shanon,  Officer  of 
the  day,  and  W.  G.  Wood,  P.  Q.  M.,  with  comrade  Win.  Wat- 
kins,  at  the  centre  of  the  column,  bearing  the  flag  of  our  nation 
draped  in  mourning,  and  each  member  wearing  a  badge  of  the 
order,  also  draped  in  mourning.  Marched  from  thence  to  the 
public  square,  escorted  by  the  Westfield  martial  band,  under  the 
supervision  of  Dr.  J.  H.  Parcel,  where  they  met  a  large  con- 
course of  citizens ;  then  proceeded  according  to  the  following 
programme : — 1st.  Yocal  music — "  America ;  2d.  Prayer — By 
Chaplain  Rev.  Cornell ;  3d.  Vocal  music — "  Don't  forget  me 
when  I  am  gone."  After  which  Col.  James  A.  Connelly  of 
Charleston,  was  introduced  to  the  audience,  who  gave  a  very 
touching  and  patriotic  eulogy  on  the  Soldiers. 

The  procession  then  re-formed  and  marched  to  the  Metho- 
dist Cemetery,  the  G.  A.  R.  in  front,  on  horseback,  and  the 
citizens  in  rear,  on  horseback  and  in  carriages.  11  ere  the 
solemn  ceremony  of  decorating  the  graves  of  the  fallen  com- 
rades was  performed,  as  follows :  1st.  Vocal  music — "  O,  wrap 
the  fl&g  around  me,  Boys ;"  2d.  The  military  history  of  each 
sleeping  comrade  was  read.  Then  a  beautiful  wreath  of  flow- 
ers, prepared  by  fair  hands  and  sympathetic  hearts,  was  placed 
upon  the  tombstone  of  each,  with  appropriate  remarks  by  com- 
rades, after  which  was  vocal  music — "The  Soldier's  Prayer." 
The  ceremonies  at  this  cemetery  then  closed  with  prayer  by 
Chap.  Rev.  S.  Hedges.  The  procession  was  again  formed,  and 
proceeded  to  Otterbein  Parker,  and  Good  Hope  cemeteries, 
where  similar  ceremonies  were  performed  as  at  the  flrst.  At 
the  close  of  the  exercises  the  procession  returned  to  town,  and 
was  drawn  up  in  line,  in  front  of  the  hall  of  the  G.  A.  R., 
where  three  loud  cheers  were  given  for  the  old  flag  of  our 
nation,  while  the  band  played  a  national  air ;  after  which  the 
procession  was  disbanded  by  P.  C.  Givens. 

AT  METAMOKA,  ILL. 

At  this  place  about  thirty  soldiers  met  at  Band's  Hall,  and 
the  citizens  and  ladies  met  at  the  Congregational  Church,  for 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  417 

the  purpose  of  decorating  the  graves  of  our  deceased  soldiers 
with  flowers.  Wm.  Lawson,  Esq.,  was  appointed  Marshal,  and 
soldiers  and  citizens  to  the  number  of  near  three  hundred 
marched  in  procession  to  the  Metamora  Cemetery,  where  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Lemon  offered  a  very  appropriate  prayer,  and  the  fol- 
lowing address  was  delivered  by  Dr.  Whitmire : 


SOLDIERS  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC,  COMRADES 
IN  ARMS,  AND  ALL  LOYAL  MEN  AND  WOMEN  WHO  GAVE  US  THEIR 
SYMPATHY,  AND  SUSTAINED  US  IN  THE  FIELD  WHILE  BATTLING 
AGAINST  REBELLION  :  This  time  has  been  set  apart  by  our  Grand 
Commander  to  do  honor  to  our  noble  and  thrice  glorious  dead, 
who  were  our  comrades  in  the  field,  battling  for  the  Union, 
Liberty,  and  the  rights  and  universal  brotherhood  of  man. 
This  day  is,  at  this  time,  being  celebrated  in  this  same  manner, 
though  in  many  places  by  a  grander  array  of  ceremonies, 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  this  glorious  Union,  this 
mighty  Republic.  But  while  these  ceremonies  may  be  per- 
formed with  more  pageantry  in  different  sections  of  the  Union, 
yet  there  are  none  who  dare  have  a  higher  appreciation  of  the 
services,  living  and  dead,  of  the  Grand  Army  that  saved  the 
Union  from  disruption  than  we  in  our  humble  condition  have ; 
and  there  are  none,  however  great  their  position  can  be,  per- 
mitted to  entertain  a  more  profound  reverence  and  respect  for 
our  martyred  comrades  than  we  ourselves.  Our  noble  and  pa- 
triotic dead  sacrificed  their  lives  upon  their  country's  altar,  not 
for  themselves  and  posterity  alone,  but  for  us  and  our  children 
for  all  time  to  come,  that  we  might  enjoy  the  blessings  of  Lib- 
erty and  the  advantages  of  a  Nationality,  bequeathed  to  us  as  a 
blessed  inheritance  from  our  fathers  ot  the  Revolution.  May 
this  reverence  for  our  dead  comrades  in  arms  never  be  forgotten 
by  us  or  our  posterity  forever.  And  may  this  respect  and  love 
we  owe  them,  ever  remind  us  that  all  of  them  have  left  behind 
their  precious  jewels,  more  valuable  than  glittering  gems,  that 
must  not  be  forgotten,  and  must  for  a  time,  of  necessity,  remain 
the  objects  of  our  fraternal  care,  love,  and  esteem.  The  widows 
and  orphans  of  our  immortal  dead  are  the  prices  of  their  sacri- 
fices, and  left  to  us  as  an  inheritance  that  must  neither  be  neg- 
lected nor  abandoned,  but  cared  for  and  left  to  the  care  of  our 
children  after  us.  May  the  blessings  of  Almighty  God  rest  upon 
them,  and  the  support  and  sympathy  of  all  loyal  people,  who 
were  our  shield  and  stay  in  that  terrible  conflict,  be  theirs. 

But,  comrades  and  friends,  the  honored  dead  are  not  all  who 
are  entitled  to  be  remembered  with  love  and  admiration  for 
27 


418  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

their  heroic  deeds,  and  splendid  achievements ;  we  see  all 
around  us  the  lame,  the  halt,  and  the  maimed,  who  received 
their  honorable  wonnds  while  facing  the  enemy  on  the  field  of 
carnage,  in  terrible  conflict,  where  American  met  American  in 
a  death-struggle  for  the  mastery,  at  the  deep-toned  cannon's 
mouth,  amid  the  clash  of  arms  and  the  rattle  of  musketry. 
They  too  have  claims  upon  us.  They  have  come  among  us  with 
an  empty  sleeve,  a  single  leg,  or  perhaps  a  shattered  and  broken- 
down  constitution,  as  living  memorials  of  their  heroic  daring 
and  self-sacrificing  patriotism,  in  the  defence  of  their  country, 
and  the  protection  of  our  own  peaceful  firesides,  which,  by  the 
blessing  of  God,  we  are  at  this  time  permitted  to  enjoy.  Let 
us  hono"r  them !  because  they  too  are  nature's  noblemen. 

It  is  true,  comrades  and  friends,  that  it  is  our  duty  to  re- 
member, at  this  time,  in  honor  and  gratitude,  all  those  noble 
boys,  patron.8  of  manhood  and  fidelity,  who  fell  in  this  great 
struggle  for  our  nationality,  and  for  Liberty,  from  whatever 
section  they  may  have  come.  They  were  soldiers,  and  therefore 
entitled  to  our  respect,  and  we  here  do  honor  to  their  memory, 
whatever  may  have  been  their  state  or  condition  previous  to  the 
rebellion.  But  we  have  assembled  at  this  time  for  the  special 
purpose  of  doing  deeds  of  love  to  our  own  noble  dead,  whose 
memory,  if  not  their  graves,  is  yet  fresh  among  us. 

Among  those  from  our  own  town,  all  of  whom  we  loved 
while  living,  and  now  delight  to  honor  their  memory,  are,  Ed- 
win Page,  Wm.  and  Cicero  F.  Ormsby,  Luellin  and  Daniel 
Stoddard,  Wm.  Trunnell,  W.  W.  Egbert,  Joseph  Stowder, 
Horace  Dutton,  Wm.  Lyons,  Jesse  Plank,  James  Plank,  Eddie 
Barker,  Augustus  Fauber,  Charles  Greening,  Martin  Walker, 
John  Stivers,  Arthur  C.  Rallston,  Edwin  Walton,  Thomas  Sun- 
derland,  David  Evans,  John  Kindig,  and  Theudus  Slemmons. 

The  graves  of  some  of  these  martyrs  to  the  cause  of  freedom 
are  among  us;  others  who  were  less  fortunately  situated  rest 
quietly,  wrapped  in  their  soldiers'  uniform,  with  their  blankets 
for  a  winding-sheet,  in  the  sand-hills  of  the  South,  or  on  the 
banks  of  the  Father  of  Waters,  where  there  is  no  more  sound 
of  the  cannon,  nor  picket-duty  to  perform  ;  where  they  will  rest 
in  peace ;  where  no  sound  is  heard,  and  no  sentinel  to  pace  his 
beat  save  the  midnight  owl,  who  keeps  his  silent  vigils  over 
their  lonely  graves.  There  they  will  remain  and  rest  in  sweet, 
delicious  slumber,  till  the  last  but  early  Reveille  of  the  Judg- 
ment morn,  when  our  comrades  will  rise  to  the  roll-call  of  our 
Redeemer,  where  every  one  of  our  comrades  will  stand  in  his 
place,  and  answer  to  his  own  name  as  of  old  in  the  company  to 
which  he  belonged. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        419 

"We  will  now  attend  to  the  sacred  duty  of  strewing  the 
graves  of  those  who  are  buried  among  us,  and  decorating  them 
with  flowers,  not  forgetting  to  strew,  in  imagination,  the  graves 
of  those  who  lie  in  Southern  soil,  lonely,  but  not  forgotten. 
Peace  be  to  their  remains. 

AT  CENTRALIA,  ILL. 

At  1  o'clock  the  procession  was  formed  at  the  City  Hall  bv 
Capt.  R.  D.  NOLEMAN,  Marshal ;  Capt.  E.  M.  WRIGHT  and  Maj. 
E.  W.  JONES,  Assistants,  in  the  following  order :  1.  Centralia 
Brass  Band.  2.  The  National  Flag,  draped  in  mourning,  borne 
by  a  color  guard  (in  a  neat  uniform)  from  the  G.  A.  R. ;  fol- 
lowed by  the  comrades  of  the  Centralia  Post  of  the  G.  A.  R. 
— under  the  command  of  Captains  WELLMAN  and  JAMES  CUN- 
NINGHAM. 3.  Decorating  Committee  of  Ladies,  in  carriages. 
4.  Chaplain  and  Orators,  in  carriages.  5.  Citizens. 

In  this  order  the  procession  proceeded  to  the  City  Cemetery, 
where  the  exercises  were  opened  by  prayer  by  Rev.  J.  D.  GILL- 
HAM.  Escorted  by  the  G.  A.  R.  the  Decorating  Committee 
then  proceeded  to  visit  and  decorate  the  graves  of  soldiers  which 
were  in  various  parts  of  the  Cemetery,  and  designated  by  a 
guidon  and  an  evergreen  cross,  the  soldier's  name  on  a  card 
being  attached  to  it — finally  arriving  at  the  spot  where  was  a 
collection  of  graves,  being  the  last  resting-place  of  those  soldier- 
boys  who  had  died  at  the  Soldiers'  Home,  in  spite  of  the  kind 
care  and  treatment  they  there  received  at  the  hands  of  our 
noble  citizen  women.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  soldiers 
buried  in  the  City  Cemetery  : 

Milton  Yanatter,  1st  111.  Cavalry,  1st  Lieut.  Robert  Jehu, 
llth  111.,  Wm.  Montgomery,  W.  Fianders,  38th  Iowa,  James 

Harrison,  4th  Va.,  Daniel  Handy,  4th  Mass..  C.  Cummins, 

Wis.,  John  Brown,  4th  Mass.,  L.  Hage,  45th  Mass., Park- 
hurst,  llth  111.,  Joshua  Earl,  John  Lucas,  77th  Ohio,  F.  Wright, 

38th  Iowa,  James  Martin,  18th  111.,  John  Frank,  111., 

James  Monroe,  J.  Gilmore,  13th  Iowa,  George  Patchen,  34th 
Iowa,  James  Brown,  18th  Mo.  Cavalry,  Andrew  Allison,  40th 

111.,  Wm.  Neighbors,  1st  Ala.  Cavalry,  Jos.  Kruuk,  111., 

W.  Ballard,  13th  111.  Cavalry,  John  Smith,  llth  111.,  John 
Deboth,  14th  111.  Cavalry,  M.  Teinmy,  65th  Ohio,  James  Mas- 
sey,  7th  111.  Cavalry,  C.  Winnie,  1st  111.  Cavalry,  James  Stal- 
lions, 1st  Lieut.  Jos.  Zick,  41st  111.,  Thomas  Kell,  136th  111., 
Albert  G.  Ball,  48th  111.,  W.  A.  Brookins,  48th  111.,  A.  H.  Ran- 
dall, 107th  111.,  Joseph  Stockhamer, 111.,  John  Shade,  lllth 

111.,  H.  A.  Schauber, N.  Y.,  Joseph  Stockhammer,  12th 

Mo.,  James  Patton. 


420  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Here  the  decoration?  concluded,  and  were  followed  by  an  ap- 
propriate song  from  a  cl  ub  composed  of  Messrs.  SAM  McN  EIL  and 
GEORGE  JONKS,  and  Misses  ADA  BRIDDELL  and  LIZZIE  WILLARD. 
After  the  song  Gen.  E.  N.  BATES  delivered  an  eloquent  and 
appropriate  address,  paving  worthy  homage  to  the  sacrifices  of 
the  patriot  soldier  on  the  altar  of  his  country.  He  deemed  that 
a  sacrifice  in  its  most  complete  sense,  and  the  people  had  here 
assembled  to  pay  a  feeble  tribute  and  to  bear  evidence  of  their 
remembrance  of  that  sacrifice.  He  alluded  to  the  widows  and 
orphan  children  of  the  Nation's  defenders,  and  claimed  that  it 
is  the  sacred  duty  of  those  now  living  under  the  benefits  of  a 
restored  Government  to  aid  and  comfort  them — a  work  in 
which  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  composed  of  the  com- 
rades-in-arms of  those  who  fell,  those  who  could  fully  appreciate 
the  trials  and  dangers  undergone — was  doing  a  noble  share. 
The  Band  then  played  an  appropriate  dirge,  which  was  followed 
by  the  reading  of  LINCOLN'S  Gettysburg  Address,  by  Adjutant 
I.  S.  TAYLOR.  The  club  then  sang  a  piece  entitled  "  Lay  him 
low,"  with  marked  eifect. 

Maj.  E.  W.  JONES  being  then  announced  took  the  stand,  and 
delivered  the  following  address  : 

COMRADES  AND  FRIENDS  :  We  come  here  to  strew  the  graves 
of  our  fellows  in  arms,  who  have  died  in  their  country's  service, 
with  flowers — flowers  which  offer  fragrant  incense  to  their 
memory  and  whose  ruddy  bloom  typifies  the  blood  they  have 
spilled.  We  come  here  fully  realizing  the  dangers  and  priva- 
tions which  caused,  and  the  suiferings  which  attended  many  of 
their  deaths.  We  who  marched  and  fought  in  the  same  cause 
and  you  who  upheld  their  arms,  with  words  and  acts  of  cheer 
and  love  and  praise,  and  guarded  their  backs  from  the  stroke 
of  the  Northern  tra\j;or,  all  come  with  hearts  full  of  the  tribute 
which  every  American  owes  to  their  memory.  It  is  fitting  and 
just  that  strewing  such  graves  with  flowers  should  become  a 
National  custom.  Whose  name  so  worthy  of  being  enshrined 
in  the  warmest  niche  of  the  patriotic  heart,  as  his  who  sacrifices 
all  the  sweet  comforts  of  life,  its  prospects  and  the  companion- 
ship of  all  that  makes  life  dear  to  him,  and  finally  life  itself,  on 
the  altar  of  his  country  \  These  graves  contain  the  remains  of 
those  who  thus  laid  down  their  lives.  These  remains,  could  they 
speak,  would  tell  of  Donelson,  of  Shiloh,  of  Corinth,  of  Yicks- 
burg,  of  Chickamauga,  of  Kenesaw,  of  Knoxville,  of  Atlanta, 
and  of  the  u  March  to  the  Sea  ;  "  perhaps  of  Petersburg,  of  the 
Wilderness,  of  Shenandoah  and  of  Appomattox.  They  could 
perhaps  recount  the  horrors  of  Anderson vi lie,  of  Salisbury,  of 
Libby  and  of  Belle  Isle.  They  could  tell  of  long  marches 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  421 

through  dust  where  every  breath  was  suffocating ;  through  heat 
which  seemed  to  scorch  their  brains ;  through  mud  knee- deep, 
where  the  worn-out  body  would  have  been  glad  to  sink  down 
even  to  its  last  sleep ;  under  pouring,  drenching,  pitiless  rains  ; 
over  burning  rocks  and  blistering  sand ;  over  rugged  frozen 
earth  and  bitter  snow  and  ice,  with  feet  bare  but  for  a  scrap  of 
shoe  sole  or  a  rag.  They  could  tell  of  sleeping  in  their  soaked 
clothing  night  after  night,  or  with  the  bitter  winter  wind  whist- 
ling through  their  single  blanket ;  of  eating  their  single  hard- 
tack or  handful  of  corn  by  the  little  blaze  of  the  few  damp 
sticks  which  they  had  scraped  together. 

They  could  tell  of  the  random,  shots  along  the  skirmish  line 
— of  the  rattle  of  musketry — of  the  advance  into  the  enemy's 
fire — of  the  charge — of  the  enemy's  deadly  welcome — of  the 
re-forming — of  the  charge  again — of  the  scattered  foe — the  pur- 
suit and  the  shouts  of  victory.  They  could  tell  of  the  glorious 
swelling  of  the  heart  when  the  battle  was  won.  They  could 
tell,  probably,  many  of  them  of  the  keen  twinge  of  pain  at  the 
first  stroke  of  the  bullet,  of  the  hole  torn  through  flesh,  sinew 
and  bone  as  'twere  with  a  red-hot  iron ;  of  the  racking  agony 
when  carried  from  the  field,  and  of  weary,  agonized  weeks  in 
the  hospital.  Some  of  them  lived  to  see  the  great  cause  for 
which  they  had  been  contending  crowned  with  complete  success. 
Lived  to  feel  the  cloud  of  sorrow  and  gloom  deeper  than  of  the 
darkest  days  of  the  conflict,  settle  upon  their  hearts  at  the  cruel 
murder  of  the  soldier's  great-hearted  friend  and  idol,  the  martyr 
President;  and  lived  at  last  to  be  greeted  with  peaiis  of  praise 
and  welcome  "  When  the  troops  came  marching  home  again." 
At  last,  here  they  lie ;  we  can  no  longer  reward  them  for  their 
services.  No  grateful  country  can  now  fill  its  posts  of  honor  and 
emolument,  with  these  its  most  tried  and  faithful  friends.  They 
are  finding  their  reward,  we  trust,  in  the  land  where  Treason  is 
eternally  punished  and  Peace  forever  reigns.  But  we  can  keep 
their  names  green  and  rose  entwined  in  our  memories.  We  can 
make  patriotism  regarded  as  noble  and  sacred,  and  its  deeds  and 
sacrifices  remembered  and  perhaps  rewarded  in  the  future  by 
offering  our  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  soldier  dead.  We, 
comrades,  can  keep  fresh  in  our  affections  the  recollections  of 
the  kindly  deeds  of  our  deceased  comrades  ;  of  sharing  the  last 
hard-tack,  the  last  spoonful  of  coffee,  the  scanty  blanket  or  over- 
coat, of  lifting  from  our  shoulder  the  heavy  musket  or  knapsack 
when  worn  out  and  foot  sore  on  the  weary  march  ;  of  the  nurs- 
ing as  of  a  sister  when-sick  in  body  and  soul,  and  of  the  thousand 
brotherlv  offices  which  only  fellow-soldiers  have  occasion  to  offer. 
Let  us  then  strew  these  flowers  upon  their  graves,  feeling  that  we 


422  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

are  ennobling  ourselves,  setting  an  example  for  the  future  and 
performing  a  kind  and  sacred  duty ;  and  the  spirits  of  the  sainted 
dead  who  are  hovering  about  us  and  looking  down  upon  us  to- 
day, may  scatter  flowers  upon  our  paths  of  life. 

"  Bring  flowers,  bright  flowers,  to  strew  o'er  the  grave, 

Where  each  fallen  hero  sleeps; 
They  will  speak  to  the  heart  of  an  arm  that  saves, 
E'en  while  the  mourner  weeps. 

"  Scatter  flowers!  they  may  tell  where  the  buried  hopes, 

Where  the  pride  of  each  household  sleeps ; 
But  they  smilingly  speak  of  a  higher  sphere 
To  the  heart  that  mourning  weeps. 

"Scatter  flowers!  they  will  tell  of  the  tongues  that  join 

Aloud  in  sweet  Freedom's  song — 
Of  the  millions  of  voices  in  grateful  praise 
On  the  breezes  borne  along. 

"  Scatter  flowers,  bright  flowers,  o'er  the  soldier's  tomb — 

All  bright  and  blooming  and  fair — 
They  will  drive  from  the  silent  grave  its  gloom, 
And  leave  a  glory  there." 

Rev.  J.  D.  GILLHAM,  being  next  called  on,  responded  by 
making  a  few  appropriate  remarks,  extemporaneously,  heartily 
commending  the  exercises  of  the  day,  and  hoping  they  might 
become  an  anniversary  event  in  the  coming  future.  A  patriotic 
song  was  then  sung  by  the  club,  the  entire  assemblage  joining 
in  the  chorus. 

AT  PALATINE,  ILL. 

The  members  of  Post  107,  G.  A.  R.  proceeded  to  the  cemetery 
to-day  escorted  by  a  band  of  music,  a  large  number  of  the 
Masonic  Fraternity,  and  a  large  concourse  of  people,  and  deco- 
rated the  graves  of  the  soldiers  buried  there  with  wreaths  and 
flowers.  Several  speeches  were  made  for  the  occasion  by  Messrs. 
R.  S.  Williamson,  M.  S.  Johnson,  Rev.  Geo.  Wallace,  and  others. 
It  was  estimated  that  one  thousand  people  were  present.  At 
the  close  the  comrades  avowed  themselves  anew  through  their 
comrade,  A.  F.  Dohmieyer,  that  they  would  stand  by  and  defend 
the  Stars  and  Stripes,  which  was  proudly  floating  over  them,  as 
they  had  done  during  the  Rebellion,  should  the  occasion  ever 
require  it. 

AT  CANTON,  ILL. 

About  five  hundred  persons  assembled  on  the  public  square, 
and  proceeded,  under  the  leadership  of  Mayor  Wright,  to  the 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  423 

cemetery,  than  which  a  more  beautiful  place  cannot  be  found  in 
the  country.  The  Canton  band  accompanied  the  procession  and 
discoursed  soul-stirring  music.  Speeches  were  made  by  Rev. 
J.  H.  Rhea  and  Col.  Haskell  of  Canton,  interluded  by  a  song 
by  the  Glee  Club. 

Post  No.  79,  at  Hamilton,  111.,  also  held  commemorative 
services. 

AT  CINCINNATI,  OHIO. 

At  about  9  o'clock  the  various  organizations  that  had  assem- 
bled to  join  in  the  exercises  formed  in  line  on  Vine  and  Eighth 
streets,  displaying  northwardly,  and  when  all  preliminaries  had 
been  arranged,  General  J.  Warren  Keifer  assumed  command, 
and  the  procession  moved  off.  First  in  order  came  the  police 
force  of  the  city,  presenting  a  very  fine  and  soldierly  appearance, 
both  in  garb  and  demeanor.  The  body  was  commanded  by 
Chief  Riiffin,  and  manoeuvred  by  Captain  Lew  Wilson  and  the 
several  Lieutenants  having  charge  of  stations.  Behind  the  po- 
lice followed  a  number  of  carriages,  containing  the  orators  of 
the  day,  members  of  our  City  Council,  and  many  of  the  civil 
authorities.  A  detachment  of  one  hundred  United  States  regu- 
lar soldiers,  from  the  Newport  Barracks,  marched  next  in  line. 
Following  this  company  came  the  German  Veteran  Society  and 
the  Turners,  some  two  hundred  strong ;  and  after  these  organ- 
izations marched  the  Fifth  Ohio  Legion,  and  delegations  from 
seven  posts  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic — numbering, 
in  all,  about  four  hundred  men.  The  procession  was  well  sup- 
plied with  flags  and  banners.  After  pursuing  the  line  of  march 
arranged — from  Eighth  and  Yine  to  Fourth,  westwardly  through 
Fourth  to  Elm,  up  Elm  to  Eighth  again,  down  Eighth  to  Bay- 
miller,  and  thence  to  the  Cincinnati,  Hamilton  and  Dayton 
Railroad  depot — the  soldiers,  the  German  societies,  and  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  boarded  the  train 
which  had  been  reserved  for  them,  and  were  conveyed  to  the 
cemetery.  Here  they  found  at  least  three  thousand  persons 
wait  ing  for  their  arrival  and  the  commencement  of  the  cere- 
monies. The  march  was  continued  up  the  broad  avenue  until 
the  Soldiers'  Monument  was  reached.  The  vast  audience  hav- 
ing assembled  in  front  of  the  soldiers'  monument,  General  J. 
Warren  Keifer,  Grand  Commander  of  the  G.  A.  R.  for  the 
Department  of  Ohio,  announced  that  the  exercises  would  be 
opened  with  prayer  by  the  Rev.  B.  W.  Chidlaw.  After  music 
by  the  Maeunerchor,  Turners  and  other  societies,  General  Keifer 
introduced  General  H.  L.  Burnett,  the  orator  of  the  day,  who 
said: 


424  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

COMRADES  AND  FELLOW-CITIZENS,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  : 
"We  are  met  to-day  under  the  shadow  of  this  beautiful  monu- 
ment, to  strew  flowers  upon  and  h'ttiqglj  decorate  the  graves  of 
those  who  died  in  the  defence  of  their  country  ;  to  pay  this 
graceful  tribute  to  their  memory,  and  honor  to  the  cause  for 
which  they  paid  the  last  great  measure  of  their  lives.  In  all 
ages  and  climes  the  living  have  paid  honor  to  the  memory  of 
those  who  died  in  defence  of  home  and  country.  History  re- 
cords and  poets  sing  the  laudations  of  those  who  die  that  the 
yoke  may  be  lifted  from  the  oppressed,  that  those  who  live  after 
them  may  be  free.  Thus  died  those  whom  we  meet  here  this 
day  to  honor.  A  little  more  than  seven  years  have  gone  by 
since  the  winged  words  of  the  President  sped  to  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  land,  "  appealing  to  the  loyal  citizens  to  favor, 
facilitate,  and  aid  the  eifort  to  maintain  the  honor,  the  integrity, 
and  existence  of  our  National  Union,  and  the  perpetuity  of 
popular  government."  At  last  the  conflict  had  come  which  this 
patriot  statesman  had  partial!}"  foreseen  and  prophetically  fore- 
shadowed ;  the  great  moral  conflict  of  ideas  had  crystallized  into 
the  physical  conflict,  and  the  wager  of  battle  was  upon  us. 
With  a  prescience  almost  inspired,  he  had  foretold  that  this  con- 
flict of  ideas  "  will  not  cease  until  a  crisis  shall  have  been 
reached  and  passed  ; "  that  there  was  then  in  existence,  in  1858, 
and  had  been,  almost  from  the  foundation  of  our  Government, 
an  active  struggle  between  "  opposing  and  enduring  forces,"  that 
would  never  cease  until  one  should  entirely  prevail,  and  the 
other  pass  utterly  away.  This  conflict  was  old  as  time,  yet,  in 
its  changing  forms,  ever  new.  It  was  the  conflict  between  the 
idea  that  man  should  be  free,  against  the  idea  that  man  should 
be  enslaved.  These  two  ideas,  so  deathlessly  antagonistic,  had 
each  its  supporters  and  advocates  under  the  same  flag  and  form 
of  government.  Swept  of  all  sophistry,  this  moral  conflict  was 
at  the  foundation,  and  was  at  the  basis  of  our  fierce  and  bloody 
struggle.  This  away,  all  questions  of  State  rights,  State 
sovereignty,  Federal  supremacy,  or  centralization  of  power, 
would  have  found  judicial  and  peaceful  solution.  Without  this 
great  question  of  universal  freedom,  without  the  demand  on  one 
side  that  wherever  the  old  flag  should  wave  within  our  broad 
domains,  there  should  be  recognized  and  upheld  the  equal  rights 
of  all  men,  and  on  the  other  hand  the  enslavement  of  a  people, 
there  would  have  been  no  death  grapple.  The  men  of  the 
North  maintained  that,  "  while  the  lower  animals  look  down- 
ward upon  the  earth,  God  gave  man  a  lofty  face,  and  ordered 
him  to  look  at  heaven  and  lift  his  countenance  upward,  and  look 
at  the  stars,"  and  that  all  men,  of  all  grades  and  castes,  if  they 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  425 

be  but  men,  and  have  immortal  souls,  are  equal  in  their  rights 
before  Jehovah.  The  men  of  the  South  believed  not  so,  bat  ex- 
ercised dominion  over  men,  and  over  the  souls  of  men,  and 
made  them  do  their  bidding  as  the  beasts  of  the  field  that  look 
downward  upon  the  earth,  and  thus  came  war.  And  when,  by 
the  light  of  the  storm,  on  the  15th  of  April,  seven  years  ago, 
Freedom's  chief  flashed  his  appeal  to  the  "  loyal,"  to  those  who 
loved  freedom  and  desired  the  "  perpetuity  of  popular  govern- 
ment," there  was  a  great  shout  of  glad  response,  and  all  over 
the  free  North,  along  the  highways,  and  in  the  streets  of  our 
beautiful  cities,  from  the  rising  to  the  going  down  of  the  sun, 
and  in  the  still  night-time,  was  heard  the  trampling  of  the 
mighty  hosts  as  they  gathered  to  the  defence  of  freedom  and 
the  republic.  For  long  years  had  the  people  endured  what  they 
believed  to  be  national  dishonor  and  innumerable  wrongs  at  the 
hands  of  a  people  who  advocated  the  enslavement  of  man.  In 
response  to  this  and  subsequent  calls  of  their  chief,  they  came, 
millions  of  men,  to  fight  for  the  rights  of  man,  and  that  the 
nation  might  live  and  be  free. 

"  They  left  the  plowshare  in  the  mold, 
The  flocks  and  herds  without  a  fold, 
The  sickle  in  the  unsworn  grain, 
The  corn  half-garnered  on  the  plain, 
And  mustered  in  their  simple  dress, 
For  wrongs  to  seek  a  st^rn  redress, 
To  right  those  wrongs,  come  weal,  come  woe, 
To  perish  or  o'ercome  the  foe." 

Of  their  great  deeds  during  four  long  years  of  bloody  war,  of 
their  heroic  deaths,  I  cannot  now  and  here  speak.  They  are 
engraven  on  the  memory  of  their  living  comrades,  and  in  the 
hearts  of  the  good  of  the  land  ;  they  were  witnessed  by  the  all- 
seeing  eye  of  God,  and  entered  in  the  book  of  life  by  the  record- 
ing angel  of  heaven.  Their  little  mounds  dot  this  great  land 
from  lakes  to  gulf,  and  from  ocean  to  ocean.  Upon  the  banks 
of  the  great  rivers,  in  the  sunken  valleys,  upon  the  far-stretching 
plains,  on  the  hill-sides,  and  on  the  tops  of  the  great  mountains, 
by  the  shores  of  the  ever-murmuring  seas  they  are  silently  and 
sweetly  sleeping,  to  be  disturbed  no  more  until  the  last  great 
reveille.  Reguiescat  in  pace.  Their  little  mounds  are  silent 
monitors  to  us,  appealing  with  pathetic  power,  sacredly  to  cher- 
ish and  preserve  what  they — yielding  their  lives  to  save — saved. 
Around  the  graves  of  these  our  dead  comrades  we  gather  with 
bowed  heads  and  chastened  spirits.  Gazing  upon  these  name- 
less little  mounds,  the  tear  of  sorrow  will  fall  that  the  silver 
chord  should  have  been  so  rudely  broken.  The  tear  of  sym- 


426  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

pathy  falls  silently  for  the  gray-haired  sire,  the  fond  mother,  the 
sister,  brother,  or  loving  wife,  whose  all  of  joy  and  light  went  out 
with  the  light  that  once  illumined  the  dust  that  rests  here.  We  can 
but  mourn  these  patriotic,  unselfish  young  lives  sacrificed.  Sad 
it  is  to  think  of  the  bitter  cup  that  might  not  pass  from  their 
lips,  of  the  sweet  ties  of  affection  so  ruthlessly  sundered,  of  the 
golden  dreams  so  rudely  shattered,  of  their  aspirations  and  un- 
defined soul-longings  for  glory — for  names  and  places  in  the 
world — all  yielded  up  to  the  great  King  of  Terrors.  What 
unutterable  agony  must  have  compassed  the  souls  of  these  young 
soldiers  expiring  by  the  way-side,  in  camp,  on  the  battle-field,  in 
the  prison-pen,  as  they  thought  of  their  entombment  in  name- 
less graves,  to  be  known  and  heard  of  among  men  no  more, 
forever.  And  yet  these  lonely  deaths,  without  any  watchers  of 
earth's  children,  were  not  without  their  twilights  of  glory.  It  is 
a  soldier's  death  to  meet  death  face  to  face  and  shrink  not,  with 
no  human  eye  to  witness  the  struggle,  and  yet  to  meet  the  grim 
monster  with  courage  and  fortitude,  dying  conscious  of  duty  well 
performed,  and  in  the  faith  of  the  approval  of  God.  Row  pas- 
sionlessly  pure  and  exalted  is  such  a  death.  The  soldier  shot  on 
picket  guard,  or  wounded  and  left  on  the  field  of  battle,  as  the 
red  life  currents  were  ebbing,  had  only  the  angels  and  God  for 
his  watchers  and  the  earth  for  his  bier. 

"  And  had  he  not  high  honor, 

The  hillside  for  his  pall, 
To  lie  in  state,  while  angels  wait, 

And  stars  for  tapers  tall, 
And  the  dark  rock  pines,  like  tossing  plumes, 

Over  his  bier  to  wave ; 
And  God's  own  hand,  in  that  lonely  land, 

To  lay  him  in  the  grave  ?  " 

The  ambition  to  have  their  names  live  after  them,  and  to 
have  their  names  handed  down  through  the  ages,  has  been  the 
inspiration  moving  men  to  some  of  the  most  glorious  deeds  in 
the  world's  history. 

Yet  this  motive  was  selfish  and  unworthy  compared  to  that 
which  filled  the  hearts  of  our  common  soldiers  who  faced  death 
and  died,  knowing  that  they  passed  over  the  dark  river  un- 
known, unsung,  forgotten,  save  as  they  were  a  part  of  a  great 
army  performing  a  mass  of  heroic  actions.  Their  eulogy  no 
human  tongue  can  fittingly  speak.  Their  trials  and  endurance, 
their  exalted  patriotism,  and  their  great  deeds,  only  God  can 
compute  and  reward. 

"  From  the  graves  of  the  dead,  beautifully  and  fitly  decora- 
ted with  chaplets  which  should  be  unfading,  it  is  our  duty  to 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        427 

< 

turn  to  the  living,  and  ask  whether  we  have  done  our  whole 
duty  to  the  survivors  of  these  dead  heroes.  How  many,  with 
broken  strength  and  crippled  limbs,  have  lived  to  find  the  chari- 
ty of  the  world  growing  cold.  How  many  have  returned  to 
find  their  places  in  the 'counting-rooms  and  the  workshops  filled, 
and  to  learn  that  the  enthusiasm  which  h'ailed  them  when  they 
went  forth  to  battle,  has  passed  away  with  the  war-clouds  i  Let 
us  take  this  occasion  to  stir  up  anew  the  hearts  of  the  people, 
and  arouse  again  the  enthusiasm  for  the  soldier.  Let  us  go 
hence  to-day  with  the  resolution  to  organize  some  efficient  and 
systematic  provision  for  giving  employment  to  those  who  need 
it,  sympathy  and' assistance  to  those  who  are  still  suffering ; 
words  |Of  good  cheer  and  hope  to  those  who  are  humbly  but 
earnestly  working  their  way  back  into  the  ordinary  walks  of 
human  industry.  Let  it  not  be  recorded  in  heaven  against  us, 
that  we,  the  people,  strong  and  prosperous,  in  the  days  of  our 
prosperity  and  safety,  are  ungrateful,  and  have  forgotten  those 
who  in  the  days  of  danger  and  battle  made  of  their  breasts  a 
wall  of  protection  for  our  lives,  our  homes,  and  our  country. 
The  thought  should  be  in  our  hearts,  that  we  shall  most  effec- 
tually honor  the  dead  by  giving  help,  and  hearty,  brotherly  sym- 
pathy to  the  surviving. 

Let  us  place  the  garlands  of  flowers  on  the  tombs  of  the 
dead,  but  let  us  beware  of  concluding  that  our  duty  ends  here. 
Let  us  remember,  as  the  years  go  by  and  we  are  passing  away, 
that 

"  Ouly  the  actions  of  the  just 
Smell  sweet,  and  blossom  in  the  dust." 

After  paying  this  fitting  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  dead, 
let  us  bear  away  in  our  hearts  this  Scriptural  injunction  :  "  These 
things  ought  ye  to  have  done,  and  not  have  left  the  other  un- 
done." 

And  while  we  mourn  here  to-day,  and  our  hearts  are  filled 
with  grief  and  sorrow  that  nearly  four  hundred  thousand  of 
the  noblest,  best,  of  our  land,  have  perished  that  the  Republic 
might  live — while  we  mourn,  we  turn  to  the  Great  Father  in 
heaven,  and  give  thanks  that  they  died  not  in  vain. 

"  Who  dies  in  vain 

Upon  his  country's  war-fields,  and  within 
The  shadow  of  her  altars  ?     Feeble  heart, 
I  tell  thee  that  tlie  voice  of  patriot  blood 
Thus  poured  for  faith  and  freedom  hath  a  tone 
"Which  from  the  night  of  nges,  from  the  gulf 
Of  death  shall  burst,  and  make  its  high  appeal 
Sound  unto  earth  and  heaven." 


428  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

It  can  but  be  true  that  this  sacrificial  blood  of  the  Conn- 
try's  first  and  best  children  will  save  and  preserve  us  a»  a  Xa- 
tion ;  that  this  "  Government  of  the  people,  *  *  for  the 
people :'  will  endure  through  the  ages. 

We  emerge  from  the  war  on  to  a  higher  plane  of  civilization. 
Our  flag  is  the  synonym  of  freedom  everywhere.  Throughout 
all  our  broad  land  there  breathes  not  a  slave.  In  truth,  now  is 
our  starry  banner  the  emblem  of  liberty  and  equal  rights  to  all 
men.  We  start  on  a  new  career  of  progress  and  prosperity  ; 
and,  founded,  as  we  are,  upon  these  eternal  and  immutable  prin- 
ciples of  justice  and  freedom,  the  power  and  position,  the  honor 
and  glory  to  which  we  may  attain  as  a  nation,  no  mind  can  con- 
ceive or  compute.  § 

When  this  great  plain,  that  is  unrolled  as  a  scroll,  and 
stretches  from  the  Mississippi  westward  to  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
and  as  yet  unwouuded  by  the  plowshare,  shall  be  filled  up  with 
busy  husbandmen,  and  dotted  with  towns  and  great  cities,  when 
the  mineral  wealth  of  that  great  space  extending  from  the 
Rocky  Mountains  to  the  sea  shall  begin  to  be  developed,  and 
pour  its  treasures  of  silver  and  gold  into* the  commerce  of  the 
world,  and  when  we  shall  have  completed  our  railways  across 
the  continent,  and  opened  a  highway  for  the  wealth  and  com- 
merce of  Asia,  with  her  six  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  popu- 
lation, then,  and  not  till  then,  will  any  human  mind  begin  to 
compute  our  possibilities  of  wealth,  greatness  and  power.  Om- 
niscience has  decreed  us,  as  a  people,  a  great  destiny.  Let  us 
be  worthy  of  that  destiny. 

"While  all  good  men  deprecate  the  terrible  ills  of  war  and 
deadly  conflict,  yet  out  of  these  great  struggles  of  nations  and 
peoples,  great  truths  are  evolved,  and  thereafter  stand  revealed 
and  immutable.  It  is  nature's  law,  that  only  by  the  heated  fur- 
nace and  the  conflict  of  compressing  forces,  is  the  pure  metal 
produced.  So  it  has  seemed  that  all  the  great  truths  in  the 
world  have  come  to  the  people  only  through  dire  conflict  and 
the  furnace  of  war  and  battle.  The  roar  of  mighty  cannon,  the 
shocks  of  embattling  armies,  seem  to  be  but  the  heart-throbs  of 
mighty  nations,  as  they  move  on  to  higher  civilization  and 
grander  destinies. 


REMARKS   OF   GOVERNOR   B.    B.    HATES. 


After  music,  General  Keifer  introduced  Governor  Hayes, 
who  spoke  as  follows : 

COMRADES,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  :  I  will  not  detain  you 
from  the  ceremonies  but  a  moment.  No  unconsidered  sentences 
of  mine  would  fitly  express  the  sentiments  and  feelings  which 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  429 

properly  belong  to  the  theme  of  to-day.  The  brave  and  noble 
men,  who  gave  the  last  full  measure  of  devotion  to  the  cause  of 
nationality  and  of  freedom — "  who  died  that  their  country  might 
live" — Lytle,  McCook,  Lathrop,  Will.  Jones,  Fred.  Jones,  Patrick 
and  the  others,  whose  names  are  on  the  long  roll  of  the  honored 
dead,  to  whom  the  beautiful  ceremonies  of  this  day  are  a  dedi- 
cation— I  know  that  no  poor  words  of  ours  can  add  to  their 
enduring  fame.  But  wishing  to  gather  some  flowers  in  honor 
of  much-loved  friends  and  comrades,  who  perished  in  the  great 
struggle  for  union  and  liberty,  1  turn  to  the  pages  of  a  favorite1 
poem,  and  read  these  few  verses : 

"  You  whom 

Our  song  cannot  reach  with  its  transient  breath, 
Deaf  ears  that  are  stopped  with  the  brown  dust  of  death, 
Blind  eyes  that  are  dark  to  your  own  deathless  glory, 
Silenced  hearts  that  are  heedless  of  praise  murmured  o'er  ye, 
Sleep  deep;  sleep  in  peace ;  sleep  in  memory  ever, 
Wrapt,  each  soul,  in  the  deeds  of  its  deathless  endeavor, 
Till  that  great  final  peace  shall  be  struck  through  the  world, 
Till  the  stars  be  recalled  and  the  firmament  furled, 
In  the  dawn  of  a  daylight  undying  ;  until 
The  signal  of  Zion  be  seen  on  the  hill 
Of  the  Lord,  when  the  day  of  the  battle  is  done, 
And  the  conflict  with  Time  by  Eternity  won. 
******** 

"What  is  worth  living  for,  is  worth  <'ying  for,  too, 
And  therefore  all  honor,  brave  hearts,  unto  yon, 
Who  have  fallen  that  Freedom,  more  fair  by  your  death, 
A  pilgrim  may  walk  where  your  blood  on  her  path 
Leads  her  steps  to  your  graves. 

••  Let  them  babble  above  you ! 

Sleep  well,  where  no  breath  of  detraction  may  move  you, 
And  the  peace  the  world  gives  not,  is  yours  at  the  last." 

REMARKS   OF   GENERAL  3.    WABBEN   KEIFEB. 

At  the  close  of  Governor  Hayes'  address,  General  J.  Warren 
Keifer  said : 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  :  I  do  not  come  here  to-day,  by  in- 
vitation, to  address  you,  if,  indeed,  there  is  anything  I  could  say 
which  would  add  to  that  which  has  been  so  well  said  already. 
We  did  not  assemble  for  the  purpose  of  hearing  addresses,  but 
for  the  purpose  of  going  through  the  solemn  ceremony  of  strew- 
ing ilowers,  emblems  of  love  and  affection,  over  the  graves  of 
those  noble  spirits  who  died  that  their  country  might  be  saved. 
While  we  thus  strew  the  graves  of  our  fallen  comrades  and 
friends,  let  us  not  forget  those  who  died  upon  distant  fields  of 
battle.  Let  us  drop  a  tear  to  their  memory,  also — those  noble 
heroes  who  went  down,  like  suns,  but  left  upon  the  mountain- 


430  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

tops  of  death  a  light  that  made  them  lovely.  As  I  said  before, 
I  did  not  come  to  deliver  you  an  address.  I  came  here  because 
of  my  attachment  to  some  of  the  citizens  of  your  noble  city 
with  whom  I  served  and  with  whom  it  was  my  great  pleasure 
to  serve  in  the  late  war — Lytle,  and  others  that  1  will  not  name, 
whom  I  had  the  honor  of  serving  under.  Those  noble  men — you 
know  their  history  ;  you  know  their  character  ;  you  know  their 
patriotism  ;  you  know  their  gallantry  ;  you  know  the  great  ser- 
vice performed  for  their  country  and  for  human  liberty.  It  is 
now  desired  that  we  repair  to  the  graves  of  our  fallen  soldiers 
here,  and  there,  under  the  direction  of  a  committee  of  ladies, 
perform  the  last  of  the  ceremonies  of  the  day. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  General's  remarks,  the  ladies  of  the 
Floral  Committee  gathered  together,  and  at  once  proceeded  with 
the  grateful  work  of  ornamentation.  The  three  beautiful  little 
knolls,  which  cluster  around  the  lake,  near  the  colossal  bronze 
sentinel,  was  first  visited,  and  the  circles  of  graves  strewn  with 
thousands  of  flowers,  which  loaded  the  air  with  fragrance.  In 
the  centre  of  the  knoll  nearest  the  soldiers'  monument  rests  the 
gallant  General  R.  L.  McCook,  who  fell  at  the  battle  of  Pitts- 
burg  Landing.  His  grave  was  very  handsomely  decorated,  and 
many  bouquets  were  deposited  at  his  feet.  In  the  middle  of 
the  next  circle  of  mounds  the  lamented  Colonel  Fred.  Jones  lies 
buried.  His  grave  was  heavily  laden  with  flowers  arranged  in 
many  fanciful  designs,  and  was  visited  during  the  day  by  large 
crowds  of  ladies  and  gentlemen.  The  sod  under  which  the 
noble  General  Wm.  H.  Lytle  lies,  was  bedecked  with  all  the 
charming  flowers  the  spring  has  yet  brought  forth.  The  mound 
was  overrun  by  tender  myrtle  in  which  were  entwined  variously- 
hued  flowers,  sprigs  of  evergreen,  while  from  the  corners  of  the 
marble  monument  erected  to  his  memory  depended  elaborately- 
wrought  wreaths  of  white  and  crimson  roses.  The  grave  of 
Colonel  Eisner,  of  the  Fiftieth  Ohio,  who  was  killed  at  Atlanta, 
was  also  very  tastefully  ornamented.  His  portrait,  in  a  frame 
of  rose  geraniums,  was  hung  from  his  monument,  and  the  lot 
plentifully  strewn  with  all  kinds  of  flowers ;  and  there  was  not  a 
neglected  grave  of  all  the  hundreds  that  surrounded  those  most 
distinguished. 

REMARKS  .OF   REV.    MAXWELL   P.    G ADDIS. 

After  the  ceremonies  of  decorating  the  graves  of  the  soldier? 
had  been  concluded,  a  small  band  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  gath 
ered  in  front  of  the  monument  of  General  "W.  H.  Lytle,  where 
brief  remarks  were  made  by  Rev.  Maxwell  P.  Gaddis.  After  a 
short  introduction,  he  said: 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        431 

I  shnll  never  forget  the  last  time  1  met  General  "William  H. 
Lytle.  It  was  in  his  own  tent,  only  a  few  days  previous  to  the 
time  in  which  he  fell  so  gloriously  on  the  field  of  battle.  I  had 
been  with  him  in  Cincinnati.  He  said,  "  I  have  been  for  the 
last  time  in  Cincinnati."  Said  I,  "  Lytle,  yon  will  live  long 
after  victory  shall  have  perched  upon  our  starry  banner,  long 
after  the  wild  peans  of  liberty  shall  have  gone  up  from  ocean  to 
ocean  and  from  the  lakes  to  the  Gulf."  Says  he,  "  JNrot  §o  ;  the 
next  battle  in  which  I  go,  Lytle  falls ;  and  I  say  to  you  to-night, 
in  the  calm  quiet  of  this  camp,  that  I  fall  simply  in  defence  of 
that  country  for  which  all  men  who  value  liberty  should  love 
to  die."  Lytle,  thou  hast  indeed  fallen.  To-day  thy  grave  is 
decked  with  flowers,  fresh  from  the  rays  of  the  spring  sun  that 
is  giving  back  untold  life  to  our  earth,  and  not  many  days  hence 
the  southern  birds  now  winging  their  way  to  northern  homes 
will  sing  over  thy  grave  that  thy  immortal  spirit  still  lives  ;  and 
we  feel  to-day  that  thou  didst  fall  upon  the  battle-field  that  man 
might  be  free.  As  he  died,  the  last  chain,  the  last  fetter,  fell 
from  the  limbs  of  man  ;  as  he  died,  slavery  was  wiped  from  the 
soil  that  had  been  consecrated  and  hallowed  to  freedom  ;  as  he 
died,  the  upper  clouds  opened  to  receive  him,  with  the  welcome 
plaudit,  there  shall  be  peace  and  good-will  toward  man.  We 
leave  thee  now.  The  flowers  may  fade,  but  green  in  our  memo- 
ry shall  live  Lytle,  the  poet,  the  scholar,  the  gentleman,  and  the 
soldier.  Here 

"  On  fame's  eternal  camping  ground 

Thy  solemn  tent  is  spread, 
While  glory  guards  with  solemn  ronnd 
The  bivouac  of  the  dead." 

AT  SPRINGFIELD,  OHIO. 

The  people,  with  a  solemn  feeling  of  reverence,  came  from 
the  city  and  country,  and,  with  the  first  flowers  of  spring,  deco- 
rated the  graves  of  those  who  offered  their  lives  as  a  sacrifice 
upon  the  altar  of  their  country.  Fern  Cliff  and  Greenmount 
were  both  visited  during  the  forenoon  by  members  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  and  those  interested  in  the  decoration 
of  the  last  resting-places  of  our  valorous  soldiers.  The  business 
houses  of  the  city  were  closed  from  one  to  four  o'clock  p.  M.,  and 
those  who  attended  the  exercises  at  Fern  Cliff,  according  to  cor- 
rect count,  numbered  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty  seven. 
A  stand  on  the  beautiful  slope  at  the  approach  to  the  cemetery 
had  been  erected,  and  appropriately  draped  with  national  flags. 
The  national  colors  were  also  flying  from  the  soldiers'  mound ; 
and  all  the  graves  were  more  or  less  strewn  with  flowers,  while 
some  were  decorated  in  the  most  beautiful  manner. 


432  MEMORIAL   CEREMONIES 

Upon  the  drooping  branches  of  a  tree,  at  the  foot  of  Linden 
Avenue,  was  hung  a  tasteful  bouquet,  to  which  was  attached  a 
paper  bearing  these  words :  "  In  memory  of  one,  of  whose  rest- 
ing-place nothing  is  known.  Wounded  by  Indians  in  Arizona, 
he  wandered  away  before  help  could  reach  him,  and  of  his  fate 
nothing  is  known  to  this  day. 

At  three  p.  M.,  music  by  the  band  announced  that  the  exer- 
cises at  the  stand  were  soon  to  commence,  and,  when  the  band 
ceased  flaying,  a  prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  Mr.  Ross. 


EBV.  MR.  BAUMME'S  ADDRESS. 


We  are  assembled  here  to-day,  relatives,  comrades,  and 
friends  of  our  noble  soldiers  who  sacrificed  their  lives  in  the  late 
war,  that  we  may  join  in  paying  another  well-deserved  tribute 
to  their  hallowed  memory. 

It  is  proper  that  all  of  the  nation  who  have  the  loyalty  to 
prompt  to  it  should  be  permitted  to  join  this  expression  of  love 
and  regard  for  these  fallen  heroes.  They  belonged  to  the  whole 
nation ;  fought  and  died  for  the  preservation  of  its  Government 
and  liberties.  The  sacrifices  they  made  resulted,  under  God's 
blessing,  in  a  glorious  success,  whose  benefits  became  our  com- 
mon heritage.  In  leaving  all  personal  and  private  interests  for 
the  common  good,  they  became,  in  assuming  the  soldier's  armor, 
ours.  Their  glory  is  our  glory  as  a  nation.  We  claim,  as  a 
loyal  people,  their  blessed  memory ;  their  sacred  graves  as  ours. 
Their  noble  deeds  have  ennobled  the  national  heart.  Their 
sacrifices  not  only  saved  the  nation  in  its  hour  of  peril,  but  has 
lifted  us  still  higher  in  the  esteem  of  other  Governments,  and 
given  us  a  potent  influence  in  their  councils.  We  claim  their 
graves,  therefore,  as  ours  as  a  nation,  and  we  intend  to  express 
by  this  tribute  of  fairest  flowers,  moistened  by  widows'  tears ; 
sacred  hymns  made  patriotic  by  tremulous  voices  of  the  father- 
less children,  mourning  parents,  and  affectionate  brothers  and 
sisters ;  of  national  airs  and  death  marches,  played  on  trumpets 
heard  on  the  battle-fields.  We  mean  by  this  majestic  tribute, 
paid  to-day  in  every  city  and  town  throughout  the  national  bor- 
ders, where  are  loyal  graves  and  loyal  hands  to  decorate  them, 
to  express  our  undying  and  undiminished  love  and  veneration 
for  these  noble  warriors.  These  tastily  arranged  bouquets,  and 
wreaths,  and  mottoes,  speak  the  nation's  heart.  It  is  a  magnifi- 
cent holocaust,  saying,  in  the  tender  language  of  the  nation's 
fairest  works  and  sweetest  voices,  that  if  there  be  one  sacred  in- 
tention firmly  fixed  in  the  nation's  heart,  it  is  that  the  memory 
and  glory  of  these  patriot  soldiers  shall  never  fade.  They  won. 


AT   THE    SOLDIEBS'    GRAVES.  433 

the  nation's  love  by  the  noblest  deeds,  performed  in  the  most 
generous  way,  and  they  shall  live  in  the  nation's  heart,  and  his- 
tory, and  songs,  and  speeches.  And  the  longer  the  nation's  ex- 
istence may  by  Heaven's  favor  be  prolonged,  the  stronger  and 
deeper  will  the  nation's  gratitude  to,  and  veneration  for  them 
become. 

Their  heroic  deeds  take  rank  in  that  moral  grandeur  whose 
full  appreciation  requires  the  lapse  of  thoughtful  years.  Their 
greatness,  heartily  as  it  is  recognized  now,  will  grow  more  in 
splendor  as  the  fruits  of  their  victory  shall  fall  in  successive 
years  to  enrich  the  nation's  history.  It  has  happened  to  them 
as  to  all  prominent  actors  in  either  religious  or  political  con- 
tests, that  the  excellency  of  their  deeds  could  not  be  fully  dis- 
covered until  the  smoke  and  dust  of  battle  had  been  swept  away. 
In  such  time  the  aspersions  of  slandering  enemies  and  the  jeal- 
ousy of  lukewarm  associates,  and  the  timidity  of  friends  in 
faintly  claiming  deserved  praise,  all  conspire  in  withholding  that 
generous  award  of  honor  which  after  generations  take  delight 
in  bestowing.  Thus  the  generations  to  come  will  continue  the 
repetition  of  the  tributes  to  these  patriots  which  we  have  this 
day  inaugurated,  rehearsing  with  ever  increasing  praise  the 
moral  grandeur  of  their  deeds.  As  to-day's  offerings  have  been 
made  with  a  spontaneity  of  affection  that  shows  that  it  was  no 
task,  so  a  grateful  people  will  never  weary  in  honoring  those 
who  preserved  its  liberties  at  the  sacrifice  of  their  lives,  as  they 
do  not  weary  in  honoring  those  earlier  patriots  who  thus  won 
their  liberties. 

And  it  may  be  said  without  detracting  from  our  revolution- 
ary patriots,  that  the  services  of  those  slain  in  the  late  war  will 
rank  as  high  as  theirs.  There  was  less  sacrifice  of  personal  feel- 
ing and  national  pride  on  the  part  of  the  revolutionary  patriots 
in  taking  up  arms  against  a  nation,  to  which  but  a  few  of  them 
were  bound  by  near  ties  of  kinship,  and  which  geographically, 
as  well  as  by  sympathy,  was  so  far  removed  from  them.  The 
issue  between  them  and  the  crown  of  England  was  based  on 
principles  more  clearly  defined  and  distinguished,  while  the 
loyal  soldiery  in  the  late  war  were  called  to  take  up  arms  against 
a  portion  of  their  own  people  at  a  great  sacrifice  of  pride,  as 
we  were  taunted  with  being  guilty  of  engaging  in  a  civil  war 
of  persecution  on  the  part  of  the  stronger  against  the  weaker, 
and  to  engage  in  deadly  strife  with  a  people  whose  fathers  had 
sat  with  our  fathers  in  the  halls  of  legislation,  whose  sons  many 
of  us  had  associated  with  pleasantly  in  school  days,  and  not  a 
few  of  whom  were  near  of  kin  to  thousands  of  our  families. 
Moreover  it  required  a  finer  appreciation  of  the  rights  and  in- 
28 


434  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

alienable  liberties  of  the  people  of  other  races,  a  teener  sense 
of  justice  bet  ween  man  and  man,  and  a  broader  love  of  our  race, 
to  engage  in  the  last  war,  whose  issue  was  upon  principles  affect- 
ing the  rights  of  a  large  class  whom  the  revolutionary  fathers 
left  in  servitude  while  they  fought  for  their  own  liberties  With- 
out detracting  one  iota  from  the  perpetual  honor  so  fittingly  be- 
stowed upon  the  fathers,  we  may  say  of  these  that  they  and  their 
deeds  claim  the  fulfilment  of  the  inspired  author,  that  "the  last 
shall  be  first."  The  work  of  those  sleeping  in  these  graves 
amid  which  we  are  assembled,  will  make  unrivalled  chapters  in 
the  world's  history. 

It  is  fitting  that  these  decorations  should  be  made  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  by  whose  Com- 
mander-in-Chief  the  different  encampments  throughout  the 
nation  were  joined  with  relatives  and  friends  in  this  tribute. 
Not  only  is  this  organization  made  up  of  the  surviving  comrades 
of  the  dead  we  thus  honor,  and  therefore  best  capable  of  appre- 
ciating the  heroism  that  brought  them  to  their  untimely  graves, 
but  one  of  its  primal  objects  is  to  foster  and  perpetuate  the 
friendship  and  associations  of  camp  life,  all  of  which  have  been 
made  strong  by  hardships  shared,  and  secured  by  stronger  claims 
to  all. 

In  this  organization  we  but  follow  the  example  set  by  Wash- 
ington and  his  surviving  comrades,  who  formed  a  similar  society 
for  this  purpose  after  the  close  of  the  revolutionary  war.  And 
while  cherishing  our  friendship  and  regard  for  each  other,  we 
take  sad  pleasure  in  joining  with  relatives  and  in  perpetuating 
our  love  and  veneration  for  our  departed  comrades. 

And  now,  fellow-citizens,  let  us  offer  year  by  year  the  incense 
of  spring  flowers  as  incense  to  their  memory,  while  we  offer  the 
incense  of  a  heart's  gratitude  to  our  Heavenly  Father  for  giving 
such  men  to  us  in  such  a  time  of  need,  for  such  a  host  as  they, 
and  for  His  mercy  in  hearing  the  nation's  daily  prayer,  and  for 
His  blessing  upon  their  endeavors  in  behalf  of  our  tottering 
government.  We  shall  go  away  from  each  successive  visit  to 
their  graves,  feeling  that  we  have  been  lifted  up  into  a  nobler 
spirit  of  patriotism,  that  a  sanctifying  influence  has  spread  over 
our  minds  and  hearts — as  here  we  have  recalled  the  scenes  of 
their  childhood  days  in  homes  and  in  sports  shared  with  us,  as 
we  have  recalled  the  days  when  they  left  our  firesides  and  we 
bade  them  "  Go  to  the  battle,"  invoking  God's  protecting  bles- 
sing upon  them ;  the  anxiety  with  which  we  looked  over  the 
lists  of  the  dead  and  wounded  in  reports  of  battles,  and  again 
when  their  lifeless  forms  lay  before  us,  or  tidings  reached  us  that 
they  were  dead  and  the  place  of  their  burial  unknown — sadness 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.         435 

will  deepen  on  our  hearts,  but  hallowed  fruit  will  come  of  such 
visits  a-;  this.  Then  let  us  do  it  for  our  sakes.  They  need  not 
these  offers  of  sorrowing  love.  They  live,  as  one  has  said,  in  a 
higher,  broader  sense  than  any  of  us.  They  live  in  a  disem- 
bodied spirit  of  love  of  country,  of  equal  rights,  of  self-denial, 
which  spreads  its  inspirations  through  all  hearts  which  are  in  a 
frame  of  feeling  to  imbibe  it.  Of  them  we  may  truly  say, 

"They  need 

No  statues  nor  inscriptions  to  reveal 
Tlieir  greatness.     It  is  round  them,  and  the  joy 
"With  which  their  children  tread  the  hallowed  ground 
That  holds  their  venerated  bone*,  the  peace      - 
That  smiles  on  all  they  fought  for,  and  the  wealth 
That  clothes  the  land  they  rescued — theie  though  mute, 
As  feeling  ever  is  when  deepest — these 
Are  monuments  more  lasting  than  the  fanes 
Beared  to  the  kings  and  demigods  of  old. 

Then  let  us  strew  the  sod 

With  the  first  flowers  of  spring,  and  make  to  them 
An  offering  of  the  plenty  nature  gives-" 

ADDRESS   BY  DR.   BPRECHKR. 

It  was  not  an  unmeaning  ceremony,  or  without  reason,  in 
the  Grand  Army,  making  this  floral  offering  in  memory  of 
those  who  fell  in  the  cause  of  human  liberty,  and  the  great 
martyr  of  a  nation  of  freemen.  The  sacrifice  was  for  all,  and 
all  should  keep  fresh  their  memories  and  their  illustrious  deeds'. 

Our  temporal  institutions,  extending  over  the  length  and 
breadth  of  this  mighty  land,  was  a  cause  for  rejoicing.  They 
had  been  perpetuated  by  the  heroic  dead,  especially  honored 
this  day  by  the  people  of'  this  great  nation,  and  we  stood  here 
enjoying  the  blessings  and  immunities  of  the  thousands  who 
offered  themselves  as  living  sacrifices  for  those  dear  privileges ; 
and  we  stood  to-day  a  great  nation,  w,ith  our  territory  unbroken, 
mightier,  prouder,  grander,  and  exercising  more  influence  than 
any  on  earth.  Why  was  it  ?  The  country  was  not  excited  now. 
Our  forefathers  had  passed  through  a  great  Revolution,  and 
through  valor  and  privations  had  bequeathed  us  a  heritage,  but 
not  without  a  great  evil.  It,  with  the  strife  it  had  engendered, 
hung  over  us  day  by  day  and  year  by  year,  until,  as  a  free  peo- 
ple, loving  the  great  principles  which  many  of  them  laid  down 
their  lives  for,  we  could  stand  it  no  longer.  It  must  be  settled. 
The  crisis  came,  and  well  did  he  remember  the  morning  that 
the  President's  call  for  seventy-five  thousand  men  flashed  over 
the  country  with  lightning  speed.  The  national  emblem  had 
been  torn  from  the  ramparts  of  Fort  J3umter,  but  the  great  men 


436  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

in  Congress  said  the  flag  should  rise  again.  It  was  a  time  of 
great  fear 'and  trembling,  and  had  we  known  all  that  would 
happen  ere  the  old  flag  should  again  be  unfurled  over  the  land, 
it  would  have  been  greater.  It  had  taken  millions  for  the  tight, 
and  hundreds  of  thousands  for  the  sacrifice.  To  seventy-five 
thousand  were  added  three  hundred  thousand  more;  and  tramp, 
tramp,  they  come,  three  hundred  thousand  more,  Father  Abra- 
ham. But  many  never  returned.  But  was  it  not  meet  for  those 
who  did,  to  remember  their  fallen  comrades,  and  strew  their 
graves  with  the  early  tokens  of  Spring  ?  Bring  the  fresh  blos- 
soms from  the  green  wood,  and  year  after  year  thus  remember 
them. 

He  had  looked  back  over  the  past,  and  asked  himself  what 
would  have  been  the  fate  of  liberty  in  the  world,  had  not  the 
good  men  of  this  nation  responded  favorably  to  the  call ;  and 
imagined  the  great  nation  and  the  liberties  we  enjoy  stamped 
deep  beneath  the  heel  of  despotism.  How  long  again  before  the 
apostles  of  liberty  would  rise  ?  He  fancied  he  could  look  back 
to  1861,  and  see  some  noble  spirit  rise  from  the  wreck  of  free- 
dom, and  grasp  at  the  great  principles  of  human  rights,  aban- 
doned to  its  enemies.  But  the  loyal  men  of  the  nation  had 
willed  otherwise,  and  the  great  principles  of  human  liberty  still 
survive  among  us.  What  more  appropriate  offerings  could  we 
bear  to  the  graves  of  a  nation's  dead  than  flowers  ?  They  were 
fit,  and  should  be  offered  at  the  shrines  of  the  fallen  in  Liberty's 
cause  throughout  the  civilized  world.  Let  the  custom  be  re- 
peated next  year,  and  continued  from  year  to  year.  They  gave 
their  lives  to  the  country,  and  they  are  ours,  and  we  should 
stand  a  united  people  in  the  glorious  work  of  honoring  their 
memories  all  over  the  land. 

ADDRESS   OF  T.   P.   MCGKEW,    ESQ. 

Thos.  F.  McGrew,  Esq.,  followed  in  an  address  of  much 
earnestness  and  power.  He  remarked  that  there  are  in  the  his- 
tory of  every  nation  grpat  battles — memorable  conflicts  in  which 
its  destiny  is  shaped  and  determined.  To  the  heroes  of  such 
struggles  monuments  \vere  erected  and  peculiar  honors  were 
paid. 

"With  other  nations,  it  was  the  conspicuous  leaders  in  such 
contests  to  whom  the  tributes  of  respect  were  offered  ;  witli  us, 
it  was  the  common  soldier  whose  deeds  we  keep  in  grateful  re- 
membrance, and  to  whose  remains  we  devote  our  reverent  and 
thankful  offerings.  Mr.  McGrew  proceeded  to  review  the  prog- 
ress of  the  great  historical  struggles  for  freedom,  carried  on  first 
among  European  nations,  and  then,  upon  a  broader  and  worthier 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  437 


tion,  in  onr  own  country.     In  England,  the  rightful  pre- 
nice  of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  the  principle  of  pelf- 


foundation, 
dominance 

government  as  opposed  to  the  absolutism  of  monarchy,  had  been 
asserted  and  established.  In  America,  it  Y.'JIS.  not  only  the  idea 
of  popular  government  which  had  been  vindicated,  but  the  yet 
loftier  and  more  comprehensive  principle  of  equality  of  rights, 
irrespective  of  arbitrary  and  accidental  distinctions — the  doc- 
trine of  a  common  humanity,  which  is  the  inspiration  and  vital 
element  of  our  republican  institutions. 

The  Proclamation  of  Emancipation  was  the  grand  character- 
istic event  of  our  recent  struggle.  It  determined  the  question 
whether  the  people,  even  to  the  lowest  and  humblest  citizen, 
should  share,  equally  and  justly,  the  sovereignty  which  of  right 
belongs  to  them.  Four  millions  of  our  fellow-beings  constituted 
the  race  for  whom  this  question  was  decided,  whose  liberties 
were  thus  solemnly  guaranteed,  and  who  were  thereby  lifted 
from  hopeless  degradation  into  the  light  of  freedom,  education, 
and  independent  citizenship. 

To  the  brave  men  who  won  for  our  country,  and  for  the 
human  race,  this  memorable  triumph,  it  was  meet  that  we  should 
pay  these  tokens  of  respect  and  adorn  their  hallowed  resting- 
places  with  wreaths  and  evergreens — the  tokens  of  mingled 
grief  and  gratitude.  Our  community  had  been  favored  above 
many  others,  in  that  so  few,  comparatively,  of  the  great  num- 
ber of  its  brave  sons  who  had  gone  forth  to  protect  and  preserve 
the  Government,  had  failed  to  return  to  us. 

But  we  were  still  called  upon  to  mourn  the  loss  of  many  of 
our  dearest  and  noblest,  whose  lives  have  been  sacrificed  for 
freedom.  Two  such  instances  came  freshly  to  the  speaker's 
memory,  and  he  would  ask  permission  to  recall  briefly  the  cir- 
cumstances of  their  death.  One  was  a  surgeon  of  a  regiment 
serving  in  the  far  West,  who  was  wounded  by  Indians,  and,  be- 
fore help  could  reach  him,  had  wandered  away,  and  was  never 
heard  of  more.  The  manner  of  his  death,  and  the  place  where 
rest  his  remains,  were  alike  unknown.  The  friends  of  that  sol- 
dier had  placed  a  bouquet  of  flowers  on  a  drooping  bough  in 
this  cemetery  to-day,  with  a  record  of  his  loss,  as  follows  :  "  In 
memory  of  one  of  whose  resting-place  nothing  is  known. 
Wounded  by  Indians  in  Arizona,  he  wandered  away  before  help 
could  reach' him,  and  of  his  fate  nothing  is  known  to  this  day. 

The  missing  soldier  was  a  surgeon  in  the  U.  S.  Army,  and  a 
nephew  of  E.  M.  Stanton,  late  Secretary  of  War. 

The  other  case  was  that  of  John  Way,  a  soldier  of  the  44th 
Regiment,  who  served  under  the  flag  of  his  country  until  he 
was  captured  by  the  enemy,  and  consigned  to  that  charnel-house 


438  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

of  the  Rebellion,  the  prison-pen  of  Andersonville.  There  he 
died  of  starvation.  In  his  last  agonizing  moments  we  may  well 
believe  that  he  asked  himself,  "  Will  this  great  nation,  in  whose 
cause  I  perish,  remember  me  in  the  day  of  its  triumph  and  the 
bright  future  of  prosperity  and  grandeur  which  lies  before  it  (  " 
We  are  here  to-day  to  answer  that  question — to  answer  it  by 
tokens  of  grateful  recollection  and  imperishable  honor.  No ! 
the  heroes  of  the  war  which  saved  us  from  dishonor  and  ruin 
are  not  forgotten.  They  will  be  treasured  in  the  hearts  of  this 
people  as  long  as  time  shall  endure.  Mr.  McGrew  concluded 
his  address  with  an  eloquent  tribute  to  the  memory  of  the 
Union  soldiers  who  died  under  the  flag. 

The  band  followed  with  a  selection  of  music,  after  which  the 
benediction  was  pronounced  by  Rev.  S.  Williams,  and  the  audi- 
ence slowly  dispersed. 

AT  FKEMONT,  OHIO. 

Shortly  after  one  o'clock  the  procession  moved  towards  Oak 
Wood  Cemetery,  by  way  of  Ballville,  in  the  following  order : — 
1st.  Chief  Marshal,  Major  A.  J.  Snyder;  2d.  Fremont  Brass 
Band  ;  3d.  Carriage  with  minister  and  speakers ;  4th.  Color- 
bearers  :  Mr.  Brockway  carrying  the  United  States  Flag,  and 
Mr.  John  Ramsey  carrying  the  old  State  Flag  of  the  72d  O.  Y. 
I.,  both  flags  draped  in  mourning;  5th.  Soldiers  on  foot ;  6th. 
Omnibuses  and  carriages  with  the  committee  of  ladies  who  had 
charge  of  the  bouquets;  7th.  Citizens  in  carriages.  The  pro- 
cession moved  through  town  to  the  beautiful  music  of  the  Band. 
The  number  of  carnages  in  line,  and  those  which  went  to  the 
Cemetery  by  other  roads,  numbered  nearly  three  hundred,  while 
the  crowd  in  the  cemetery  was  estimated  at  from  two  to  three 
thousand.  At  the  cemetery  the  Ballville  people  and  the  friends 
from  the  surrounding  county  had  already  arrived.  A  speaker's 
stand  was  erected  in  the  beautiful  grove,  on  which  the  flags 
were  placed.  The  graves  of  soldiers  were  marked  by  small  na- 
tional flags.  The  proceedings  were  opened  with  prayer  by  Rev. 
Mr.  Wykes,  after  which  there  was  vocal  music.  The  names  of 
soldiers  buried  in  both  cemeteries  were  then  read  by  Major  D. 
C.  Smith.  The  list  is  as  follows: 

ROLL  OF  HONOR. — Cak  Wood  Cemetery :  John  Stahl,  Eugene 
Rawson,  Maj.  72d  O.  Y.  I.,  Edward  Lewis,  John  Cochran,  Lieut., 
William  Scrymager,  72d  O.  Y.  I.,  Joseph  Gilmore,  72dO.  Y.  I., 
Tobias  Hershey,  J.  Purdy,  72d  O.  Y.  I.,  John  Kessler,  Maj. 
49th  O.  Y.  I.,  I.  O.  Totten,  49th  O.  Y.  I.,  Chas.  Wood,  Maj. 
51st  O.  Y.  I.,  S.  Cook,  72d  O.  Y.  I.,  Jacob  Snyder,  72d  O.  Y.  L, 
George  Stewart,  25th  O.  Y.  I.,  Isaac  Nigh,  25th  O.  Y.  I.,  J. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        439 

Lemmon,  8th  O.  Y.  I.,  M.  Morrison,  8th  O.  Y.  I,  Manville 
Moore,  8th  O.  Y.  1.,  A.  J.  Moore,  8th  O.  Y.  I.,  Charleston 
Tyler,  21st  O.  Y.  I.,  John  Peters,  8th  O.  Y.  I.,  William  Kirk, 
8th  O.  Y.  I.,  Andrew  Fisher,  72d  O.  Y.  I.,  Peter  Glass,  72d  O. 
Y.  I.,  I.  W.  Stewart,  William  Masou,  72d  O.  Y.  I.,  Chester 
Buckland,  72d  O.  Y.  I.  Old  Cemetery :  Richard  S.  Beaugrand, 
57th  O.  Y.  I.,  Henry  Michaels,  49th  O.  Y.  I.,  Win.  Parish,  8th 
O.O.,  Wm.  Fields,  8th  O.  Y.  I.,  Grant  Holcomh,  59th  O.  Y.  I., 
A.  H.  Holcornb,  72d  O.  Y.  I.,  L.  Holcomb,  169th  O.  Y.  L, 
—  Hoik,  72d  O.  Y.  L,  F.  W.  Russell,  8th  O.  Y.  I.,  —  Coles, 
8th  O.  Y.  I.,  Seth  Cloud,  72d  O.  Y.  L,  --  Pryor,  72d  O.  Y.  L, 
Geo.  Tillotson,  Capt.  8th  O.  Y.  L,  --  Boyer,  Win.  JSyce,  lllth 
0.  Y.  I.  Private  Cemetery :  Joseph  Williams,  8th '  O.  Y.  L, 
Gilbert  Williams. 

The  band  then  played  a  dirge,  and  the  president  of  the  day, 
Col.  J.  R.  Bartlett,  announced  the  speakers,  Hon.  Homer 
Everett,  J.  K.  Hord,  and  H.  W.  Winslow.  Mr.  Everett  spoke 
first,  as  follows : 

The  list  of  the  honored  dead,  just  announced,  contains  many 
dear  personal  friends,  the  mention  of  whose  names  here  has 
awakened  emotions  that  unfit  me  to  speak  and  almost  choke 
utterance.  You  will  pardon  me,  therefore,  for  brevity  and  im- 
perfections of  thought  and  speech. 

It  was  a  noble  impulse  which  prompted  the  surviving  sol- 
diers of  the  late  war  for  American  Liberty  and  Union,  to  thus 
do  honor  at  the  graves  of  their  departed  comrades.  And  the 
means  by  which  it  is  to  be  done,  decking  their  last  resting-places 
with  earth's  brightest  and  sweetest  flowers,  was  as  happy  in  con- 
ception as  the  motive  was  noble. 

By  the  ceremonies  we  not  only  honor  ourselves  and  the 
dead,  but  assure  the  surviving  soldiers  mingled  with  us,  of  a 
people's  gratitude,  and  that  they  too  are  and  will  be  held  in 
grateful  remembrance.  We  do  well  to  strew  flowers  on  the 
graves  of  the  children  of  the  republic — the  martyrs.  In  the 
book  of  nature,  where  every  emotional,  mental,  and  spiritual 
quality  of  humanity  may  find  its  correspondence  and  illustra- 
tion, flowers  represent  good  aftections,  thoughts,  and  inten- 
tions toward  othA-s.  As  the  flower  precedes  the  fruit,  and  gives 
notice  of  its  coming,  so  good  thoughts,  affections,  and  inten- 
tions precede  and  give  promise  of  deeds  in  love  to  others.  These 
cherished  dead  are  now  beyond  the  reach  of  our  good  deeds  ;  to 
bring  fruits  to  them  would  be  vain,  but  to  indulge  good  thoughts 
and  affections  toward  them,  should  enlarge  our  souls  and  wake 
in  our  breasts  a  more  vigorous  determination  to  sacrifice  our- 
selves for  the  good  of  others.  The  indulgence  in  such  thoughts 


440  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

and  intentions  may  lead  ns  so  to  act  and  speak  that  those  who 
come  after  us  will  be  encouraged  by  our  instruction  and  ex- 
ample to  sacrifice  themselves  if  need  be,  when  the  good  of  the 
country  and  liberty  shall  demand  it. 

The  great  attendance  on  this  occasion  from  far  and  near, 
attests  the  fact,  that  the  suggestion  was  only  the  publication  of 
a  sentiment  and  desire  latent  in  every  loyal  heart,  and  already 
yearning  for  expression.  It  seems  as  if  the  people  were  moved 
by  one  spontaneous  impulse  to  come  up  and  manifest  their 
thanks  to  those  who  died  that  the  nation  might  live.  The  fath- 
ers and  mothers,  the  widows,  the  orphans,  and  the  affianced  of 
the  dead  heroes  are  here.  They  visit  again  the  sacred  ground 
where  their  brightest  hopes  and  the  objects  of  their  fondest 
affections  are  buried.  The  whole  people  have  come  with  them 
to  acknowledge  their  gratitude  for  their  sacrifices  and  sufferings 
for  the  common  good.  The  flag  of  the  Union,  the  glorious 
Stars  and  Stripes  are  upon  the  grave  of  every  departed  soldier 
here,  and  seems  as  if  it  would  almost  stir  to  life  again  the  heart 
that  could  utter  with  his  expiring  breath : 

"  Then  wrap  the  flag  around  me,  boys, 

To  die  will  be  most  sweet, 
With  Freedom's  starry  emblem,  boys, 
To  be  my  winding  sheet." 

While  doing  honor  to  those  heroes  whose  mortal  remains  are 
buried  here,  we  must  not  forget  that  many  of  our  patriotic  braves 
are  buried  in  far  distant  localities ;  perchance  in  the  terrible 
exigencies  of  war  some  were  never  buried,  and  their  bones  are 
mouldering  where  they  fell.  Let  us,  therefore,  now  and  here 
proclaim  that  our  offerings  are  tokens  of  gratitude,  not  only  to 
those  buried  near  us,  but  to  every  brave  soldier  who  lost  his  life 
in  the  cause  of  the  Union.  Let  us  extract  some  wisdom  from  the 
hour  and  the  occasion.  Why  were  these  brave  men  sacrificed  ? 
Nothing  more  nor  less,  my  friends,  than  to  settle  an  error  in 
statesmanship.  By  false  teaching,  two  conflicting  ideas  were 
taught  amongst  the  people  and  arrayed  them  in  hostile  parties. 
This  is  no  time  nor  place  to  discuss  political  questions,  but  lest  I 
be  misunderstood,  let  me  say,  that  this  conflic^  on  one  side,  was 
that  we  were  not  a  nation  but  a  confederation  of  sovereign 
States,  which  at  all  times  have  the  right  to  withdraw  from  the 
Union.  On  the  other  side  it  was  contended  that  the  United 
States  has  a  nationality,  a  common  constitution,  a  common  flag, 
with  a  government  having  the  right  to  enforce  its  own  laws  and 
preserve  its  existence  by  force  against  all  enemies,  within  or 
without.  These  two  ideas  moved  the  contending  hosts  on  the 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  441 

battle-fields  of  the  late,  terrible  conflict  of  arms.  By  the  sword 
it  is  decided  that  we  HAVK  a  common  country,  a  common  flag, 
and  that  the  Union  of  these  States  is  not  a  rope  of  sand,  but  a 
bond  so  strong  that  no  foe  can  break  it.  Let  us  all  then  accept 
the  teachings  of  the  hour,  expel  from  our  minds  the  fallacy  it 
has  cost  so  much  to  settle,  and  here  by  the  graves  of  these  mar- 
tyrs to  liberty — inspired  by  the  sacrifices  they  have  made,  resolve, 
that  cost  what  it  may  this  "  Union  must  and  shall  be  preserved." 

At  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  EVERETT'S  speech,  there  was  an- 
other song  by  the  choir.  Mr.  HORD  then  addressed  the  assem- 
blage as  follows : 

The  lateness  of  the  hour  and  the  many  duties  of  the  day 
yet  to  be  performed,  admonish  me  not  to  detain  you  longer  than 
the  ten  minutes  allotted  to  me  by  the  committee.  I  am  glad  to 
perform  the  part  assigned  to  me  in  this  day's  proceedings,  and 
to  participate  with  you  in  these  interesting  ceremonies.  We 
have  met  to  strew  flowers  as  mementoes  of  our  affection  upon 
the  graves  of  America's  sacred  dead.  By  this  we  confer  no 
benefit  upon  the  illustrious  patriots  who  are  quietly  sleeping  in 
their  hallowed  tombs,  but  we  testify  to  their  surviving  comrades 
whom  we  exhorted  in  the  name  of  our  country,  of  liberty,  of 
Christianity,  and  of  the  revolutionary  fathers,  to  follow  the  flag 
of  the  nation  to  the  field  of  carnage  and  death,  assuring  them 
of  the  tiiture  love  and  gratitude  of  their  country,  and  the  grate- 
ful remembrance  of  posterity;  that  those  were  no  idle  words, 
but  meant  in  truth  that  they  should  ever  have  a  dwelling-place 
in  the  hearts  of  their  grateful  countrymen.  No  idle  curiosity 
IMS  prompted  this  immense  gathering.  The  same  impulse  which 
has  brought  us  together ;  devotion  to  our  country  and  love  for 
her  defenders ;  is  the  mainspring  to  the  highest  and  noblest 
action,  the  moving  power  which  makes  a  free  people  great  and 
respe'ted.  We  celebrate  to-day  the  patriotic  devotion  and  self- 
sacrifice  of  those  who  died  that  this  Nation  might  live.  And 
while  we  lament  their  untimely  death,  we  mourn  not  as  if  they 
had  died  in  vain.  Though  they  have  departed  from  amongst 
us,  they  are  not  lost;  their  images  and  their  memory  are  cher- 
ished, not  alone  by  their  relatives  and  personal  friends,  but  by 
the  whole  community,  and  by  their  countrymen  of  the  present 
and  future  generations  ;  and  their  patriotism  and  devotion  will 
render  their  names  illustrious  and  cause  them  to  live  forever. 
All  people  in  all  ages,  of  all  nationalities  and  religions,  have  ever 
paid  the  highest  respect  and  honor  to  the  memories  of  those  who 
died  for  their  country,  for  liberty,  and  the  rights  of  man.  They 
have  been  the  heroes  and  demigods  before  whom  the  people  have 
bowed  down  and  worshiped.  And  the  feeling  which  prompts 


442  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

this  reverence  is  not  irreligious.  It  is  but  an  acknowledgment 
of  the  great  service  and  sacrifice  of  such  as  were  willing  to  be- 
come martyrs  for  the  good  of  the  people.  It  seems  to  be  so 
ordered  in  the  economy  of  this  world,  that  no  great  and  lasting 
good  can  be  accomplished  but  at  the  cost  of  great  sacrifices.  We 
cannot  tell  why  this  should  be,  but  history  proves  the  truth 
of  the  assertion.  No  people  ever  secured  their  liberty  and  estab- 
lished free  institutions  but  by  the  shedding  of  blood.  The  ancient 
republics  renowned  in  history,  and  the  empires  which  have 
swayed  the  destinies  of  the  world  reached  their  success  and 
greatness  through  seas  of  blood.  And  all  the  kingdoms  and 
empires  of  modern  times  which  have  become  great  and  power- 
ful, have  reached  their  preeminence  through  the  blood  of  their 
citizens,  flowing  for  centuries  until,  as  it  were,  it  reached  to  the 
bridle-bits  of  the  horses  of  their  warriors. 

This  is  the  fearful  price  of  National  life,  vitality  and  power, 
of  the  supremacy  of  law  and  order,  and  the  predominance  of 
right  over  lawless  might  and  mob  violence.  Our  own  Republic 
was  established  after  eight  long  years  of  bloody  strife,  and  War- 
ren was  the  first  hero  who  fell  in  the  strife.  Though  the  great 
name  of  Washington  has  seemed  to  eclipse  all  others,  yet  in  the 
hearts  of  the  people,  Warren  and  his  fallen  compatriots  are 
cherished  as  the  real  saviors  of  the  Country.  And  when  we 
look  back  over  the  record  of  that  great  struggle,  we  find  the 
names  of  many  who  have  made  its  battle-fields  illustrious  by 
their  heroic  death.  Without  the  shedding  of  their  blood,  without 
the  noble  sacrifice  of  those  great  and  good  men  who,  uninfluenced 
by  selfishness,  but  prompted  only  by  a  love  of  Country,  and  a 
desire  to  promote  the  welfare  of  their  fellow  men,  willingly  laid 
down  their  lives,  the  establishment  of  the  American  Republic 
could  never  have  been  accomplished.  As  the  first  period  of  our 
history  opened  amid  the  fires  of  the  Revolution,  so  the  second 
has  been  inaugurated  'amid  the  carnage  of  the  greatest  battle- 
fields of  the  world.  Before  we  could  enter  upon  the  stage  of 
this  new  era,  and  fulfill  its  destiny,  it  seemed  to  be  necessary 
that  we  should  pass  through  this  second  baptism  of  fire  and 
blood,  to  fit  us  for  the  accomplishment  of  our  great  and  respon- 
sible duties.  We  have  emerged  from  this  Red  Sea  of  affliction, 
and  are  here  to  honor  such  as  fell  in  the  struggle.  As  I  see  the 
faces  of  the  mothers,  wives,  daughters  and  sisters  of  the  buried 
dead,  I  am  reminded  of  incidents  which  occurred  upon  the  bat- 
tle-field six  years  ago  to-day.  I  saw  on  the  field,  stiff  in  death, 
a%  soldier  from  Georgia,  with  an  open  Testament,  a  gift  from  his 
wife,  clasped  in  his  icy  hand.  It  was  not  opened  to  any  of  the 
passages  which  might  have  contained  words  of  promise  and 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        443 

hope  for  himself,  but  at  a  page  on  the  fly  leaf  where  were  writ- 
ten the  parting  words  of  his  wife,  dedicating  to  him  the  sacred 
volume.  Another  soldier,  of  General  Sickles'  command,  as  he 
lay  cold  and  lifeless,  held  aloft  in  his  hand  a  letter.  I  glanced 
through  its  contents,  and  found  that  it  was  from  her,  who,  doubt- 
less, that  night  as  the  telegraph  told  its  tale  of  death,  was  bro- 
ken-hearted. An  officer  in  our  regiment,  as  he  double-quicked 
into  the  line  of  battle  amid  a  hails-torm  of  bullets  and  bursting 
shells,  took  from  his  pocket  the  picture  of  his  wife,  and, 
kissing  it,  his  last  words  were  "  F  arewell,  wife ! "  A  soldier,  as 
the  battle  commenced,  came  to  his  captain  and  said  "  I  shall  not 
survive  this  battle,  but  I  am  determined  to  do  my  duty.  Tell 
my  sister,  she  who  gave  me  her  last  blessing,  that  my  dying 
thought  shall  be  of  her."  In  a  few  moments  he  was  dead.  As 
I  laid  upon  the  field  thinking  of  these,  together  with  many  other 
like  incidents,  a  beautiful  thought  occurred  to  me.  It  is  held  by 
some  scientific  men,  that  when  a  person  dies,  the  retina  of  the 
eye  retains,  after  death,  the  impression  or  image  of  the  last  ob- 
ject which  it  beheld  in  life,  and  that  the  image  can  be  discovered 
and  the  object  identified  by  the  aid  of  the  microscope.  So  I 
thought  might  it  be  with  the  soul,  that  as  it  left  the  body,  it 
would  retain  the  image  of  the  object  of  its  last  thought  while 
in  the  body,  and  bear  its  impression  into  the  world  of  the  great 
hereafter.  Then  I  thought  now  happy,  after  all,  will  these  sad 
mourners  be  in  the  end. 

How  great  the  compensation  to  these  noble  women  of 
America  for  their  devotion  and  beautiful  self-sacrifice  upon  the 
altar  of  their  patriotism !  What  happiness  for  them  to  know 
that  their  images  have  t>een  borne  upon  the  souls  of  heroes  and 
patriots,  into  the  very  presence  of  Divinity,  there  to  dwell 
throughout  the  ages  and  forever !  Let  me  say  further  to  you 
who  have  buried  the  loved  forms  that  you  cherished  beneath  the 
sod,  look  at  the  grand  results  of  the  toils  and  sacrifices  endured 
and  suffered  by  you  and  them — the  Union  saved  and  peace  re- 
stored, the  supremacy  of  the  Constitution  and  laws  of  the  nation 
reestablished  throughout  the  whole  country,  and  the  institutions 
founded  by  our  fathers  preserved  from  the  hand  of  violence,  and 
saved  to  us  and  our  posterity,  and  the  flag  and  emblem  of  our 
nationality  again  floating  triumphant  over  every  State,  and  hon- 
ored and  respected  in  every  land  and  upon  every  sea.  Would 
you,  if  you  could,  sacrifice  all  these,  that  you  might  call  back 
to  life  the  noble  dead  ?  Would  you  roll  back  the  events  of  the 
past  seven  years,  and  reopen  the  strife  for  national  existence, 
and  incur  the  hazard  of  a  possible  defeat  and  failure  ?  Would 
you,  that  you  might  have  them  again  with  you  during  their 


444  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

short  lives  at  best,  be  willing  to  see  the  Union  dissevered,  our 
flag  dishonored,  rebels  holding  sway  over  one  halt'  the  country, 
and  the  land  convulsed  with  fear  and  agony,  and  shrouded  in 
gloom  ?  Call  up  the  brave  spirits  of  those  who  sleep  their  last 
sleep,  who  are  done  with  life's  cares  and  sorrows,  and  ask  them 
if  they  would  be  recalled  to  life  at  such  a  cost.  And  1  hear 
their  answer — "  Never !  never  !  Long  live  America ! "  Let  us 
profit  by  their  death.  The  light  that  shines  from  a  patriot's 
grave  is  a  pure  and  holy  light,  and  while  we  are  guided  by  it, 
we  shall  never  go  into  the  paths  of  treason  and  rebellion.  Let 
that  light  illumine  our  pathway,  and  the  noble  example  of  the 
dead  strengthen  our  love  of  country  and  devotion  to  duty. 
When  patriotism  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  is  dead,  all  is  lost. 
It  is  the  life-blood  and  soul  of  the  national  existence,  the  ani- 
mating fire  which  makes  a  people  great,  and  their  history  grand 
and  beautiful.  When  we  no  longer  have  brave  men  who  are 
willing  to  fall  in  defense  of  their  country,  and  have  women  will- 
ing to  sustain  them  in  the  conflict ;  when,  if  ever,  we  are  com- 
pelled to  rely  upon  a  hireling  and  mercenary  soldiery  to  defend 
our  liberties,  we  will  have  no  liberties  worth  defending,  and  our 
institutions  will  soon  perish  and  decay.  When  the  Romans 
fought  their  own  battles,  they  controlled  the  destinies  of  the 
world.  When  they  came  to  depend  upon  a  mercenary  army, 
they  became  slaves,  and  the  empire  of  the  world  passed  from 
their  hands  into  that  of  barbarians.  May  the  teachings  of  to- 
day induce  us  to  quell  party  strife,  to  strengthen  our  devotion 
to  our  country  and  her  welfare.  And  here,  in  the  presence  of 
the  illustrious  dead,  let  us  renew  our  oath  of  fealty  to  the  Union, 
and  swear  upon  their  graves  that,  notwithstanding  the  machina- 
tions of  political  tricksters  and  demagogues,  this  grand  Ameri- 
can Republic  shall  endure  forever. 


REMARKS   OP   H.    W.    WINSLOW. 


FELLOW-CITIZENS  :  The  occasion  that  calls  us  together  to-day 
is  fraught  with  so  many  associations  and  incidents,  that  I  can 
hardly  find  words  adequate  to  express  the  deep  emotion  of  my 
feelings.  It  is  not  the  first  time  the  living  have  paid  tribute  to 
the  memory  of  their  dead  soldiers.  It  was  done  in  other  ages 
and  in  other  lands.  Flowers  have  been  strewed  along  the  path- 
way of  the  great  and  upon  the  graves  of  fallen  heroes  ;  but  it  is 
something  new  with  us.  We  meet  to  decorate  the  graves  of  the 
brave  and  noble  men  who  laid  down  their  lives  in  .the  struggle 
to  maintain  the  pillars  of  this  great  and  glorious  Republic. 
Bravely  our  fathers  of  the  Revolution  fought  to  establish  this 
Union,  and  bravely  have  their  descendants  maintained  the 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  445 

cause.  But  for  the  sacrifices  and  death  of  these  noble  patriots, 
we  should  not  now  enjoy  the  blessings  of  this  glorious  Union. 
They  laid  down  their  lives  in  the  cause  of  Liberty  for  you  and 
me.  Their  spirits  have  gone  from  earth,  but  their  acts  will  live 
forever.  This  occasion  is  one  of  national  importance,  in  which 
we  ought  all  to  take  a  part.  It  will  become  historic ;  rising 
generations  will  read  this  demonstration  of  respect,  and  wiU 
visit  the  graves  of  the  fallen. 

When  ambitious  and  dangerous  men  plotted  to  overthrow 
this  Government,  these  brave  patriots  rallied  under  the  Stars 
and  Stripes,  and  went  to  the  front  to  uphold,  maintain,  and  pre- 
serve the  Union.  But  a  few  days  ago  they  left  their  friends, 
their  relatives,  and  all  that  was  dear  to  them,  and  went  forth 
and  battled  for  the  cause  of  Liberty  and  Eight.  They  accom- 
plished their  purpose ;  the  Union  is  saved,  and  ambitious  men 
and  traitors,  who  sought  to  destroy  it,  are  defeated.  And  we 
meet  here  to  commemorate  the  sacrifices  and  services  of  those 
noble  sons,  who  died  that  our  country  might  remain.  As  we 
this  day  strew  flowers  over  the  honored  tombs  of  the  departed, 
we  must  remember  those  gallant  heroes  who  have  died  in  camps, 
in  prisons,  and  those  who  have  been  buried  on  the  battle-fields, 
far  from  home,  in  a  foreign  land,  without  the  care  or  soothing 
words  of  an  aifectionate  mother,  father,  brother,  or  sister — no 
one  to  administer  to  their  wants.  To  those  alike  will  we  pay 
tribute  and  keep  sacred  their  memories.  Those  who  have  sacn- 
ticed  their  lives  in  defense  of  the  Republic  are  worthy  of  na- 
tional respect.  We  must  not,  on  this  occasion,  be  forgetful  of 
the  living.  Those  brave  defenders  who  have  returned  home 
from  the  smoky  field  of  battle,  crippled,  emaciated,  with  broken 
constitutions,  impaired  minds,  with  wounds  and  disease  con- 
tracted in  the  service,  are  each  entitled  to  our  gratitude ;  and 
we,  as  a  nation,  would  be  dishonored  and  recreant  to  duty,  did 
we  not  attend  to  their  wants  and  try  to  alleviate  their  sufferings. 
The  terrific  conflict  through  which  this  Republic  has  so  recently 
passed,  and  in  which  it  has  so  nobly  and  honorably  sustained,  and 
maintained  its  existence,  gives  proof  of  its  value,  and  the  valor 
of  its  defenders.  Other  forms  of  government  have  existed  for  a 
while,  and  then  been  overthrown  by  much  less  energy  and  far 
less  resistance.  Empires,  which  have  been  governed  by  kings, 
emperors,  and  monarchs  for  ages,  have  looked  upon  our  repub- 
lican form  of  government  as  a  weak  and  fragile  experiment ; 
but  when  this  gigantic  strife  and  conflict  ended,  and  the  result 
proclaimed  through  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  every 
nation  acknowledged  the  greatness  and  the  perpetuity  of  the 
Union.  Though  the  loss  and  sacrifice  have  been  great — those 


446  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

who  have  been  near  and  dear  to  ns  have  been  swept  away  in 
the  heat  of  battle — nevertheless,  the  Government  made  and 
adopted  by  the  fathers  of  this  Republic  still  remains  unshaken 
and  unimpaired.  Those  wandering  orbs  that  sought  to  separate, 
have  been  held  together  by  the  hand  of  bravery  and  patriotism, 
and  are  being  placed  back  npon  the  azure  field  of  our  national 
ensign,  there  to  remain  for  all  coming  time. 

Now,  in  commemoration  of  the  gallant  heroes  who  lie  en- 
tombed beneath  that  national  flag,  we  will  strew  these  flowers. 
The  flags  denote  their  resting-places. 

"  All  hail,  the  Stars  and  Stripes  ! 

The  words  are  graven  now  on  every  heart, 
A  nation^  watchword,  Freedom's  song — 

Of  every  future  act  a  part. 
All  hail,  the  glorious  Stars  and  Stripes  I 

The  echo  leaps  from  hill  to  hill ; 
We  first  drew  breath  beneath  its  folds, 

We'll  live  and  die  beneath  them  still." 

The  benediction  was  pronounced  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wykes, 
and  the  crowd  dispersed  to  strew  flowers  on  the  graves.  This 
beautiful  ceremony  was  performed  not  only  by  the  committee 
of  ladies,  but  by  hundreds  of  others.  All  the  soldiers'  graves 
were  covered  with  flowers  and  evergreens,  and  their  monuments 
and  tombstones  hung  with  garlands  and  wreaths.  When  it  was 
completed,  the  procession  re-formed,  and  moved  to  the  old 
burying-ground,  where,  after  prayer,  and  a  song  by  the  choir, 
Mr.  Winslow  made  a  brief  address.  Flowers  were  then  strewn 
on  the  graves,  and  at  their  leisure  the  people  dispersed  for  their 
several  homes. 

AT  WARREN,  OHIO. 

A  large  number  of  the  citizens  of  Warren  participated  in 
the  solemn  and  impressive  services  of  the  occasion.  About  2, 
p.  M.,  a  procession  was  formed  on  the  public  square,  under 
charge  of  Col.  H.  G.  Stratton,  Marshal,  and,  headed  by  the 
Warren  Band,  proceeded  to  Oakwood  Cemetery.  On  arriving 
there,  the  exercises  were  opened  with  prayer  by  the  Rev.  Benj. 
St.  John  Page,  after  which  Rev.  George  Pierce  delivered  a 
brief  address,  substantially  as  follows  : 

Alluding  to  the  fact  that  great  events  in  history  were  imper- 
fectly apprehended  by  the  actors  in  them  and  their  cotempora- 
ries,  and  illustrating  it  by  reference  to  the  experience  of  the  last 
ten  years  in  our  country,  he  said  :  We  are  all  too  near  and  too 
much  moved  by  our  personal  interest  to  form  any  comprehen- 
sive judgment  on  them.  But  we  know  enough  already  to  fill 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  447 

us  with  a  profound  sense  of  gratitude  to  the  living  and  dead 
soldiers  of  the  Republic.  The  condition  of  the  country  in  the 
Winter  and  Spring  of  1861  was  described.  State  after  State 
seceded.  There  was  exultation  and  confidence  at  the  South. 
The  Government  was  controlled  by  imbecile  and  treacherous 
hands,  that  interposed  no  obstacles  to  the  disintegration  rapidly 
going  on.  The  loyal  States  were  divided,  its  leading  men  were 
prophesying  peace,  and  trying  to  patch  up  some  form  of  com- 
promise. It  makes  one's  ears  to  tingle  to  think  of  the  deep 
abasement  to  which  we  submitted  to  avoid  a  conflict.  The  loyal 
people  seemed  to  be  fitly  represented  by  Ezekiel's  vision  of 
bones  that  were  "  very  dry." 

And  then  came  the  great  awakening  that  followed  the  assault 
and  capture  of  Fort  Sumter.  Then  our  people  received  a  new 
baptism,  and  we  had  a  Pentecost  of  patriotism.  President  Lin- 
coln's Proclamation,  and  call  for  seventy-five  thousand  men,  was 
like  the  Prophet's  call  upon  the  dry  bones,  and  we  found  an  ex- 
ceeding great  army  ready  to  suffer  and  die  for  the  fatherland. 
Then  all  divisions  ceased,  all  loyal  lips  were  outspoken,  all  loyal 
hands  were  active,  treasure  flowed  into  the  national  coffers  with 
unparalleled  liberality.  Then,  and  all  through  the  weary  strug- 
gle, we  sent  into  our  armies  our  choicest  treasures.  Our  fathers 
and  sons,  husbands  and  lovers,  from  every  department  of  life, 
from  farms,  and  shops,  and  schools,  rich  men  and  poor  men  in 
one  fraternal  band  of  as  noble  men  as  ever  breasted  the  dangers 
of  war.  We  sent  them  forth  with  our  benedictions  and  promise 
of  everlasting  remembrance.  We  cheered  them  with  the  assur- 
ance that  every  scar  they  received  should  be  a  badge  of  honor- 
able distinction  ;  that,  if  disabled,  they  should  be  made  comfort- 
able by  a  grateful  country's  bounty  ;  that  the  names  of  the  bat- 
tle-fields on  which  they  should  fight  should  be  associated  with 
their  own;  that  on  our  gala-days  and  national  festivals  they 
should  be  honored  guests.  And  we  promised  that,  if  they 
should  fall  in  the  service,  they  should  not  be  forgotten ;  that 
places  stained  with  loyal  blood,  and  graves  of  fallen  braves, 
should  be  shrines  of  patriotic  pilgrimage ;  that  it  should  be  a 
patent  of  republican  nobility  to  the  son,  that  his  father  died  in 
his  country's  defence  against  rebellion.  The  war  was  fought — 
we  all  remember  through  what  delays,  discouragements,  and 
difficulties — to  a  triumphant  issue.  It  raged  over  an  unexam- 
pled extent  of  territory,  between  immense  bodies  of  men,  in 
innumerable  engagements,  until  the  last  stronghold  was  cap- 
tured and  every  enemy  was  subdued.  The  strife  cost  immense 
treasures,  sacrificed  a  multitude  of  lives.  Hardly  a  home  but 
has  had  its  dead  from  the  camp  or  battle-field.  But  we  can 


448  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

already  see,  in  part,  what  compensation  it  has  brought.  We 
have  an  established  Government ;  we  have  a  Government  puri- 
fied and  freed  from  the  curse  and  stain  of  slavery.  Aristocratic 
hopes  have  been  forever  crushed,  democracy  has  triumphed  over 
its  enemies  at  home  and  abroad,  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence can  be  read  by  us  without  suppressing  any  part  of  it,  and, 
embodying  its  glorious  truths  in  our  national  life ;  we  have 
promise  of  a  future  of  greatness  and  glory  such  as  even  eclipses 
our  wonderful  past. 

In  view  of  our  solemn  promises  in  the  past ;  in  view  of  the 
wonderful  achievements  of  our  citizen  soldiery ;  in  view  of  the 
precious  interests  they  have  defended  and  secured  ;  in  view  of 
the  glorious  future  they  have  opened  to  UB,  we  do  well  to  honor 
the  living  and  tenderly  and  gratefully  remember  the  dead. 
Most  fitting  is  it  that  to-day,  all  over  our  land,  that  surviving 
comrades,  loving  relatives,  and  earnest  patriots,  should  visit  the 
graves  of  the  fallen  braves,  and,  recalling  and  recounting  their 
acts  of  virtue  and  noble  daring,  adorn  the  mounds  over  the 
silent  dust  with  Spring's  choicest  flowers.  So  shall  we  make 
them  live  again  in  the  character  and  spirit  of  those  who  come 
after  them,  and  help  form  a  generation  worthy  to  enjoy  the 
blessings  they  have  died  to  secure. 

At  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Pierce's  remarks,  the  procession 
was  re-formed,  and  proceeded  to  the  several  graves  to  be  deco- 
rated. The  wreaths  were  placed  in  the  following  order,  by  the 
persons  named,  who,  upon  depositing  the  flowers  on  the  last 
resting-place  of  their  fallen  comrades,  pronounced  brief  bift  elo- 
quent and  befitting  eulogies : 

BEV.   GAYLORD   B.   HAWKINS. — REMAKK8  BY  REV.   R.   M.   WARREN. 

The  peculiar  glory  of  our  country  is  its  Christianity.  The 
most  powerful  element  among  us  of  true  prosperity  and  progress 
is  the  Christian  element.  We  recognize  this  as  the  corner-stone 
of  all  that  is  virtuous  in  our  national  life.  Are  we,  as  a  people, 
becoming  proficient  in  the  study  of  human  rights — are  we  learn- 
ing the  great  lesson  of  justice  ?  The  text-book  is  the  Bible ; 
the  original  code  of  moral  ethics  is  in  the  handwriting  of  God. 
Hence,  to  preserve  and  protect  our  fellow-men  in  the  enjoyment 
and  exercise  of  their  inalienable  rights,  and  to  defend  from  every 
foe  a  Government  founded  in  such  principles  of  equal  justice,  is 
the  manifest  and  positive  duty  of  every  Christian  man.  Nobly 
was  this  responsibility  met  by  the  churches  of  our  land  in  the 
recent  war.  The  brave  boys  at  the  front  heard  from  our  pulpits 
no  uncertain  sound.  They  felt  that  behind  them  was  a  power 
all  Divine — the  prayers  of  Christian  men  and  women.  And 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  449 

the  thought  that  loved  ones  were  praying  for  them,  nerved 
many  an  arm  in  the  day  of  battle. 

While  members  of  our  churches  by  thousands  went  forth  at 
the  call  of  duty  to  die  for  truth,  the  pulpit  had  also  its  repre- 
sentatives at  the  front.  Christian  ministers  were  at  the  head  of 
regiments  and  companies ;  in  the  rank  and  file  of  our  armies, 
and  as  chaplains  01  regiments  and  agents  of  the  Sanitary  and 
Christian  Commissions,  they  everywhere  administered  to  the 
physical  and  spiritual  necessities  of  suffering  and  dying  heroes. 
It  was  the  recognition  of  the  loyalty  and  work  of  the  Christian 
churches  that,  more  than  aught  else,  encouraged  the  hearj.  of 
our  martyred  President.  In  answer  to  the  address  of  a  delega- 
tion of  a  prominent  religious  body,  he  said  :  "  God  bless  the 
Church !  and  blessed  be  God,  who,  in  this  the  hour  of  our  great- 
est trial,  giveth  us  the  churches  !  " 

We  honor,  to-day,  the  memory  of  a  noble  representative  of 
the  Christian  ministry  in  the  list  of  fallen  heroes — Rev.  Gaylord 
B.  Hawkins,  of  the  Erie  Conference.  Like  many,  he  went  forth 
from  a  sense  of  duty,  and,  like  many,  he  died  at  his  post.  I 
.well  remember  to-day  his  last  speech  at  the  session  of  our  Con- 
ference, at  Youngstown,  in  the  Summer  of  1862,  when  burning 
words  of  holy  trust  flowed  from  a  heart  tilled  with  love  to  God 
and  man.  A  man  of  noble  impulses,  of  a  generous  and  self- 
sacrificing  nature,  a  kind  husband  and  father,  a  consistent  Chris- 
tian, and  an  able  minister  of  Christ,  his  works  follow  him. 

And  while  we  to-day  thus  appropriately  unite  in  these 
memorial  services,  may  these  emblems,  in  their  freshness  and 
beauty,  be  truly  emblematical  of  that  respect  and  affection 
which  shall  ever  bloom  in  our  hearts  in  memory  of  the  buried 
dead. 

CHARLES  BOUTON. — REMABK8  BY  E.  B.   TAYLOR,   ESQ. 

In  this  grave  lies  the  body  of  Charles  Bouton,  late  a  sergeant 
in  the  171st  Ohio  Volunteer  Regiment.  In  civil  life  he  was 
kind  and  honest ;  in  camp,  cheerful  and  obliging ;  in  battle, 
noble  and  brave.  Let  us,  then,  as  we  decorate  his  grave  with 
flowers,  and  bedew  it  with  tears,  also  be  mindful  of  his  good 
qualities,  and  keep  his  memory  green  in  our  hearts. 

HARMON  GRATER. — REMARKS  BY   G.   T.   HULL. 

To  the  memory  of  our  comrade,  Harmon  Graeter,  of  the 
84th  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  who  died  at  Cumberland,  Md., 
Sept.  29,  1862. 

TJLY88E8  M'QUISTON. — REMARKS   BY  W.   B.   KING. 

To  cherish  the  memory  of  the  dead,  in  whatever  form  aft'ec- 
29 


450  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

tion  may  prompt,  is  an  observance  that  commends  itself  alike 
to  the  favor  of  God  and  man. 

The  lowly  grave,  the  ponderous  tomb,  the  rock-hewn  sepul- 
chre, the  funeral  crypt,  and  the  stately  mausoleum,  have  evoked 
the  highest  efforts  of  Art  in  the  beautifying  of  the  last  homes 
of  the  honored  dead. 

As  the  patriarchs  of  old,  amid  the  hills  of  Palestine,  met  to 
embellish  the  graves  of  their  departed,  so  we  meet  to-day  to 
decorate  the  graves  of  our  fallen  braves  with  an  offering  of  the 
young  year's  sweetest  flowers. 

,The  silent  occupant  of  this  grave,  Ulysses  McQuiston,  was 
born  in  1842.  He  enlisted  in  1861,  and  returned  home  to  die 
in  1863.  Of  him,  as  of  all  who  have  passed  away,  may  be  said, 
He  was  bom,  he  lived,  he  died.  In  these  three  great  essentials 
—birth,  life,  and  death — all  mankind  have  a  like  destiny.  The 
only  universal  epitaph  would  be  the  simple  sentence,  "  He  was 
born,  he  lived,  he  died." 

He  was  with  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Potomac  in  its  first  ad- 
vance on  Richmond,  taking  part  in  the  seven  days'  disastrous 
battles,  and  also  in  those  of  Slatersville  and  Williamsburg. 
The  hardships  of  the  campaign,  with  exposure  to  the  deadly 
malaria  of  the  swamps  of  the  Chickahominy,  which  swept  away 
twenty  thousand  of  the  bravest  soldiers  of  the  Republic,  so  poi- 
soned his  system,  that,  after  a  long  siege  in  hospital  to  regain 
lost  health,  he  was  discharged  for  permanent  disability.  Re- 
turning home,  he  lived  ten  months,  and  was  then  consigned  to 
the  narrow  house  appointed  for  all  the  living. 

Of  unquestioned  bravery  as  a  soldier,  and  unswerving  fidel- 
ity as  a  friend,  he  presented  traits  of  character  worthy  both  our 
admiration  and  imitation.  He  died  in  his  country's  service. 
He  gave  his  life  to  fill  the  measure  of  her  liberty  and  glory, 
and,  we  may  confidently  hope,  reaps  a  soldier's  reward.  "  After 
life's  fitful  fever  he  sleeps  well."  No  drum-beat,  bugle,  or  roar 
of  cannon  will  break  his  dreamless  sleep. 

"  Rest,  soldier,  rest,  thy  warfare  o'er, 

Sleep  the  sleep  that  knows  no  breaking ; 
Dreams  of  .battle-fields  no  more 

Days  of  danger,  nights  of  waking." 

OR8EMUS  DUN1.AP. — REMARKS   BY  GEORGE  VAN  GORDEB. 

A  comrade-in-arms,  whose  experience  in  the  service  of  his 
country,  though  brief,  was  honorable  and  full  of  glory.  To-day 
we  see  recorded  in  the  long  list  of  Freedom's  martyrs  the  name 
of  Orsemus  J.  Dunlap,  of  Co.  A,  171st  Ohio  Volunteer  Infan- 
try, who  fell  at  the  post  of  duty,  the  llth  day  of  June,  1864. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  451 

We  thus  honor  his  memory  by  decking  his  tomb  with  Nature's 
smiles,  in  the  form  of  beautiful  flowers  twined  by  fair  and  loyal 
hands. 

LIEUT.   J.   J.   MUSSER. — REMARKS  BY  J.    M.    STtHOL,   ESQ. 

We  are  now  at  the  grave  of  John  J.  Musser,  who  enlisted  as 
a  private  on  the  26th  of  April,  1861,  in  Co.  F,  24th  Regiment 
Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  under  Capt.  A.  S.  Hall.  Early  in  the 
campaign  this  soldier  was  in  the  contest  at  Cheat  Mountain  and 
Green  Briar,  and  afterwards  in  the  battles  of  Sliiloh,  Perryville, 
Stone  River,  Mission  Ridge,  and  Ringgold ;  and  in  all  these 
fiercely-contested  battles  he  did  his  duty  heroically.  At  Mission 
Ridge,  after  three  color-bearers  had  been  shot  down,  he  picked 
up  the  old  battle-flag,  and  called  to  his  companions  to  follow 
him.  His  officers  commended  him  as  one  of  the  bravest  of  the 
brave.  He  served  three  years,  then  came  home,  and  afterwards 
enlisted  in  the  196th  Infantry,  where  he  was  promoted  and  com- 
missioned Lieutenant.  He  served  until  Lee's  surrender,  and 
was  honorably  discharged,  having  faithfully  served  his  country 
during  the  whole  war.  While  in  the  service,  he  contracted  a 
disease  which  produced  death,  and  which  occurred  at  his  home 
in  Warren,  on  the  22d  of  November,  1865,  in  the  26th  year  of 
his  age.  He  was  a  moral,  upright  young  man,  a  brave,  true, 
and  ever-faithful  soldier.  Let  us  cherish  his  memory  and  his 
heroic  deeds. 

JOB   D.   BELL. — REMARKS   BY   O.   M.    ME88ER. 

Job  D.  Bell  entered  the  three-months  service,  April  27, 
1861.  under  the  first  call  of  President  Lincoln.  He  was  honor- 
ably discharged  July  following.  Sept.  loth,  of  the  same  year 
he  enlisted  in  Co.  C.,  19th  Regt.  O.  V.  I.,  for  three  years.  He 
was  elected  2d  Lieutenant  by  the  Company  at  its  organization. 
He  was  promoted  1st  Lieutenant  alter  the  battle  of  Shiloh, 
which  position  he  held  until  January  2d,  1863,  when  at  the 
battle  of  Stone  River  he  was  instantly  killed  by  a  shot  through 
the  head.  By  kindness  to  us  on  the  field  of  battle  he  won  our 
love,  and  to-day  we  cherish  the  memory  of  his  many  noble 
deeds.  May  we  never  fail,  as  year  by  year  shall  roll  around,  to 
come  and  leave  a  tribute  of  our  love 

MAJOR   GEORGE    L.    WOOD. —REMARKS   BY  JUDGE   YEOMAN8. 

Here  sleeps  George  L  Wood,  a  fellow  soldier,  and  Major 
of  the  125th  Regiment  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  and  while  we 
this  day  in  grateful  remembrance  of  his  services  to  his  country 
deck  his  grave  with  flowers,  I  would  that  I  could  give  you,  in 
more  than  general  terms,  a  history  of  the  services  which  entitled 
him  to  the  honor  of  a  soJdier's  grave. 

My  acquaintance  with  him  prior  to  the  war  was  slight,  I 


452  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

only  knew  him  as  an  attorney,  commencing  his  professional 
course  with  a  high  sense  of  honor,  which  entitled  him  to  respect, 
and  M'ith  that  honesty  and  candor  in  his  business  and  profes- 
sional engagements,  which  told  that  he  was  what  I  afterward 
found  him  to  be,  not  only  a  faithful  companion  in  arms,  but  a 
true  and  noble  man. 

It  was  on  the  15th  day  of  April,  1861,  that  President  Lin- 
coln issued  his  call  for  75,000  men.  Early  in  May  the  7th  Ohio 
Infantry  went  into  camp  at  Columbus,  and  among  its  number 
was  George  L.  Wood.  It  would  be  presumptuous  in  me  to  at- 
tempt to  recount  the  deeds,  or  to  extol  the  merits  of  the  gallant 
7th  Ohio.. 

It  is  right  and  proper  that  each  soldier  feels  in  his  heart  that 
his  own  regiment  was  the  best,  while  recollections  of  the  camp 
and  the  field  come  back  upon  us,  and  fond  memory  brings  before 
each  of  our  minds  the  loved  comrades  who  wkh  us  have  shared 
a  soldier's  life,  whose  hands  and  whose  hearts,  as  brothers,  were 
linked  with  our  own.  With  kindness  and  with  pride  we  remem- 
ber them,  and  we  cannot  but  feel  that  ours  was  the  best  that 
went  to  the  field,  and  yet  as  if  by  common  assent  every  soldier 
will  say  that  the  name  of  the  7th  Ohio  stands  second  to  that  of 
none  other  during  the  war.  Faithfully  they  worked,  and 
bravely  they  fought,  from  the  commencement  to  the  close,  and 
until  disabled  by  wounds  received  in  battle  at  Port  .Republic, 
among  the  bravest  of  the  brave  of  that  regiment  was  he  who 
now  rests  here. 

While  recovering  from  his  wound  in  the  summer  of  1862,  as 
an  acknowledgment  of  his  services,  he  was  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  Major  of  the  125th  Ohio,  then  being  formed,  and  although 
his  wound  was  not  yet  healed,  he  was  with  us  in  our  camp  of 
instruction,  and  his  efforts  to  thoroughly  drill  and  properly  in- 
struct that  regiment  tended  much  to  make  it  what  it  afterward 
became,  and  showed  to  us  that  his  heart  was  in  the  cause  in  which 
he  had  enlisted.  A  strict  disciplinarian  he  was  ever  respect- 
ful, courteous  and  kind  to  officers  and  privates;  and  when  we 
found  upon  leaving  camp  for  the  field,  that  his  health  had  so 
failed  that  he  could  no  longer  be  with  us,  he  had  not  a  comrade 
that  did  not  part  with  him  with  regret,  and  from  the  time  of  his 
association  with  us  until  now,  there  is  no  member  of  that  organi- 
zation with  whom  he  was  acquainted,  but  has  ever  spoken  of 
him  with  the  highest  regard  and  now  remembers  him  with  feel- 
ings of  the  most  sincere  friendship. 

His  lamp  of  life  has  gone  out,  and  here  he  rests.  May  each 
returning  spring-time  find  his  grave  strewn  with  flowers  as  fresh 
as  the  memory  of  him  will  be  bright  and  fair  in  the  hearts  of 
his  surviving  comrades. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  453 

JOHN   HEWITT. — REMARKS   BY   CHARLES   ABELL. 

In  memory  of  a  true  soldier — one  who  never  missed  a  roll- 
call,  or  shirked  a  duty.  Dear  John,  the  flowers  we, place  upon 
your  grave  will  fade  and  die,  but  your  memory  will  ever  be 
green  in  the  hearts  'of  your  loving  companions. 

GEORGE   N.    1IAPGOOD. — REMARKS   BT   H.    A.    POTTER. 

• 

Although  we  might  stand  around  the  grave  of  a  fellow  sol- 
dier in  silence,  and  that  silence  be  more  eloquent  than  words, 
and  though  it  seems  to  be  needless  to  bestow  praise  on  those 
whose  lives  have  been  brilliant  with  good  works,  and  who  to  be 
be  loved  have  but  to  be  remembered.  Yet  may  we  not  with 
propriety  make  mention  of  their  virtues,  that  others  may  be  lad 
to  emulate  their  worthy  example?  Nor  need  there  be  fear  of 
passing  too  high  encomium  upon  the  character  of  him  whose 
ashes  rests  "  upon  this  lap  of  earth,"  and  on  whose  grave  we, 
his  comrades,  delighting  to  do  him  honor,  scatter  flowers  to-day. 
This  wreath,  which  has  been  twined  by  fair  tingers,  and  given 
us  to  place  upon  his  tomb,  although  composed  of  the  beautiful 
of  earth,  is  but  as  a  pebble  to  the  diamond,  or  a  spangle  to  a 
star,  when  compared  to  that  wreath  which  decks  his  brow  in  the 
laud  of  spirits.  In  the  year  of  1864,  the  hour  of  our  nation's 
trial,  the  time  when  the  patriot's  heart  sank  within  him,  and  the 
Christian's  faith  seemed  to  waver  and  grow  weak  as  to  the  ulti- 
mate success  of  our  cause,  Gov.  Brough,  calling  out  the  regi- 
ments of  Ohio  National .  Guards,  of  one  of  which  the  deceased 
was  a  member  (the  51st  O.  N.  G.,  and  171st  O.  V.  I.),  he  sought 
not  to  find  a  substitute,  or  obtain  a  sword,  although  well  quali- 
fied to  wield  one ;  he  shouldered  his  musket  and  went,  though 
much  he  had  to  leave,  and  did  his  duty  and  did  that  duty  well. 
Lieut.  George  N.  Hapgood,  as  a  citizen  highly  respected,  as  a 
soldier  greatly  esteemed,  as  a  mess-mate  honored  and  beloved, 
unselfish,  sacrificing,  full  of  kindness,  ever  employed  in  good 
works,  naturally  reticent  and  reserved,  yet  to  be  acquainted  was 
to  admire,  to  know  him  was  to  love.  I  have  seen  him  by  the 
couch  of  a  wounded  fellow  soldier,  serving  him  with  the  con- 
stancy of  a  brother,  with  the  devotion  of  a  wife,  and  the  tender- 
ness of  a  woman,  and  almost  nurse  him  back  to  life.  I  have 
known  him  weary  and  worn  with  a  long  tedious  march,  quite 
exhausted  as  the  rest,  unmindful  of  self,  ministering  to  the 
wants  of"  his  comrades,  who,  in  appreciation  of  his  excellencies, 
afterward  unanimously  elected  him  their  Lieutenant.  But  he  is 
gone.  Great  heart,  to  us  it  seemed  all  too  soon.  Although  he 
Fell  not  in  battle,  had  it  been  so  ordered,  none  would  have  sub- 
mitted more  cheerfully  than  he.  Fellow  soldiers !  let  us  never 


454  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

forget  onr  fallen  comrades ;  their  virtues  let  us  imitate  while 
fighting  life's  battle,  so  that  when  tattoo  shall  sound,  reminding 
u>  •,  f  closing  day,  and  that  life's  setting  sun  draws  near;  when 
tityft  shall  beat  lights  out,  aye,  even  the  light  of  life,  we  may  rest 
in  peaceful  slumbers  until  the  great  reveille  shall  marshal  us 
ag-.'.in,  not  with  call  to  arms,  that  we  may  be  led  to  scenes  of 
blood  and  carnage,  but  to  bear  palms  of  victory  and  shouts  of 
triumph  over  all  our  foes. 

PETER  H.  DUBENDORF — REMARKS  BY  GEN.  T.  J.  MCLAIN. 

This  beautiful  wreath  of  flowers,  prepared  by  gentle  and 
sympathetic  hands,  I  place  over  the  gallant  dead.  The  brave 
boy  whose  remains  rest  beneath  these  lovely  symbols,  was  one 
of  our  own  patriots.  Born  and  reared  to  manhood  amongst  us, 
.the  moistened  eyes  around  this  grave  to-day  attest  the  worth  of 
the  soldier  who  laid  down  his  precious  life  for  his  country,  that 
liberty  and  freedom  might  live. 

Sergeant  Dubendorf  enlisted  in  the  6th  Ohio  Cavalry,  and 
was  a  member  of  Capt.  Abell's  company,  fighting  bravely  for 
the  flag  whenever  and  wherever  he  met  the  foe.  He  fell  at  his 
post  of  duty,  as  hundreds  and  thousands  of  his  glorious  comrades 
did.  He  was  shot  by  a  rebel  deserter  while  standing  sentinel 
on  duty  near  Fort  Stonemau,  in  the  region  of  Washington. 

It  is  eminently  fitting  that  the  loyal  millions  of  our  beloved 
country  should  lay  aside  their  ordinary  business  and  with  one 
heart  and  impulse  gather  around  the  honored  graves  of  our  gal- 
lant dead,  and  decorate  and  bestrew  their  graves  with  beautiful 
flowers.  Those  noble  fellows  who  left  their  homes  to  defend 
our  country  against  the  vile  assault  of  traitors  and  rebels,  who 
stood  like  a  wall  of  fire  between  us  and  the  enemy,  must  never 
be  forgotten ;  no,  never,  while  grass  grows  or  water  runs. 

On  every  return  of  the  flower  season  may  we  witness  scenes 
like  the  present.  We  promised  the  boys,  when  urging  them  to 
battle,  never  to  forget  them ;  let  us  be  true  and  faithful  as  they 
were  true  and  faithful.  Whilst  remembering  the  brave  boys 
who  died,  let  us  extend  the  sympathizing  hand  to  their  com- 
rades who  are  with  us,  and  to  the  mourning  friends  of  those 
whose  spirits  are  gone,  we  trust,  to  the  land  of  flowers  and  im- 
mortality, where  no  clash  of  arms  or  rebel  yell  will  ever  disturb 
them  more. 

HENRY  ADAMS. — REMARKS  BY  J.  O.  HtJTCHINS,  ESQ. 

The  privilege  of  decorating  the  grave  of  Lieut.  Henry 
Adams,  has  been  accorded  to  me.  Those  of  us  who  were  for- 
tunate enough  to  know  Henry  Adams  personally,  will  remem- 
ber him  as  a  kind  friend,  an  accomplished  and  a  Christian  gen- 
tleman, and  a  patriotic  citizen  and  soldier. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES. 

Many  of  us  well  remember  how  determined  he  was  to  enter 

the  service  of  his  country  in  the  early  days  of  the  war;  how 

.nxious  friends,  fearing  that  he,  physically,  was  bat  illy  pre- 

pared  for  such  a  service,  prevailed  upon  him  to  defer.*  But 

a  the  dark  dajs  of  the  winter  of  180:4-3.  the  gloomiest 

period  of  the  whole  war,  came  upon  us,  he  rose  above  all  mere 

prudent  considerations,  and  in   December,  18o3,  entered  the 

army  as  '2d  Lieutenant  in  the  105th  O.  Y.  I. 

On  account  of  his  fine  business  qualifications,  he  was  at  once 
inted  commissary  of  Colonel  Hall's  brigade,  the  duties  of 
which  position  he  discharged  with  signal  ability  until  the  close 
of  his  career. 

But  alas,  the  result  proved  that  the  fears  of  his  anxious 
friends  were  only  too  well  founded.  It  soon  became  evident 
that  his  constitution  was  too  feeble  to  resist  the  hardships  and 
exposures  of  army  life.  In  one  short  month  he  was  prostrated 
.ckness,  from  which  he  never  fully  recovered,  although  it 
was  supposed  at  one  time  he  would  do  so. 

Encouraged  by  these  delusive  hopes,  he,  on  the  19th  of  Feb- 
ruary, telegraphed  to  one  of  his  brothers  to  meet  him  in  Nash- 
inessee.     On  the  20th,  that  brother  received  a  despatch 
that  Uenry  was  dead. 

Thus  perished  in  the  prime  of  life,  our  lamented  friend, 
deeply  regretted  by  all  who  knew  him.  We,  his  surviving  cotn- 

nioos  and  friends,  do,  upon  this  beautiful  day,  scatter  the 
rers  of  May  over  his  tomb. 

H.  H.  AKD  OSCAB  O.  MTT.I.KK. — BKMAEKS  BT  COL.  H.  G.  BTKATTOY. 

I  tender  this  to  the  memory  of  Horace  H.  Miller,  private 
'  ,  19th  O.  V.  L     His  health  gave  way  under  the  exposure 
of  the  soldier's  life.     He  came  home  but  to  be  buried  here.    He 
did  what  lie  could. 

And  this  to  our  dear  friend  and  brother,  Oscar  O.  Miller, 
private  in  Co.  C,  19th  O.  Y.  I.,  during  the  three  months*  service. 
l?t  Lieut,  in  the  same  company  and  regiment  when  reorganized 
in  the  fall  of  1801,  promoted  to  the  captaincy  of  Co.  I,  and 
afterwards  appointed  Capt.  and  AssL  Adjt.  Gen.  U.  S.  A.  He 
fMMBed  through  Rich  Mountain,  Shiloh,  Stone  River,  Perryville, 
and  Chickamauga.  Was  one  of  the  tir^t  to  reach  the  summit 
of  glorious  "Minion  Ridge,  from  thence  to  East  Tennessee, 
Rocky  Face,  and  on  through  the  daily  battles  and  skirmishes 
of  the  Atlanta  campaign,  to  lay  his  offering  down  hi  the  last 
day,  last  hour  of  that  ever  memorable  campaign.  He  left  us 
but  to  be  brought  back  a  moment  afterwards — clay.  His  brave, 
eager  spirit,  had  passed  beyond,  to  reap  the  reward  he  so  justly 


456  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

merited.  We  think  not  only  of  his  loyalty,  his  bravery,  and  his 
kindness,  but  we  also  remember  his  character  so  pure,  so  strong, 
so  confident,  standing  out  like  a  bright  beacon  of  light  in  the 
midst  of  so  much  passion  and  moral  darkness.  We  remember 
this  and  more.  But  let  us  not  forget  that,  while  so  many  of  our 
comrades  have  been  mustered  and  are  sleeping,  we  remain  to 
finish  our  term  of  service.  Shall  we  not  fight  a  good  fight  ? 
Shall  we  not  be  true  to  the  memories  this  day  calls  forth  ?  Com- 
rades and  friends !  let  these  mounds  never  be  forgotten  by  us ; 
let  us  endeavor  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  the  departed,  that 
we  may  join  them  where  the  bivouac's  rest  will  not  be  broken, 
where  joy  and  peace  will  reign  for  evermore ! 

AT  BBIMFIELD  AND  KENT,  OHIO. 

The  ceremony  was  designated  by  the  Commander  of  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  but  the  duty  was  not  left  to  the 
members  of  that  society  alone. 

The  exercises  at  Brimfield  were  at  12  M.,  and  the  con- 
course of  people  was  very  large.  The  ladies  and  friends  had 
exerted  themselves  so  as  to  call  out  the  best  citizens  of  that 
vicinity.  The  exercises  were  opened  with  prayer  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Wilson,  and  appropriate  remarks  were  made  by  Mr.  H.  S.  Car- 
ter and  Rev.  Mr.  Wilson.  Fitting  and  beautiful  music  was 
furnished  by  the  choir  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Warren  Sher- 
man. The  old  flag — the  banner  of  beauty  and  glory — was 
placed  at  the  head  of  each  grave.  The  decorations,  furnished 
by  the  ladies  and  comrades,  were  tastefully  arranged  on  the  last 
re.-ting-place  of  our  brave  boys,  and  the  audience  was  dismissed 
witli  the  benediction. 

The  exercises  at  Kent  were  at  4  p.  M.  Every  one  was  as- 
tonished at  the  immense  number  of  people  in  attendance.  The 
assemblage  was  one  of  the  best  in  point  of  numbers  and  charac- 
ter ever  gathered  in  this  county.  They  honored  themselves  by 
their  attendance  and  participation  in  fitly  and  beautifully  dec- 
orating the  graves  of  the  dead  with  chaplets  which  should  be 
unfading.  The  exercises  were  opened  by  prayer  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Wilson,  in  a  fitting  and  impressive  manner.  The  comrades  and 
friends  then  proceeded  to  decorate  with  choice  flowers  and 
wreaths,  the  graves  of  those  brave  and  noble  men  who  gave  the 
last  full  measure  of  their  devotion  to  the  cause  of  nationality 
and  of  freedom.  Then  followed  brief  addresses  by  Major  Mar- 
vin, of  Akron,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Wilson.  The  assemblage  was 
then  dismissed  with  the  benediction. 

In  the  evening  the  Congregational  Church  was  filled  with  a 
very  large  and  attentive  audience,  to  listen  to  the 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  457 

ADDRESS   BY    REV.    B.    P.    JOIIXBOX. 

SOLDIERS  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC  :  It  is  by 
your  courtesy  that  I  am  invited  to  address  you  upon  an  occa- 
sion, which,  in  view  of  the  past,  is  at  once  one  of  sadness  and 
of  lively  gratitude.  The  exercises  in  which  you  have  engaged 
to-day  have  awakened  in  your  breasts  sentiments  both  of  sorrow 
and  of  warm  emotion,  as  memory  has  recalled  scenes  of  varied 
cast.  Yiews  of  military  life  have  come  up  before  you,  associa- 
tions of  the  years  of  war  from  the  sounding  of  the  tocsin  calling 
to  arms  the  country's  brave,  till  the  issue  came  in  victory  and 
peace. 

The  picture  which  thus  comes  before  us  is  one  of  light  and 
shade,  clouds  and  sunshine.  Who  can  take  in  review  such  a 
past  and  stand  unmoved.  Such  a  panorama  passing  before  us, 
the  heartstrings  thrill  with  patriotic  zeal  as  we  hear  the  coun- 
try's call ;  we  commend  the  brave  who,  with  many  a  "  God 
speed,"  go  forth  to  her  redress  ;  we  rejoice  to  see  kindling  on 
every  hand  the  tire  of  devotion  to  one's  country.  The  more  are 
we  moved  because  partisan  strife  and  minor  differences  are  cast 
aside,  and  men  come  forward  with  united  purpose  to  drive  back 
the  enemy.  Noble  sacrifices,  where  our  countrymen  and  coun- 
trywomen give  friends,  property,  and  themselves,  .heart  and 
hand,  to  aid  the  cause  at  stake ! 

Then  conies  the  cry,  to  battle,  and  firmly  onward  moves  the 
determined  phalanx  ;  no  river  too  broad  or  deep  to  stay  them, 
no  secret  mountain  pass  that  cannot  be  threaded,  no  hidden  foe 
that  daunts  the  intrepid  warriors,  no  bristling  steel,  no  serried 
hosts,  no  roar  of  cannon  can  check  in  purpose  the  defenders  of 
the  right  till  the  laurel  crowrns  them. 

Thus  we  see  inscribed  upon  the  canvas  before  us  patriotism, 
resolution,  bravery,  triumph.  These  are  the  parts  of  the  panorama 
that  awaken  the  more  pleasant  sentiments  of  our  emotional  na- 
ture. There  are  other  scenes,  clouds  mingled  with  sunshine ; 
no  joy  without  its  counterpart ;  we  plucked  the  rose  but  with  it 
came  the  pain  the  thorn  produced.  It  is  through  much  tribu- 
lation the  crown  is  won.  From  the  time  that  Ladd  and  Whit- 
ney fell  in  the  streets  of  Baltimore  till  the  sad  fate  of  the  im- 
mortal Lincoln  the  scene  is  one  of  mingled  sadness. 

In  four  years  of  strife  many  of  our  noble  soldiers  fell  a  sacri- 
fice to  the  cause  which  they  espoused. 

It  is  of  the  memory  of  these  we  are  to  speak.  This  is  a 
subject  of  interest  to  all.  The  soldier  is  a  common  benefactor, 
and  every  American  citizen  may  well  shed  a  tear  of  love  and 
gratitude  at  the  grave  of  the  fallen.  The  life  that  aims  to  main- 
tain the  honor  of  the  nation,  that  seeks  the  preservation  of  her 


458  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

liberties,  that  risks  every  peril  in  the  endeavor  to  uphold  the  ban- 
ner of  right  and  freedom,  is  ever  esteemed  worthy  of  the  bright- 
est laurels  a  people  can  bestow,  and  where  such  a  life  is  lost  in 
the  conflict  it  deserves  our  fullest  honor,  our  highest  ecomium. 
We  would  be  recreant  to  duty,  false  to  the  instincts  of  our  nature 
were  we  to  be  ungrateful  for  our  dearly-purchased  liberties,  and 
did  we  not  cherish  the  memories  of  the  dead.  Our  country  has 
recognized  this  debt  of  love  and  gratitude,  and  one  of  her  first 
acts  after  the  close  of  the  contest,  was  to  lay  out  and  beautify 
national  cemeteries  for  the  resting-place  of  those  who  fell  in  her 
defence.  We  may  not  come  behind  the  nations  of  ancient  time 
in  showing  respect  for  the  brave  that  have  perished.  The  lore 
of  antiquity  abounds  in  panegyric  pronounced  upon  those  who, 
inspired  by  the  love  of  country,  were  intrepid  in  the  midst  of 
dangers,  bared  their  breasts  to  the  foe,  and,  in  defence  of  home 
and  liberty,  gave  themselves  to  death.  The  empires  of  the 
Orient,  long  since  passed  away,  still  in  monumental  inscription 
and  costly  sepulture  speak  of  their  regard  for  their  benefactors. 
The  bards  of 'Greek  and  Latin  tongue  chose  the  heroes  of  war 
for  their  subjects  when  they  would  put  forth  their  greatest 
power,  and  in  all  ages,  from  Bible  times  till  the  present,  the 
good,  the  noble,  the  brave,  who  have  perished  in  battling  for  the 
right  have  been  accounted  worthy  of  the  highest  ecomium  man 
can  pronounce  upon  his  fellows.  In  fulfilling  our  duty  here, 
then,  we  but  follow  the  instincts  of  humanity,  and  imitate  the 
examples  of  our  predecessors  in  all  ages  of  the  world.  In  our 
eulogy  we,  of  course,  include  all  who  have  in  any  way  paid  with 
their  lives  the  price  of  our  liberty,  whether  at  the  cannon's 
mouth,  in  hospital,  in  prison-pen,  or  in  the  arms  of  friends  at 
home,  where  many  of  the  sick  and  wounded  came  only  to  die. 

All  honor  to  the  patriot  dead,  who  full  of  hope  and  trust  and 
zeal  went  forth  to  the  battle-field ;  honor  for  the  sacrifice  they 
made,  the  exchange  of  home  comforts  for  camp  life,  the  deli- 
cacies of  the  table  for  soldier's  fare  ;  soft  couches  for  bare  floors, 
or  the  damp  earth  ;  the  shelter  of  the  homestead  roof  for  the 
relentless  storm,  a  life  of  ease  and  comfort  for  military  dis- 
cipline ;  fond  parents,  brothers  and  sisters  they  left  behind,  not 
that  they  loved  these  less,  but  their  country  more.  It  was  a 
noble  impulse  that  thrilled  their  breasts  and  led  them  to  break 
away  from  such  endearments  and  to  go  forward  to  meet  the  foe- 
man.  At  the  sound  of  danger  the  artisan  dropped  his  tools  and 
went  out  to  protect  us ;  the  yeoman  exchanged  peaceful  labor 
upon  his  fruitful  farm,  for  the  clangor  and  toil  and  harvest  of 
bones  upon  the  battle-field.  These  noble-hearted  men  were  from 
all  the  ranks  of  life.  The  student,  the  teacher,  the  physician, 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  459 

the  lawyer,  the  minister  stood  side  by  side  with  their  country- 
men ;  rich  and  poor,  old  and  young  went  together.  No  land 
has  ever  had  such  cause  as  ours  to  boast  its  gallant  defenders. 
God  favored  us  in  sending  willing  hearts  and  strong  hands  for 
our  defence.  The  call  of  the  country  thus  met  with  quick  re- 
sponse from  her  sons.  A.  counti-ys  Venison  be  upon  their  memo- 
ry. Honor  to  th>se  sleeping  warriors  fur  their  bravery.  It  was 
no  coward  foe  they  went  out  to  meet,  but  a  determined  one 
tired  with  settled  hate  and  thirsting  vengeance,  and  stoutest 
hearts  were  needed  to  oppose  them.  The  men  whose  memories 
we  would  cherish  and  perpetuate  were  intrepid  before  this  mad- 
dened host,  and  met  them  steel  to  steel,  till  God  gave  them 
victory.  Gave  them  victory,  do  we  say  ?  Yes,  though  the  mul- 
titude of  the  host  fell  before  the  glorious  news  was  sounded 
forth,  still  the  victory  was  theirs ;  theirs  in  the  mind  of  God, 
theirs  in  its  near  approach,  theirs  to  bequeath  to  their  surviving 
compatriots.  Peace  be  to  them.  "  Peace  to  the  slnmberers. ' 
We  cannot  say  of  them  "  vain  was  their  bravery,"  as  did  Sir 
Thomas  Moore  in  eulogizing  those  slain  in  an  unsuccessful  con- 
test. Our  fallen  heroes  have  left  us  inheritors  of  what  they  won 
by  their  deeds  of  valor.  The  blessings  of  a  free  Republic  should 
be  upon  them.  The  tombs  of  these  our  heroic  benefactors  are 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  our  land.  Some  sleep 
in  unknown  graves.  Where  the  fatal  missile  pierced  them,  there 
they  fell  and  were  buried,  some  by  the  kindness  of  friends  ;  some 
by  ruthless  hands.  At  the  great  battle-fields  we  have  gathered 
them  into  cemeteries  and  tenderly  committed  their  remains  dust 
to  dust.  There  are  few  churchyards  in  the  land  that  do  not 
bear  in  their  bosom  some  part  of  this  precious  charge.  They 
sleep.  Their  memories  never. 

"  Ah  1  never  shall  the  land  forget 

How  flowed  the  life-blood  of  her  brave — 
Gushed  warm  with  hope  and  courage  yet 
Upon  the  soil  they  fought  to  save." 

You,  soldiers,  and  friends  of  the  soldier  who  have  had  an 
interest  in  decorating  the  graves  of  the  dead  to-day,  have  testi- 
fied that  you  have  not  forgotten  ;  that  the  memories  of  the  past 
are  still  dear  to  you.  Flowers  are  emblems  of  purity  and  love, 
and  all  that  is  good  and  noble  and  true.  They  are  the  gifts  of 
affection  ;  given  by  God  to  beautify  the  earth  and  to  awaken 
and  cherish  in  us  the  sentiments  they  symbolize.  They  have  a 
language  man  has  not  fully  learned,  and  when  we  bestow  them 
upon  loved  ones  they  speak  more  than  the  lips  can  utter.  To 
scatter  them  over  the  sleeping  remains  of  the  soldier  is  a  tender 
and  most  expressive  act.  May  this  be  repeated  in  coming  years. 


460  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Let  these  flowers  of  spring-time,  the  first  floral  fruits  of  the 
year,  continue  to  be  offered  upon  this  altar  of  memory.  You 
whose  peculiar  work  it  is  to  perpetuate  the  fame  of  our  coun- 
try's heroes,  let  no  minor  motive  lead  you  to  forget  your  mission. 
If  you  are  true  to  your  noble  work,  the  influence  you  exert  will 
not  end  with  the  present  generation,  but  posterity  will  catch 
your  spirit  and  imitate  your  example  in  honoring  the  champions 
of  American  liberty  ;  and  so  too  will  your  own  names  be  held  in 
remembrance  by  those  who  shall  succeed  you  upon  the  stage  of 
life.  I  cannot  close  without  digressing  somewhat  from  the  sub- 
ject allotted,  and  bespeakirg  from  all  a  sympathy  for  the  living 
whose  crippled  forms  or  broleen  health  testify  to  the  service  they 
have  rendered.  They  are  worthy  of  no  small  share  of  your 
regard,  and  it  is  the  paramount  duty  of  all  citizens  to  render 
assistance  to  any  such  who  may  be  in  need.  Lastly  ;  in  render- 
ing these  honors  to  our  fellow  mortals,  let  us  not  forget  our  duty 
to  God,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  every  national  (as  well  as 
every  other)  blessing.  It  was  he  who  raised  up  these  heroes  for 
our  defence.  They  conquered  because  the  God  of  battles  was 
with  them.  He  who  is  ruler  over  the  nations,  putteth  down  one 
and  setteth  up  another.  We  believe  it  was  he  who  directed  our 
fathers  to  these  western  shores  and  established  them  a  free 
people,  with  the  good  government  which  they  bequeathed  to  us ; 
and  when  some  rose  up  to  destroy  the  nation,  when  tyranny  and 
oppression  were  rife,  it  was  God  who  called  forth  a  patriot  band 
to  break  the  shackles.  While,  then,  we  honor  the  instruments, 
let  us  acknowledge  God  as  sovereign,  and  bow  as  willing  sub- 
jects befpre  Him  who  will  judge  the  nations  and  try  every  man 
according  to  his  work. 

AT  SANDUSKY,  OHIO. 

All  the  forenoon  the  weather  was  threatening,  and  doubtless 
kept  many  away,  but  at  2  o'clock,  when  the  procession  formed, 
the  clouds  broke  away,  and  the  evening  proved  a  most  propi- 
tious one.  More  than  a  thousand  persons,  in  carriages  and  on 
foot,  bearing  flowers  and  banners,  proceeded  to  Oakland  Ceme- 
tery, led  by  the  members  of  Weller  Encampment  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  and  by  the  Great  Western  Band.  On 
arriving  at  the  Cemetery,  the  procession  massed  near  the  graves 
of  Col.  Weller  and  Dr.  McMeara,  where  a  temporary  stand  had 
been  erected.  Here  a  most  eloquent  and  touching  prayer  was 
offered,  by  Post-Chaplain  Rev."  Robert  McCune,  ol  Kelley's  Is- 
land ;  the  band  played  a  dirge,  and  short  addresses  were  made 
b  Messrs  IsTettleton,  'Colver  and  Yan  Tine.  After  another 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  461 

piece  by  the  band,  the  comrades  and  friends  proceeded,  with  as 
much  system  as  was  practicable  nnder  the  circumstances,  to 
strew  flowers  on  the  graves  of  the  fallen  defenders  of  the  Union. 
It  was  a  most  beautiful  and  moving  sight.  A  company  of 
young  girls,  dressed  in  the  habiliments  of  Spring,  their  hats 
decked  with  blossoms,  bearing  baskets  of  flowers,  wreaths  and 
bouquets,  passed  from  grave  to  grave,  accompanied  by  the  com- 
rades and  relatives  of  the  fallen,  and  strewed  the  little  hillocks 
with  "  the  bright  children  of  the  Spring?'  Tears  came  to  many 
eyes  as  memory  called  up  the  recent  bloody  past,  and  all  came 
away  feeling  renewed  gratitude  towards  those  who  gave  their 
lives  to  their  country.  Everything  passed  oft'  most  pleasantly, 
for  which  great  credit  is  due  to  T.  H.  Goodman,  Post  Com- 
mander, and  Mrs.  O.  Follett,  the  Soldiers'  Friend. — Sandusky 
Register. 

AT  CLEVELAND,  OHIO. 

At  West  Side  Cemetery :  the  arrangements  here  were  under 
the  control  of  the  G.  A.  R.— A  large  number  of  citizens,  including 
many  good  women  who  deeply  sympathized  with  the  efforts  of 
the  departed  to  save  the  Nation  from  destruction,  engaged  in 
the  work  of  love  and  commemoration.  Rev.  J.  A.  Thome,  after 
a  very  touching  prayer,  addressed  a  few  words  to  the  audience, 
alluding  chiefly  to  the  fact  that  it  was  impossible  for  the  human 
tongue  to  utter  the  sentiment  of  gratitude  due  to  these  fallen 
heroes.  In  the  prayer,  the  burden  of  his  petition  was  that  the 
Country  might  be  spared  from  such  another  conflict,  and  that 
the  wounds  made  by  the  Great  Rebellion  might  speedily  be 
healed.  The  graves  were  decorated  by  little  children — beautiful 
girls,  handsomely  dressed.  Evidently  accustomed  to  the  ar- 
rangement of  flowers,  their  work  won  the  admiration  and  deep- 
ly touched  the  feelings  of  all  present.  The  sleeping  comrades, 
unknown  to  very  many  of  those  who  scattered  garlands  over  the 
graves,  were  mostly  from  Maine,  Massachusetts,  Connecticut, 
Ohio,  Indiana,  New  York  and  Germany — 54  in  all. 

After  concluding  the  exercises  at  the  West  Side  Cemetery, 
the  procession  moved  to  Woodland  Cemetery,  preceded  by  the 
German  Band,  which  discoursed  many  very  sweet  and  appro- 
priate airs  during  the  day.  A  large  number  of  persons  gather- 
ed there  early  in  the  afternoon,  and  patiently  awaited  the  com- 
ing of  the  procession.  When  it  arrived,  Col.  John  N.  Frazee 
led  the  way  to  the  Monument  of  the  23d  O.  V.  I.,  which  had 
been  previously  covered  with  beautiful  and  exquisitely  wrought 
wreaths  and  bouquets  of  the  most  fragrant  flowers  that  could  be 


462  MEMORIAL   CEREMONIES 

obtained.  Halting  in  front  of  the  obelisk,  Mr.  T.  A.  Oakley 
offered  a  prayer,  and  was  followed  by  A.  T.  Slade,  Esq.,  with  an 
address,  of  which  the  following  is  a  synopsis : 


EEMARK3   OF   MB.    8LADE. 


SOLDIERS  AND  CITIZENS  :  Not  having  been  favored  with  time 
to  prepare  a  short  address,  and  not  now  having  time  to  make  a 
long  one,  let  us  in  an  imperfect  way  call  to  mind  the  lessons  of 
the  hour. 

To  commemorate  those  great  events  which  have  elevated 
National  character,  has  been  the  custom  in  all  ages.  History, 
poetry  and  eloquence,  have  each  vied  in  celebrating  those  exhi- 
bitions of  courage  which  reflected  so  much  honor  upon  the  Re- 
publics of  antiquity.  Rome,  a  nation  which  surpassed  her 
cotemporaries  in  love  of  arts  and  arms,  erected  statues  and  gar- 
landed triumphal  arches  in  honor  of  her  victorious  brave.  It  is 
then  in  conformity  to  an  ancient  custom — the  most  natural  and 
honorable  of  feelings,  the  spirit  of  the  loftiest  patriotism  and  of 
the  deepest  gratitude — that  we  have  this  day  assembled,  in  this 
beautiful  cemetery,  to  decorate  the  graves  of  the  heroic  dead, 
who  fought  and  fell  that  their  Country  might  survive. 

We  desire,  by  thus  reverently  approaching  the  sepulchres 
of  our  departed  heroes,  mingling  our  tears  with  the  dews  of 
heaven,  spreading  fresh  flowers — mementoes  of  love  and  friend- 
ship— over  the  green  mound  of  the  silent  sleeper,  not  only  to 
show  our  respect  and  patriotic  remembrance  of  the  dead,  but  to 
keep  alive  on  the  altar  of  our  hearts  that  living  love  of  country, 
in  defense  of  which  death  is  so  sweetly  and  so  nobly  met. 

It  is  but  natural  that  flowers  should  give  expression  to  our 
love  for  the  departed  ;  theirs  is  an  oratory  that  speaks  in  per- 
fumed silence.  Joy  and  sorrow  have  their  appropriate  expres- 
sion in  these  mute  yet  eloquent  letters  of  "  the  blooming  alpha- 
bet of  creation." 

It  was  a  custom  among  the  Athenians  to  take  the  bodies  of 
those  slain  in  battle,  and  bear  them  back  tenderly  to  the  city  of 
Athens,  when,  on  a  day  appointed,  funeral  cars  were  provided, 
in  which  were  placed  the  dead  of  each  particular  tribe ;  but 
there  was  one  empty  car  more  highly  adorned  and  more  beauti- 
ful than  all  the  rest,  in  memory  of  those  whose  bodies  they  were 
unable  to  recover.  In  like  manner,  let  us  not  forget  those  brave 
men  who  lie  scattered  on  the  battle-fields  of  the  nation  ;  their 
graves  are  consecrated  ground,  destined  to  become  classic.  The 
time  shall  yet  come  when  Lookout  Mountain  will  surpass  in  re- 
nown the  fass  of  Thermopylae. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  463 

Wherever  their  graves  may  be  found,  let  no  pains  be  spared 
to  beautify  and  adorn  them.  Man  and  Nature  shouftl  alike  con- 
rtibute  to  preserve  such  hallowed  ground.  Well  has  it  been 
said, 

"  How  sleep  the  brave  who  sink  to  rest, 

With  all  their  country's  honors  blest ! 

When  Spring,  with  dewy  fingers  cold, 

Returns  to  deck  their  hallowed  mould, 

She  there  shall  dress  a  sweeter  sod 

Than  Fancy's  feet  have  ever  trod  ; 

By  forms  unseen  their  dirge  is  sung, 

By  hands  unseen  their  knell  is  rung ; 

There  Honor  comes,  a  pilgrim  gray, 

To  bless  the  turf  that  wraps  their  clay." 

It  is  but  natural  that  the  soldiers  and  sailors  who  have  sur- 
vived the  struggle  should  form  a  league  of  friendship,  and  that 
it  should  take,  in  this  instance,  the  name  of  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic — pledged  to  protect  the  widow  and  the  orphan 
of  the  soldier  and  the  sailor ;  bound  together  by  the  common 
danger  and  hardship  they  have  suffered  in  defense  of  the  "  dear 
old  flag."  Time  will  but  increase  their  love  for  each  other,  and, 
in  years  to  come,  they  will  delight  to  recount  their  deeds  of 
noble  daring  in  the  War  of  the  Great  Rebellion. 

Here,  standing  upon  the  freshening  sods  which  shut  from  our 
mortal  view  the  cherished  remains  of  our  patriotic  dead,  we 
might  mention  the  names  of  those  we  knew  most  intimately, 
but  forbear  to  make  distinctions  where  all  did  so  well ;  while 
we  might,  too,  neglect  to  mention  the  name  of  some  humble 
private  of  the  grand  army  of  the  dead,  who  nobly  did  all  man 
could  do. 

It  is  a  touching  reflection,  a  sublime  thought,  that  at  this 
hour,  in  almost  every  city,  village,  and  hamlet  churchyard 
throughout  the  land,  little  children  are  strewing  the  graves  of 
our  sleeping  heroes  with  garlands  and  flowers. 

Throwing  aside  all  prejudice  and  unkind  feeling,  in  the  spirit 
of  a  true  union,  let  each  year  witness  a  renewal  of  these  beau- 
tiful decorations.  A  fitting  tribute  to  the  dead,  it  will  cultivate 
a  high  and  noble  sentiment  in  the  living.  While  we  thus  honor 
the  dead,  let  us  not  forget  these,  the  companions  and  survivors 
of  the  departed. 

'•  The  seed  which,  in  these  few  and  fleeting  hours, 
Thy  hands  unsparing  and  unwearied  sow, 
Shall  deck  thy  grave  with  amaranthine  flowers, 
And  yield  thee  fruits  divine  in  heaven's  immortal  bowers." 

Additional  wreaths  were  then  nicely  interwoven  with  those 


464  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

already  on  jthe  monument,  by  the  ladies  Laving  charge  of  the 
decoration.  Graves  in  the  vicinity  were  visited  and  made  more 
lovely  by  floral  decorations.  Erie  street  and  Catholic  ceme- 
teries were  also  visited  by  the  members  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  and 
ladies,  late  in  the  evening. 

AT  CHILLICOTHE,  OHIO. 

The  procession,  under  the  supervision  of  Comrade  Charles 
Schleyer,  a$  officer  of  the  day,  formed,  at  2  o'clock,  on  Paint 
street,  right  resting  on  Second.  The  following  was  the  order  of 
formation :  1.  Guard  of  Honor,  composed  of  eight  men,  uni- 
formed and  armed,  and  under  command  of  Comrade  Henry.  C. 
Taylor.  2.  Brass  Band  3.  From  eighty  to  one  hundred  little 
girls,  dressed  in  white,  and  bearing  garlands  of  flowers.  4.  Sill 
encampment,  Post  No.  118,  G.  A.  K.,  members  of  other  Posts, 
and  old  soldiers  generally,  carrying  a  number  of  war-worn, 
battle-stained  flags,  and  a  large  wreath  of  roses  bearing  the 
motto,  "  In  Honor  of  our  Fallen  Comrades."  5.  Maimed  sol- 
diers in  carriages.  6.  Orator  of  the  day,  chaplains,  and  singers, 
in  carriages.  7.  Mayor  and  City  Council,  in  carriages.  8.  Citi- 
zens in  carriages,  Expresses,  &c.  The  procession  arrived  on  the 
ground  in  due  season,  the  spot  selected  for  the  services  being 
that  portion  of  the  cemetery  known  as  Monumental  Circle,  it 
having  been  selected  and  donated  as  the  place  whereon  to  erect 
the  Soldiers'  Monument,  now  in  process  of  completion.  Before 
proceeding  to  the  Circle,  the  procession  filed  through  the  main 
portion  of  the  cemetery  grounds.  As  the  -grave  of  each  soldier 
buried  there  was  approached,  the  procession  halted,  and  a  num- 
ber of  beautiful  little  girls  were  sent  forward,  who  strewed  each 
grassy  mound  with  flowers — a  most  grateful  tribute,  and  one* 
calculated  to  impress  upon  the  minds  of  the  youthful  partici- 
pants the  sacredness  of  the  cause  for  which  the  dead  heroes  had 
given  their  all. 

This  ceremony  completed,  the  march  was  continued  to  the 
Circle,  in  the  centre  of  which  had  been  erected  a  tall  scaffold- 
ing in  pyramid  shape,  around  the  bottom  of  which  were  hung 
garlands  and  wreaths  of  roses.  To  many  of  these  were  attached 
cords  bearing  the  name  of  some  dear  one,  accompanied  by  the 
date  of  his  death,  and  one  or  more  appropriate  verses,  placed 
there  by  loving  hands.  (Those  names  and  verses  are  given  be- 
low). The  upper  portion  of  the  pyramid  was  appropriately 
draped,  while  from  the  top  floated  a  large  silken  emblem  of 
those  liberties  which  the  dead  comrades  had  fought  so  manfully 
to  uphold.  Within  the  base  was  placed  the  model  of  the  monu- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  465 

ment  to  be  erected,  which  formed  an  attractive  portion  of  the 
decorations. 

The  exercises  opened  with  the  reading,  by  Comrade  A. 
Kopp,  of  the  General  Order  from  the  Corninander-in-Chief,  set- 
ting aside  the  day  as  one  to  be  simultaneously  observed  by  the 
Order ;  after  which  came  the  offering  of  prayer  by  the  Rev.  W 
T.  Harvey,  pastor  of  the  Walnut  street  M.  E.  church.  Then 
followed  singing  by  a  quartette,  consisting  of  Messrs.  S.  W. 
Pearson,  L.  r.  Hatch,  Edward  McKee,  and  J.  L.  Dunlap,  who 
were  accompanied  on  the  melodeon  by  Miss  Belle  Hatch.  The 
song  rendered  was  an  original  composition,  composed  expressly 
for  the  occasion,  and  dedicated  to 

OTJB  HONORED  DEAD. — BY  L.   P.   HATCH. 

No  more  the  bugle's  blast  shall  wake, 
Nor  war's  alarms  the  nation  quake ; 
Silent  as  Summer's  smiling  morn, 
When  earth  with  joy  she  doth  adorn. 

No  hostile  bands  to-day  arrayed ; 
War's  bristling  front  ouce  more  is  stayed ; 
Rolled  back  those  clouds  that  hovered  o'er — 
Their  blighting  curse  has  lost  its  power. 

And  now  we  come,  and  offerings  bring — 
The  fairest,  loveliest  flowers  of  Spring, 
And  here,  with  tears,  these  gifts  we  spread, 
Where  soon  shall  rest  our  honored  dead. 

Comrades,  though  parted,  still  thou'rt  here ; 
We  ever  feel  your  presence  near ; 
And  as  we  deck  this  hallowed  spot, 
Thy  virtues  ne'er  shall  be  forgot. 

Some  hearts  with  us  are  sad  to-day ; 
Death's  cruel  dart  no  arm  could  stay ; 
We'll  try  to  dry  the  mourner's  tear ; 
The  widowed,  wounded  heart  to  cheer. 

Comrades,  farewell !  we'll  drop  a  tear ; 
Though  parted,  still  to  us  thou'rt  dear ; 
Thy  virtues  cherished,  and  each  name, 
Shall  be  enrolled  on  the  list  of  Fame. 

After  the  song,  Capt.  T.  A.  Minshall  delivered  the  following 

ADDRESS. 

COMRADES  AND  FELLOW-CITIZENS  :   It  is  told  in  Grecian  story, 

how.  once,  all  Athens  met  to  do  honor  to  those  who  fell  in  the 

Peloponnesian  war — one  of  the  great  struggles  of  that  renowned 

people  for  individual  existence,  and  one  of  the  first  orators  of 

30 


466  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Greece  commemorated  with  his  eloquence  the  heroic  lives  of 
those  men  who  fell  in  defense  of  the  integrity  of  their  country. 
We  are  here  to-day  in  obedience  to  the  suggestion  of  our  Com- 
mander-in-Chief,  and  the  impulse  of  deeply  awakened  recollec- 
tions, to  do  honor  to  those  of  OUT  members  who,  in  our  recent 
struggle  for  national  existence,  with  us  marched  forth  to  battle, 
and  are  now  numbered  with  the  unreturning  brave. 

A  little  more  than  eight  years  since,  Peace  smiled  upon  a 
contented  and  happy  people.  The  land  was  filled  with  the  hum 
of  industry,  and  our  commerce  urged  its  sails  to  every  quarter 
of  the  globe.  In  the  permanency  of  our  Government  we  felt 
secure,  because  our  institutions  were  free.  They  recognized  no 
castes,  with  their  privileges  overshadowing  the  energies  of  the 
people,  and  exciting  the  jealousy  of  the  ambitious.  On  a  sud- 
den, the  whirlwind  of  battle  broke  the  quietude  of  the  land. 
Our  sky,  then  so  bright,  was  in  a  moment  overcast  by  deep, 
lowering  clouds.  The  tread  of  armies,  with  their  preparations 
for  war,  succeeded  the  hum  of  peaceful  industry,  and  the  terri- 
ble realization  pressed  home  to  the  convictions  of  a  generation 
grown  up  under  the  auspices  of  peace,  that  there  was  no  means 
left  but  the  sword  wherewith  to  maintain  the  birthright  of  their 
fathers. 

.  The  exigency  was  upon  the  country.  The  peril  was  great ; 
but  with  the  peril  there  came  this  assurance,  that  proved  in  part 
the  salvation  of  the  nation — that  there  was  no  compromise. 
Rebellion,  as  it  raised  the  standard  of  revolt,  dropped  every  dis- 
guise. It  was  not  a  reformation  of  abuses  that  was  sought,  but 
the  establishment  of  a  separate  national  existence — a  people 
with  a  government,  history,  and  flag  of  their  own.  As  there 
was  no  peaceful  solution,  the  nation  must  at  once  become  a  na- 
tion of  soldiers.  The  suddenness  with  whch  this  transformation 
was  effected,  excited  the  wonder  of  Christendom  at  the  time, 
and  remains  one  of  the  most  remarkable  events  connected  with 
the  war.  The  boy  whose  mind  had  never  raised  above  the  pur- 
suits of  husbandly,  left  his  plow  standing  in  the  field,  the  anvil 
ceased  its  merry  chorus,  the  many-wheeled  mill  stopped  its  clat- 
ter, the  student  left  his  half-conned  book,  the  counting-house 
was  deserted,  and  all,  all  pressed  for  a  place  in  their  country's 
service. 

The  French  historian  records  with  pride  how  the  provincial 
youths  of  France  were,  in  a  few  months,  from  the  habits  of 
peasantry  transformed  into  veteran  soldiers,  and  advanced  to 
victory,  the  ensign  of  their  country  upon  the  many  historic 
fields  of  the  French  Revolution.  It  cannot  be  said  that  the 
American  youth  has  the  quick  martial  perceptions  of  that  coun- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  467 

try.  They  are  descended  from  a  race  more  renowned  for  stub- 
born courage  combined  with  a  manlv  independence,  than  the 
impetuous  ardor  of  the  former.  But  the  history  of  both  demon- 
strates that  the  most  invincible  soldiery  is  the  battalion  of  free- 
men— that  there  is  no  word  like  Liberty  to  enkindle  the  enthu- 
siasm of  men,  and  to  inspire  heroic  action. 

The  master-spirits  of  the  Rebellion — and  it.  must  be  admit- 
ted that  they  were  such — went  at  their  work  like  bold  and  de- 
cided men,  bent  on  the  accomplishment  of  their  designs.  I  cannot 
here  undertake  to  recount  the  events  of  the  war ;  this  belongs  to 
the  historian.  All  remember  how,  for  months,  the  result  trem- 
bled in  the  balance,  and  none  could  predict  with  confidence  final 
triumph  for  the  nation. 

Many  and  great  were  the  trials  for  the  country.  Fear,  as  it 
were,  oscillated  between  doubts  of  competency  on  the  one  hand 
and  patriotism  on  the  other,  in  those  to  whom  the  country  had 
entrusted  its  sword.  We  hardly  knew,  at  times,  whether  there 
was  more  to  fear  from  the  enemy  in  arms,  than  the  treachery 
which  lurked  in  the  bosoms  of  some  who  were  the  nation's  cap- 
tains. It  is  one  of  the  most  incomprehensible  problems  of  his- 
tory, that  the  cause  of  human  liberty  should  be  so  frequently 
betrayed  by  the  treachery  of  professed  adherents.  Cgesar,  the 
people's  idol,  and  one  of  the  great  captains  of  the  Roman  Re- 
public, overturned  the  liberties  of  his  country.  Gorgey  threat- 
ened the  aspirations  of  Hungary,  in  1848;  and  Louis  JSapoleon, 
chosen  by  the  people  as  the  President  of  the  French  Republic, 
like  a  viper,  stung  to  death  the  virtuous  confidence  that  warmed 
him  into  existence.  These  lessons  of  history,  recalled  by  cir- 
cumstances that  but  too  plainly  justified  the  suspicions  they 
awakened,  kept  the  public  mind  in  a  continual  state  of  anxiety 
and  dread.  Fortunately,  the  country,  in  its  great  struggle  for 
life,  was  saved  from  the  ruinous  consequences  of  such  "base  be- 
trayals as  is  furnished  in  the  history  of  other  nations ;  and  the 
reason  is  to  be  found  in  the  virtue  and  intelligence  of  the  citizen 
soldiery,  upon  whom  the  nation  relied  as  its  right  arm  of  de- 
fence. With  such  a  soldiery,  the  Rubicon  could  not  be  crossed, 
because  they  were  more  attached  to  the  institutions  of  their 
country  than  to  the  name  of  any  military  chieftain.  They  fol- 
lowed their  flair,  and  were  but  little  dazzled  by  the  pomp  of 
military  splendor.  They  were  soldiers  from  a  sense  of  duty, 
and  ever  anxiously  looked  forward  to  the  day  when  they  could 
in  peace  return  to  the  quiet  of  their  homes  and  the  enjoyment 
of  their  liberties  ;  and  had  the  experiment  of  a  desertion  of  their 
country's  cause  been  tried  with  them,  they  would  have  followed 
the  example  of  those  noble  Greeks  who,  in  a  distant  country, 


468  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

put  to  death  a  traitorous  captain,  and  returned  to  sustain  the 
liberties  of  their  native  land. 

Whatever  were  the  doubts  and  fears  of  the  people,  the  sol- 
diers ahvavs  had  faith  in  the  ultimate  triumph  of  the  country's 
cause.  Who  can  forget  those  terrible  moments  in  which  the 
country  learned  of  the  first  great  disaster  to  its  arms — a  Water- 
loo defeat  accruing  at  the  very  moment  the  time  of  every  vol- 
unteer soldier  expired.  Then  it  was  the  hopes  of  the  patriot 
sank  within  him.  Under  defeat  and  national  humiliation,  the 
enemy  flushed  with  victory,  and  buoyant  with  confidence,  would 
the  youth  again  return  to  the  life  of  the  camp  ?  The  question 
received  a  speedy  solution,  and  before  the  early  fall  had  closed, 
the  call  for  three  hundred  thousand  had  placed  the  Government 
in  the  attitude  of  defense.  What  a  glorious  chapter  is  this  in 
American  history,  illustrating  as  it  does,  how  thoroughly  her 
institutions  have  taken  possession  of  the  affections  of  the  people. 
The  representatives  of  arbitrary  power  could  but  ill  disguise  the 
disappointment  felt  in  not  witnessing  the  speedy  destruction  of 
republican  government  on  this  continent. 

They  had  felt  confident  that  there  was  not  sufficient  virtue 
in  the  people  voluntarily  to  make  the  sacrifice  required  to  sus- 
tain their  Government.  Trusting  to  the  predictions  of  their 
wise  men,  they  hoped  and  believed  that  the  knell  of  American 
liberty  had  been  sounded. 

In  this  they  were  disappointed.  The  call  for  three  hundred 
thousand  was  promptly  filled,  and  when  the  ranks  of  these  had 
been  depleted  by  sickness  and  the  casualties  of  battle,  another 
three  hundred  thousand  came  with  the  same  alacrity,  while  the 
people  contributed  their  treasure  to  the  prosecution  of  the  war, 
as  the  rivers  pour  their  waters  into  the  ocean.  And  woman, 
true  to  the  instincts  of  her  heart  in  the  organization  of  aid  soci- 
eties, added  another  bright  chapter  to  the  history  of  her  many 
virtues,  and  gave  evidence  of  a  patriotic  devotion  as  noble  and 
beautiful  as  that  of  the  Roman  matrons,  who  contrihuted  the 
hair  of  their  heads  to  string  the  bows  of  their  country's  defend- 
ers. 

At  length,  after  many  vicissitudes,  the  cause  of  the  nation 
triumphed  in  a  glorious  victory.  The  rebellion  was  vanquished, 
the  Government  was  restored,  and  the  old  flag  again  floated  in 
peace  from  every  fortress  of  the  nation. 

Then  it  was  that  the  joy  of  the  people  swelled  into  a  volume 
that  knew  no  control.  It  seemed  to  lift  them  above  the  very 
mountains.  From  every  hill  and  from  every  valley,  from  every 
rock  and  from  every  glen,  a  song  of  praise  and  thanksgiving 
went  up  to  Him  who  sitteth  in  the  Heavens  and  ruleth  the  af- 
fairs of  men. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  469 

And  with  reason,  for  in  all  the  annals  of  the  world  there  had 
not  been  a  more  gigantic  struggle — one  fraught  with  so  many 
and  momentous  consequences  to  mankind.  Had  the  nation 
been  defeated  no  one  can  tell  what  would  have  be'en  the  future 
of  this  court  try,  divided  as  it  would  have  been  into  numerous 
petty  states,  each  jealous  of  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the 
other. 

And  now,  comrades  and  fellow  citizens,  we  have  to-day  to 
pay  this  tribute  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  those  who  sacri- 
ficed their  lives  on  the  altar  of  their  country  that  such  great  and 
dire  calamities  might  be  averted  from  the  future  of  this  land. 
In  doing  so  we  not  only  testify  how  dear  to  our  hearts  are  the 
memory  of  these  men,  but  the  most  exalted  public  virtues  are 
those  which  spring  from  fidelity  to  country. 

Of  the  many  thousands  that  have  from  time  to  time  respon- 
ded to  the  calls  of  their  country,  how  many  thousands  never  re- 
turned !  Where  are  their  graves  ?  Go  to  the  churchyard  where 
sleep  the  remains  of  their  fathers,  and  they  will  not  be  found. 
Their  sepulchres  are  in  the  soil  of  another  climate  on  the  na- 
tion's battle-fie'ds.  Where  they  fell  in  their  country's  defence 
there  were  they  buried.  Comrades  alone  performed  for  them 
the  rites  of  sepulture.  Not  in  sheet  nor  in  shroud  were  they 
wound,  but  in  the  humble  army  blanket  as  warriors  they  were 
laid  to  rest,  and  a  rude  board  carved  by  the  hand  of  some  t'ajth- 
ful  comrade  alone  marks  the  spot.  Comrades,  by  the  ceremonies 
of  this  day,  how  many  such  places  are  brought  to  a  vivid  recol- 
lection in  your  minds.  General  Thomas,  in  his  congratulatory 
order  on  reaching  Atlanta,  the  great  city  of  the  South,  well  said 
the  route  of  the  army  could  be  traced  by  the  graves  of  our 
buried  soldiers.  Every  theatre  of  the  war  is  thus,  as  it  were, 
mapped  out  by  the  graves  of  our  comrades — those  who,  on  the 
field  of  battle  paid  the  forfeit  of  their  hearts'  devotion  to  coun- 
try ;  of  the  language  of  the  poet : 

Soldier,  rest,  thy  warfare's  o'er, 
Sleep  the  sleep  that  knows  no  waking, 
Dream  of  battle-fields  no  more, 
Days  of  danger,  nights  of  waking. 

No  flowers  can  be  strewn  by  us  upon  their  graves  to-day. 
In  a  few  years  the  greensward  will  hardly  swell  into  a  hillock 
o'er  the  spot  where  they  lie,  and  the  rude  boards  that  now  mark 
their  graves  will  be  gone. 

But  the  memory  of  their  heroic  virtues  can  never  perish. 
These  we  will  cherish  in  our  heart  of  hearts,  and  coming  gene- 
rations, as  they  trace  the  glory  and  power  of  the  Great  Bepub 


470  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

lie  in  its  future  course  will  recall  with  patriotic  pride  the  manly 
heroism  of  those  who  fell  in  the  great  struggle  of  '61  for  the 
perpetuity  of  the  nation. 

We  tell  their  doom  without  a  sigh. 

For  they  are  Freedom's  now,  and  Fame's. 

We  cannot  neglect  the  memory  of  our  fellow  comrades  with- 
out becoming  recreant  to  the  duty  we  owe  to  ourselves  and  pos- 
terity. A  great  American  author  has  said  :  "  A  nation's  char- 
acter is  the  sum  of  its  splendid  deeds ;  they  constitute  a  common 
patrimony  of  this  nation's  inheritance.  They  awe  foreign  pow- 
ers, and  they  arouse  and  animate  our  own  people."  Since  the 
days  of  our  revolutionary  sires,  no  such  addition  has  been  made 
to  the  common  patrimony  of  heroic  deeds,  and  it  is  our  duty  to 
transmit  them  to  posterity  as  a  part  of  the  nation's  inheritance. 
Then  in  the  future  let  us  omit  no  measure  required  to  discharge 
this  sacred  duty  to  the  dead,  as  well  as  the  obligation  we  owe  to 
the  living,  and  those  who  are  to  come  after  us.  Annually  as  the 
spring  returns,  let  their  graves  be  strewn  with  garlands  of  flow- 
ers, while  the  monumental  marble  shall  rise,  and  in  all  the  noble 
eloquence  of  statuary,  testify  to  the  life  and  self-sacrificing  vir- 
tues of  our  departed  heroes. 

At  the  close  of  the  address  the  quartette  song,  "  Stand  by 
the  flag  of  the  nation."  The  song  was  rendered  with  fine  effect. 

Prayer  was  then  offered  by  the  Rev.  H.  "W.  Biggs,  pastor  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  following  which  a  list  of  all  those 
whose  graves  were  to  be  decorated,  was  read  by  H.  C.  Taylor. 
The  band  then  played  a  dirge,  after  which  the  procession  re- 
formed and  inarched  around  Monumental  Circle,  the  children 
strewing  flowers  on  the  spot  where  the  monument  is  to  be 
erected,  thus  typifying  the  graves  of  all  who  were  buried  here 
and  elsewhere. 

AT  MANSFIELD,  OHIO. 

The  Grand  Army  assembled  at  their  Hall,  at  3  o'clock,  and 
promptly  at  4  formed  in  line,  and  preceded  by  a  wagon  contain- 
ing flowers  for  the  decorations,  and  the  Mansfield  Brass  Band, 
inarched  to  the  Cemetery,  at  the  entrance  to  which,  the  follow- 
ing ceremonies  were  held  :  Prayer,  Chaplain  J.  E.  Twitchell ; 
Music,  National  Hymn  ;  Eeading  Order,  Adjutant  E.  Potter ; 
Remarks,  Comrade  Isaac  Gass,  as  follows  : 

COMRADES  AND  FELLOW-CITIZKNS  :  In  view  of  the  interesting 
and  impressive  exercises  which  have  just  taken  place,  and  of 
those  which  are  to  follow,  the  Committee  of  Arrangements  did 
well  in  limiting  to  a  very  few  minutes  the  time  to  be  occupied 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.'  471 

with  remarks.  E'er  to-day's  sun  shall  have  set,  the  graves  of 
dead  comrades,  who  sleep  their  quiet  sleep  because  they  were 
their  country's  defenders — and  whose  remains  lie  buried  in 
almost  every  city,  village,  and  rural  cemetery  in  the  land,  will 
have  been  honored,  as  we  propose  now  to  honor  those  who  lie 
here.  In  issuing  the  order  just  read  in  your  hearing,  the  Coin- 
niaiider-in-Cliief  of  the  G.  A.  R.  was  but  carrying  out  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  organization.  By  this  organization,  is  proposed, 
among  other  things,  the  preservation  of  those  kind  and  frater- 
nal feelings,  which  have  bound  together  with  the  strong  cords 
of  love  and  affection,  the  soldiers  and  sailors  who  have  stood 
together,  in  many  weary  marches,  sieges  and  battles — to  cherish 
tenderly,  the  memory  of  our  heroic  dead — to  make  provision, 
where  it  is  not  already  done — for  the  support,  care  and  educa- 
tion of  soldiers'  orphans — and  for  the  maintenance  of  soldiers' 
widows.  Was  it  not,  then,  eminently  proper,  that  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  composed  as  it  is,  of  soldiers  and  sailors 
yet  in  service,  and  of  honorably  discharged  soldiers  and  sailors 
of  the  marine  corps  of  the  United  States — an  organization  ex- 
isting in  almost  every  county,  from  Maine  to  California,  and 
from  the  Lakes  to  the  Gulf,  should  designate  a  day,  and  not 
only  unite  themselves,  but  invite  all  patriotic  and  liberty  loving 
men  and  women  of  this  land  to  unite  with  them  in  rendering 
honor  to  the  memory  of  our  heroic  dead — to  those  who  made 
their  breasts  a  barricade  between  our  country  and  its  foes. 
Their  soldier  lives  were  the  reveille  of  Freedom  to  a  race  in 
chains.  They  died  that  Liberty  might  live.  Then  let  us  guard 
their  graves  with  sacred  vigilance.  All  that  the  consecrated 
wealth  and  taste  of  the  nation  can  add  to  their  security  and 
adornment,  is  but  a  fitting  tribute  to  the  memory  of  her  slain 
defenders.  "  Let  not  wanton  foot  tread  rudely  on  such  hallowed 
ground."  Let  pleasant  paths  invite  the  coming  and  going  of 
reverent  visitors  and  fond  mourners.  Let  neither  vandalism, 
nor  avarice^  nor  neglect — testify,  either  to  the  present  or  coming 
generations,  that  we,  as  a  people,  have  forgotten  the  terrible  cost 
of  a,  free  and  undivided  Republic. 

Comrades — if  other  hands  should  weary,  and  other  hearts 
grow  cold,  in  this  solemn  trust,  we  should  keep  it  well — as  long 
as  the  liyJit  and  warmth  of  l>fe  are  in  us.  In  the  recent  great 
conflict — the  votaries  of  Union  and  Freedom  were  not  confined 
to  nationality,  nor  sect,  nor  race,  nor  sex,  (for  what  words  can 
justly  portray  the  untiring  devotion  of  the  matchless  women  of 
our  country,  in  securing  its  triumph)  so,  now,  with  like  absence 
of  distinction,  let  us  all,  as  the  common  heritors  of  our  nation's 
boon  of  civil  and  religious  freedom,  gather  around  the  sacred 


472  '     MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

remains  of  our  patriot  dead,  and  garland  the  passionless  mounds 
above  them  with  the  chosen  flowers  of  spring.  Let  us  in  this 
solemn  presence,  renew  our  pledges  to  aid  and  assist  those  vrhom 
they  have  left  amongst  us,  a  sacred  charge,  upon  a  nation's  grati- 
tude. Life's  evening  tattoo  has  sounded  to  our  comrades  who 
sleep  here  in  their  bivouac — and  thev  have  lain  down  in  their 
undisturbed  repose.  For  them  the  long  and  weary  march  is 
over — no  more  for  them  the  sentinel's  lonely  beat — the  battle's 
furious  fray  is  past.  They  but  sleep — let  loving  hands  strew 
flowers  o'er  the  bed  of  their  repose.  They  but  await  reveille — 
the  reveille  of  the  skies. 

Song — Star  Spangled  Banner. 

The  decorations  were  then  proceeded  with,  the  entire  com- 
pany marching  to  each  grave,  where  a  detail  wyas  taken  from 
the  column,  and  decorated  each  grave  by  placing  a  bouquet  of 
white  flowers  at  the  head,  and  one  of  colored  at  the  breast  and  feet, 
with  a  wreath  of  evergreens  at  the  head  and  breast.  Each  grave 
was  then  covered  with  loose  flowers,  the  whole  presenting  an 
elegant  appearance.  Thirty-eight  graves  and  three  monuments 
were  decorated  in  this  manner,  the  names  of  those  honored  being 
as  follows : 

Col.  Alex.  Mcllvain,  Col.  Jas.  Cantwell,  Col.  T.  H.  Ford, 
Maj.  Wm.  McLaughlin,  Adjt.  A.  (T.  Phillips,  Capt.  J.  Christe- 
fel,  Capt.  G.  E.  Winters,  Capt.  F.  A.  Coates,  Capt.  K.  L.  Avery, 
Capt.  John  Costin,  Lieut.  C.  P.  Meredith,  Lieut.  Geo.  Schemes, 
Lieut.  Philip  Drakert,  Lieut.  Fred.  Harding,  Privates  Harry 
Sims,  Albert  R.  Moore,  Adam  Endly,  And.  Beacher,  John 
Leahy,  H.  Potter,  Geo.  Uhilch,  Jos.  Alcock,  Oliver  P.  Crouse, 

J.  E.  Dennison,  Brown,  John  Hownie,  James  Barden, 

Aug.  McDvain,  Jos.  Campbell,  Thos.  Croft,  W.  P.  Cook,  K  C. 
Dickey,  Hiram  Potter,  Edward  Allen,  John  Bristor,  Yal. 
Beinsott,  R.  M.  Schreifler,  Chas.  McCornb,  Win.  Thompson, 
James  Avery,  George  Lemon. 

After  this  part  of  the  ceremony  was  concluded,  "  Old  Hun- 
dred," was  sung  by  the  choir,  the  multitude  of  persons  present 
joining  in,  and  making  the  cemetery  ring  with  the  solemn 
music.  The  benediction  was  then  pronounced  by  Rev.  J.  A. 
Mudge,  when  the  crowd  dispersed,  and  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic  returned  to  their  hall. 

AT  DAYTON,  OHIO. 

It  was  just  27  minutes  after  four  o'clock  on  Saturday  morn- 
ing, when  three  Napoleon  twelve-pounders  simultaneously  an- 
nounced that  the  eventful  day  had  opened,  and  that  it  was  time 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  473 

to  begin  the  preparation  for  the  patriotic  offering.  One  of  the 
guns  was  planted  at  the  foot  of  the  flag-staff  at  the  National 
Soldiers'  Home,  and  was  manned  by  veterans  who  had  seen  four 
vi-ars  of  the  most  desperate  service ;  another  tield-piece  was 
located  on  the  highest  point  of  Phillips'  Hill,  overlooking  the 
city,  and  was  served  by  a  squad  of  cadets  from  the  Western 
Military  Institute,  in  command  of  Captain  Rodders ;  and  the 
third  gun  was  planted  on  the  area  in  front  of  Turner  Hall,  in 
the  eastern  part  of  the  city.  The  gun  on  Phillips'  Hill  was  re- 
moved to  the  head  of  Main  street,  about  10  o'clock  A.  M.  These 
guns  were  h'red  every  half  hour  during  the  day,  "  waking  the 
echoes  "  from  dawn  to  sundown.  Long  before  one  o'clock  the 
people  had  commenced  gathering  at  the  Court-house,  and  when 
the  hour  arrived  the  sidewalks  and  steps  were  filled,  and  on 
Main  street,  south  and  north,  as  well  as  on  Third,  many  were 
waiting  to  witness  the  forming  of  the  procession.  Promptly  at 
one  o'clock  Gen.  Wood,  Grand  Marshal,  with  his  aides,  Major 
F.  Lourv,  Major  P.  O'Connell,  Major  J.  V.  Thomas,  Captain 
Henry  jDornbush,  Captain  J.  T.  Patton,  Captain  James  Reber, 
and  Lieutenants  Gottschall  and  A.  Knecht,  Jr.,  were  on  the 
ground,  and  the  procession  was  formed  soon  after,  and  in  the 
following  order :  Regimental  Band ;  Soldiers'  Home  Band  in 
car ;  two  waggons  tastefully  ornamented,  in  which  were  seated 
the  young  ladies  who  were  to  aid  in  decorating  the  graves. 
Three  vehicles  were  also  loaded  with  flowers  ;  the  orator  of  the 
day,  with  the  clergy ;  King  Encampment,  No.  20,  G.  A.  R., 
(  ;.])t.  Steve  Hayes;  Allen  Encampment,  No.  152,  G.  A.  R. ; 
Veteran  Post  G.  A.  R.,  from  Soldiers'  Home  ;  city  police ;  city 
judiciary  ;  city  council ;  board  of  education  ;  the  judiciary  and 
civic  authorities  of  the  county  ;  citizens  in  carriages. 

Proceeding  down  Main  Street,  the  procession  kept  on  its 
way  to  St.  Henry's  (Catholic)  Cemetery,  and  thence  to  Wood- 
land, where  thousands  had  congregated  before  it  arrived.  Over 
the  entrance  to  St.  Henry's  Cemetery  was  a  large  arch,  in  rustic 
fashion,  of  cedar,  and  it  was  inscril)ed  in  evergreen  letters — 
"  Honor  to  Our  Unburied  Dead."  The  mystic  and  potent 
initials  "  U.  S."  marked  the  bases  and  apex  of  this  beautiful 
arch.  We  learn  that  the  inscription  was  wrought  by  the  ladies 
of  the  Merchants'  Hotel,  and  was  their  tribute  to  the  memories 
of  the  gallant  dead.  Inside  the  grounds  a  platform  was  erected 
und«>r  a  weeping  willow,  and  it  was  most  handsomely  draped 
with  flags,  and  festooned  with  evergreens  and  flowers.  Here 
and  there  over  the  cemetery  the  graves  of  soldiers — to  the  num- 
ber of  nineteen — were  designated  by  little  flags  planted  on  them, 
and  loving  hands  had  already  initiated  the  work  of  decoration. 


474  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Owing  to  the  absence  of  Father  Goetz,  the  ceremonies  at  St. 
Henry's  were  brief.  The  graves  were  tenderly  decorated,  a  fu- 
neral dirge  was  played  by  the  band,  surviving  comrades  tired  a 
funeral  salute  in  honor  of  the  sleeping  warriors,  and  to  most 
solemn  music,  the  column  resumed  the  line  of  march  to  Wood- 
land— "  beautiful  city  of  the  dead." 

In  Woodland,  one  hundred  and  twenty-fooe  graves  were 
marked  with  bright  little  flags,  which  silently  announced  the 
number  of  departed  heroes  who  slept  there.  Already  the  ma- 
jority of  these  graves  were  most  handsomely  decorated  by 
friends,  who  were  thus  vieing  with  each  other  in  showing  their 
tender  regard.  The  main  point  of  attraction,  where  the  Com- 
mittee on  Decorations  had  devoted  much  admirable  taste,  and 
expended  a  great  deal  of  material,  was  on  Monument  Point,  the 
summit  of  a  small  mountain  which  towers  above  the  hills  in 
Woodland,  and  overlooks  the  city,  and  the  hills,  valleys,  and 
rivers,  for  miles  beyond.  Over  the  two  avenues  by  which  the 
Point  is  approached,  on  either  side,  were  erected  rustic  frames, 
on  each  of  which  is  the  inscription — on  one  side — "A  Votive 
Offering  to  Our  Unburied  Comrades."  And  on  the  other  side 
— "  They  Slumber  on  Southern  Battle-fields."  Suspended  be- 
neath these  inscriptions  were  handsome  wreaths,  encircling 
pretty  crosses  of  evergreen.  On  the  Point  a  rustic  platform 
was  erected,  around  the  base  of  a  mammoth  flag-staff,  to  which 
a  regulation  flag  was  suspended  at  half-mast.  The  platform 
was  surrounded  by  rustic  railing  decked  with  evergreens, 
wreaths,  crosses,  immortelles,  and  flowers;  festooned  with  moss- 
es, and  draped  with  flags  and  crape,  and  most  handsomely  cano- 
pied with  the  "  banner  of  beauty  ; "  and  the  place  was  appropri- 
ately furnished  with  rustic  chairs,  sofas,  and  benches.  On  the 
east  side  of  this  beautiful  rustic  platform  was  planted  a  12-pound 
Napoleon  gun  and  caisson,  festooned  with  crape  and  evergreens ; 
and  on  either  side  were  arms  stacked,  and  a  hundred  men  were 
on  guard  !  The  huge  rocks  which  protrude  from  the  hill-side 
in  the  vicinity  were  draped  with  flags,  and  the  entire  surround- 
ings were  made  to  harmonize  with  the  grand  central  figure. 
Arrived  at  the  cemetery,  the  column  passed  under  the  great 
flag  at  the  gateway,  and  entered  the  grounds.  The  Grand 
Army  at  once  proceeded  to  the  pleasant  task  of  decorating  the 
graves  of  their  comrades.  In  the  meantime  the  main  body  of 
the  procession  marched  up  to  the  vicinity  of  Monument  Point, 
to  listen  to  the  interesting  exercises.  After  an  inspiring  air 
from  the  Regimental  Band,  the  Throne  of  Grace  was  addressed 
by  Rev.  Elder  Van  Buskirk.  The  National  Band  then  played 
a  dirge,  after  which  Rev.  Mr.  Ernshaw,  Chaplain  of  the  National 
Soldiers'  Home,  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Winchell. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        475 

ADDBESS   OF    CHAPLAIN    EAKXSHAW. 

COMRADES  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY  OF  THK  REPUBLIC — LADIES 
AND  GENTLEMKN  :  I  rise  to  address  you  with  a  heart  swelling, 
and  with  the  deepest  emotion,  and  when  I  contemplate  the 
grandeur  of  the  occasion,  I  am  reminded  that  it  demands  a 
higher  appreciation  and  a  more  eloquent  tongue  than  mine. 
You  will  indulge  me  if  1  say  that  I  am  irresistibly  carried  back 
to  the  days  of  our  great  National  struggle.  This  great  gather- 
ing of  the  loyal  people  reminds  me  of  the  time  when  the  coun- 
try was  endangered,  and  when  we  pressed  the  hand  and  receiv- 
ed the  farewell  kiss  from  those  we  loved.  The  tramp,  tramp, 
tramp,  of  the  soldier,  recalls  the  time  when  we  used  to  sing 
"  We  are  corning  Father  Abraham,  Three  Hundred  Thousand 
more."  The  booming  of  cannon  and  the  glittering  arms  borne 
on  the  shoulders  of  men  dressed  in  blue,  carries  me  back  to  the 
days  of  our  conflict  and  the  days  of  our  glory,  and  this  picture 
is  complete  to  my  mind  when  I  remember  that  we  are  this  day 
led  by  one  of  the  Nation's  truest  and  bravest  chieftains.  It  is 
difficult,  indeed,  to  realize  that  the  battle  has  been  fought,  the 
victory  won,  and  the  Nation  saved.  A  closer  inspection,  how- 
ever, reveals  the  faces  of  men  familiar  with  the  trying  scenes  of 
war,  and  these  shattered  braves  from  the  Soldiers'  Home,  with 
empty  sleeves  and  leaning  on  their  crutches,  together  with  the 
hundred  graves,  and  now  this  hour  bedewed  with  tears  and  cov- 
ered with  beautiful  flowers,  tell  me  in  language  unmistakable 
that  the  work  has  been  done,  and  the  great  sacrifice  made. 
When  \ve  look  out  on  this  immense  assembly  and  behold  the  un- 
heard-of devotion  to  the  men  who  laid  down  their  lives  to  save 
the  Nation,  we  are  compelled  to  say  that  the  old  adage  so  spite- 
fully thrown  in  our  faces  by  our  enemies  that  "  Republics  are 
ungrateful,"  receives  this  day  its  eternal  refutation.  We  can 
never  forget  the  loyal  men  and  the  heroic  women  left  behind, 
how  they  stood  by  us  in  our  terrible  reverses,  and  how  they, 
through  the  Sanitary  and  Christian  Commissions,  loaded  us  with 
the  blessings  of  heaven  and  earth,  how  readily  they  heard  the 
wail  of  the  soldier's  widow,  and  tenderly  cured  for  his  little  or- 
phans. And  now  we  at  the  last  are  thrilled  with  joy  and 
thankfulness  to  God  for  the  crowning  act  of  affectionate  remem- 
brance revealed  in  the  "National  Soldiers'  Home"  that  crowns 
yonder  hill,  where  the  scarred  veterans  may  tread  the  beautiful 
grounds,  and  enjoy  sweet  repose  through  life.  All  honor  to  the 
Nation  that  thus  rewards  her  noble  defenders !  All  honor  to 
the  patriotic  men  to  whom  has  been  committed  the  manage- 
ment of  this  noble  Institution.  I  feel  it  a  duty  and  a  great 
privilege  to  say  to  you  that  while  the  Government,  so  heartily 


476  MEMORTAL    CEREMONIES 

sustained  by  the  people,  has  been  so  bountiful  in  bestowing  fa- 
vors on  the  soldier  and  his  family,  the  dead  that  were  left  on  the 
five  hundred  battle-tields  in  the  rebellious  South  have  not  been 
forgotten.  It  was  my  distinguished  honor,  too  gratefully  re- 
membered, to  be  detailed  by  order  of  Gen.  G.  H.  Thomas  to 
construct  the  Stone  River  and  Nashville  National  Cemeteries 
for  the  burial  of  the  remains  of  twenty-two  thousand  braves 
that  fell  in  Middle  Tennessee.  My  earnest  and  patriotic  friend, 
Chaplain  T.  B.  Vanhorn,  now  before  me,  had  a  like  honor  con- 
ferred on  him  in  constructing  the  Chattanooga  and  Marietta 
Cemeteries,  the  one  at  Chattanooga  containing  twelve  thousand, 
and  the  one  at  Marietta,  Georgia,  ten  thousand.  In  these  four 
cemeteries,  containing  more  than  forty  thousand  graves,  all  who 
fell  between  Bowling  Green,  Kentucky,  and  Atlanta,  Georgia, 
and  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  miles  right  and  left,  we  diligent- 
ly searched  for  the  graves  of  our  heroic  comrades.  On  the 
fields  of  Shiloh,  on  the  well-remembered  bluff,  a  beautiful  ceme- 
tery has  been  constructed  by  Col.  A.  W.  Wells.  Also,  by  the 
same  officer,  at  Corinth,  Mississippi,  a  charming  spot  was  select- 
ed, and  our  gallant  dead  of  that  rebellious  region  have  been 
gathered  and  carefully  laid  to  rest  within  the  sacred  enclosure. 
At  Memphis,  Tennessee,  one  containing  twelve  thousand  has 
been  constructed  under  the  superintendence  of  Lieut.  Parker- 
8on,  of  the  army.  At  Fort  Donelson,  on  the  banks  of  the  Cum- 
berland, where  the  battle  was  fought  and  won  by  our  army,  is 
the  location  of  another  beautiful  National  Cemetery.  In  a 
word,  all  through  the  South,  wherever  our  victorious  army 
marched,  or  gallant  scouts  fell,  has  been  most  carefully  searched, 
and  the  remains  most  tenderly  coffined  and  laid  in  these  enclos 
ures,  where  a  grateful  nation  will  guard  the  sacred  dust  of  its 
brave  defenders.  This  great  National  work  will  soon  be  com- 
pleted. Massive  stone  walls,  or  iron  fences  where  stone  cannot 
be  secured,  will  enclose  these  burial-places,  and  small  detach- 
ments of  United  States  soldiers  placed  to  guard  and  keep  them 
in  repair.  Many  of  them  are  most  tastefully  laid  out.  The  one 
at  Chattanooga  is  located  on  the  most  beautiful  spot  in  Tennes- 
see. I  am  told  that  while  our  gallant  troops  were  charging  up 
Missionary  Eidge,  and  while  the  battle  was  raging  furiously 
above  the  clouds,  and  men  were  falling  by  hundreds  on  every 
part  of  the  field,  that  Maj.-Gen.  Geo.  II.  Thomas  turned  to  his 

fallant  Chief  of  Staff  and  said :    "  That  spot,"  pointing  to  a 
eautiful  hill,  ''  will  make  a  grand  place  for  a  National  Ceme- 
tery," and  on  Christmas  day,  1803,  he  issued  an  order  directing 
the  work  to  be  begun,  and  I  am  glad  to  say  that  to  Gen.  Geo. 
H.  Thomas,  the  immovable  center  at  Stone  River,  the  Gibraltar 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  477 

of  Chickamauga,  and  the  hero  of  Nashville,  belongs  the  immor- 
tal honor  of  issuing  the  first  order  for  the  construction  of  a 
National  Cemetery,  and  that  full  information  be  furnished  of 
name,  rank,  age,  marital  state,  date  of  enlistment,  and  addresa 
of  nearest  relative,  and  whatever  is  worthy  of  record  in  each 
case.  I  am  gratified  to  state  here  that  Chaplain  Yan  Horn  had 
the  distinguished  honor  of  obeying  that  interesting  order.  It  is 
also  a  great  pleasure  afforded  me  to-day,  to  say  that  while  we 
are  showering  these  beautiful  tokens  of  love  and  affection  on  the 
graves  of  the  heroes  now  sleeping  under  the  shadow  of  their 
own  dear  homes,  all  over  the  laud,  in  the  large  Cemeteries,  far 
in  the  "  Sunny  South,"  may  be  seen  this  day,  loyal  men  and  true 
women,  with  weeping  eyes  and  earnest  hearts,  paying  a  like 
tribute  to  the  deeds  and  memory  of  those  far  away.  Those  sa- 
cred spots  are  the  dearest  places  on  earth  to  the  tire-tried  patri- 
ots of  the  South,  and  it  is  to  these  places  they  go  to  swear  afresh 
their  allegiance  to  the  Country  saved  by  the  blood  of  the  men 
beneath  its  grassy  mounds.  Let  no  weeping  widow,  mother, 
sister  or  friend,  think  that  their  loved  ones  are  unhonored  as 
they  are  distant.  I  have,  myself,  several  times  witnessed  the 
paying  of  floral  tributes  to  the  Union  dead  in  the  South.  And 
as  I  am  here  to  speak  for  the  soldier,  I  would  say  that  our  hearts 
are  too  full  for  utterance,  when  we  attempt  to  make  a  return  for 
the  love  you  so  touchingJy  express  by  thus  honoring  our  dear 
fallen  comrades. 

I  can  only  say  that  the  members  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic  bless  you,  every  man  that  wore  the  Blue  will  bless  you, 
and  we  will  ever  join  in  asking  that  the  blessings  of  the  God  of 
nations  and  the  God  of  battles  may  be  upon  you.  I  may  con- 
gratulate my  comrades  in  the  assurance  that  if  we  be  true  to 
our  past  record  in  standing  by  the  principles  for  which  we  fought, 
at  the  close  of  life  we  will  be  honored  in  our  burial,  and  on  the 
return  of  the  flower  month  of  each  year,  the  loyal  people  will 
assemble  to  deck  our  graves  with  flowers.  We  express  our  un- 
feigned admiration  for  our  glorious  Commander-in-Chief,  Gen. 
John  A.  Logan,  whose  noble  and  Union -loving  heart  prompted 
him  to  promulgate  the  order  that  brings  us  together  on  this  most 
interesting  occasion,  especially  that  the  ceremony  is  to  be  per- 
petuated to  the  latest  period  of  our  National  history.  And  your 
kindness,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  in  co-operating  with  ns  to-day, 
and  the  oft-assured  willingness  to  join  us  from  year  to  year  on 
similar  occasions,  makes  it  incumbent  upon  me  to  say  that,  we 
stand  by  the  country  as  before.  We,  of  the  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic,  have  renewed  our  vows,  on  bended  knees,  pressing 
the  flag  of  our  country  to  our  hearts,  and  with  unsheathed  sword 


478  MEMOKIAL    CEREMONIES 

have  sworn  eternal  hostility  to  secession  and  rebellion  wherever 
found,  and  stand  ready  at  the  call  of  the  country  to  repeat  our 
sufferings  in  heat  and  cold,  and  storm,  in  wading  swamps,  ford- 
ing rivers,  traversing  valleys  and  scaling  mountains,  and  if  need, 
to  the  lofty  heights  of  Lookout,  and  defeat  our  enemies  (as 
before)  above  the  clouds. 

Let  us  leave  this  sacred  place  remembering  that  our  work 
has  been  one  of  holy  love,  and  that  we  form  a  part  of  the 
mighty  loyal  host  that  have  in  this  bright  land  of  liberty  to-day, 
honored  the  deeds  and  memory  of  three  hundred  thousand 
heroes. 

After  the  Chaplain  concluded,  the  National  Band  played  an 
appropriate  and  solemn  air,  when  a  most  eloquent  and  touching 
prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  Mr.  Kemper,  pastor  of  the  St.  Clair 
Street  Presbyterian  Church.  Doxology  was  then  sung  to  the 
grand  old  air  of  "  Old  Hundred,"  in  which  thousands  of  voices 
joined,  and  Benediction  was  pronounced  by  Rev.  W.  T.  Bunk- 
er, Pastor  of  the  Wayne  Street  Baptist  Church.  This  was  the 
signal  for  closing  the  ceremonies  of  the  day ;  and  the  thousands 
who  were  in  Woodland  departed  for  their  homes. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  HOME. 


About  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  procession  was  formed 
at  Head-Quarters.  The  Cadets  of  the  Military  Institute,  with 
reversed  arms,  the  members  of  the  Post  of  the  Grand  Army, 
the  officers  of  the  Home,  each  with  a  bouquet  upon  his  breast, 
then  the  ladies,  followed  by  citizens  who  had  come  out  to  join 
in  the  solemn  ceremonies.  It  was  not  a  long  procession,  but 
few  like  it  was  ever  looked  upon.  Among  the  soldiers  in  the 
line  you  saw  those  who  bore  themselves  upon  crutches.  Rebel 
bullets,  fired  in  a  cause  thrice  accursed,  had  mutilated  their 
manly  forms.  Many  an  empty  sleeve,  pinned  upon  the  breast, 
where  the  true  heart  was  beating,  furnished  badges  of  honor  to 
the  bearers.  Away  in  the  distance  amid  the  green  wood,  the 
solemn  strains  of  music  came  forth  as  if  from  the  grave  itself. 
The  "  dead  march,"  how  mournful !  Its  sad  notes  float  out  like 
a  wail  for  the  dead.  The  heart  is  subdued.  Sadness  fills  the 
soul,  thus  reminded,  as  it  has  been  a  thousand  times  before,  that 
death  is  in  the  world.  With  slow  and  solemn  step,  as  if  a  corpse 
were  in  charge,  the  procession  moved  through  the  field  and 
wood  to  the  graves  of  the  departed  patriots.  On  a  gentle  slope 
facing  the  East,  amid  the  trees  of  the  forest,  lie  the  seventeen 
dead  soldiers — side  by  side,  as  they  stood  upon  the  battle-field 
confronting  the  foe.  Flowers  are  growing  upon  the  graves, 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  479 

and  the  spaces  between  are  covered  with  the  green  grass.  It 
is  a  beautiful  place  where  for  the  last  time  these  brave  men 
have  closed  ranks — never  to  be  broken,  perhaps,  till  the  great 
'"assembly"  call  on  the  resurrection  morn.  At  the  graves  the 
cadets  march  up  and  take  position  in  double  ranks  on  the 
wcstside  of  the  miniature  cemetery.  The  veterans  from  the 
Home  march  round,  and  at  the  sound  of  command  halt  on  the 
M-est  side  and  face  inward.  The  orator  and  officers' of  the  Home 
occupy  a  position  in  the  centre  of  the  line. on  the  west,  a  large 
American  flag  hangs  from  the  trees  in  the  rear.  The  visitors 
and  spectators  all  find  places  about  that  row  of  seventeen 
graves,  which  enables  them  to  see  all  that  is  done,  and  hear  all 
that  is  said.  It  is  not  a  large  company,  but  it  is  a  very  solemn 
one.  The  order  of  exercises  is  then  announced  by  Gen.  Ingra- 
ham.  Chaplain  Van  Home  implored  the  blessing  of  the  Most 
High  as  he  devoutly  acknoledged  His  merciful  dealings  with 
the  nation  during  her  four  years  of  war  against  armed  and  im- 
placable treason.  He  remembers  before  God,  with  gratitude  of 
heart,  that  liberty  had  been  preserved,  rebellion  subdued,  and 
the  rights  of  humanity  vindicated.  He  recognizes  the  chasten- 
ing hand  in  the  sufferings  which  had  attended  the  nation  during 
its  tiery  baptism,  and  asked  for  Christ's  sake,  that  comfort  and 
consolation  may  be  vouchsafed  to  the  bereaved  and  afflicted, 
who,  everywhere  throughout  the  nation,  mourn  over  the  loved 
ones  that  stood  in  the  strife  against  treason  and  rebellion.  He 
asks  for  heavenly  approval  of  the  tribute  of  affection  and  of 
honor,  which  is  this  day  paid  to  the  memory  of  those  who  sac- 
rificed their  lives  to  preserve  the  nation — who  died  that  the 
nation  might  live. 

Next  comes  the  soldier's  tribute  of  honor.  The  Cadets  are 
ordered  to  "  load  at  will."  It  is  done.  Successive  orders  follow 
till  the  butt  of  each  musket  presses  a  shoulder.  Then  comes  the 
order  to  fire,  and  the  volley  which  succeeds  is  almost  condensed 
into  a  single  report,  so  accurate  had  been  their  practice  at  the 
Institute  where  they  are  studying  war,  and  the  peaceful  sciences 
as  well.  The  orders  are  repeated,  and  two  other  volleys  are 
fired.  The  veterans  have  watched  every  movement  of  the  boys 
from  the  order  to  load  till  the  order  to  fire,  and  turn  to  each 
other  and  express  their  admiration  of  the  firing.  The  "  honors 
of  war  "  having  been  paid,  the  peaceful  tribute,  the  homage  of 
woman  to  the  memory  of  the  brave,  comes  on.  Flowers  pre- 
pared by  fair  hands  are  strewed  upon  the  graves  until  they  are 
cohered  with  these  floral  treasures.  The  gray-headed  veteran 
joins  the  matron  and  the  maiden  in  this  beautiful  token  of  af- 
fection, which  is  sincerely  bestowed.  The  heart  has  given  of  its 


480  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

tenderness,  and  the  fresh  buds  and  blossoms  are  the  emblems  of 
its  purity.  Now  we  have  a  scene  which  awakens  new  emotions. 
An  officer  who  has  seen  much  service,  who  though  Southern 
born  and  bred,  has  always  been  the  devoted,  unswerving  de- 
fender of  the  Union  cause,  stands  forth  to  address  the  assembly. 
He  is  no  holiday  soldier,  no  Fourth  of  July  declaimer.  He 
speaks  as  one  "  having  authority."  He  has  passed  the  fearful 
ordeal  of  battle  on  many  bloody  fields — he  bears  honorable 
scars.* 

GEX.   WOOD'S   ADDRESS. 

VETERAN  COMRADES,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  :  The  rites  of 
sepulture,  the  consecrated  grounds  devoted  to  the  remains  of 
the  dead,  and  the  preservation  of  the  memory  of  the  departed 
have,  in  all  periods  and  in  all  lands,  obtained  the  special  care 
and  regard  of  every  race  and  people.  The  sentiment  of  loving 
regard  for  the  dead  and  of  reverent  conservation  of  the  necropo- 
lis, however  variously  manifested  according  to  the  diversities 
and  peculiarities  of  different  races  and  nations,  is  co-extensive 
with  humanity.  It  is  not  limited  by  geographical  boundaries, 
by  diversity  of  ethnological  descent,  by  differences  of  religious 
faith,  nor  by  disparity  of  civilization.  The  beautiful  cemeteries 
which  adorn  every  part  of  our  adored  land,  to  which  loving 
friends  and  relatives  throng  at  each  return  of  the  vernal  season, 
to  lay  their  tributes  of  love  and  affection  on  the  tombs  of  the 
beloved  dead — the  monuments  and  immortelles  ofPere  le  Chaise 
— the  vast,  silent  cities  of  the  dead  spread  out  on  the  sloping 
shores  of  the  Golden  Horn,  hoary  with  age,  and  studded  with 
the  tapering,  graceful  cypresses  which  form  as  impressive  a  fea- 
ture in  thaf  gorgeous  orient  landscape,  are  alike  the  evidence  as 
well  as  the  effect  of  the  existence  of  the  sentiment  of  loving  re- 
spect for  the  dead,  and  of  reverent  regard  for  the  sacred  grounds 
in  which  they  sleep  their  long  sleep.  All  who  have  read  the 
touching  story  of  the  gradual,  but  relentless  dispossession  of  the 
aboriginal  inhabitants  of  our  magnificent  domain,  by  the  steady 
aggression  of  a  more  powerful  and  fortunate  race,  must  have 
been  deeply  impressed  with  the  constant  recurrence  of  the 
mournful  lament — that  they  had  been  driven  away  from  the 
graves  of  their  fathers.  Love  for  the  dead  and  respect  for  their 
final  resting-places  are  so  much  a  part  of  humanity,  that  the 
history  of  every  race  gives  evidence  of  their  existence. 

But  when  Worthily  distinguishing  circumstances  have  marked 
the  lives  and  careers  of  the  departed,  such  as  great  personal 
worth,  the  rendering  of  extraordinary  and  very  useful  services 

«  Dayton  Journal,  June  1,  1868. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  481 

to  mankind  by  scientific  discoveries  and  utilitarian  inventions, 
or  the  falling  in  the  military  service  of  the  State,  the  general 
sentiment  of  respect  for  the  deceased  is  much  heightened  and 
intensified — indeed,  often  rises  to  a  sublime  enthusiasm,  and  is 
displayed  in  striking  and  appropriate  manifestations.  As  an 
instance  of  the  exaltation  of  this  natural  feeling  into  a  national 
sentiment,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  the  Athenians,  in  the  pure 
and  best  days  of  the  republic,  brought  home  the  remains  of  the 
citizens  who  had  fallen  in  foreign  wars,  and  interred  them  in  the 
Ceramicus — the  national  cemetery  of  Athens.  Perhaps  the 
most  touching,  as  well  as  the  most  striking  recorded  instance  of 
the* tender  regard  of  the  survivors  for  the  worth  and  memory  of 
a  dead  comrade  is  furnished  by  the  history  of  Tour  a'Auvergne, 
"  The  First  Grenadier  of  Republican  France."  After  his  death, 
which  had  occurred  in  battle,  his  heart  was  embalmed  and  pre- 
served in  a  silver  urn  (which  was  borne  by  the  oldest  sergeant 
of  his  company,)  his  name  was  continued  on  the  compan}r  roll, 
and  at  each  roll-call,  to  the  name  Tour  a?Auvergne,  the  cus- 
todian of  the  sacred  heart  responded  :  mart  sur  le  champ  cPJion- 
neur.  I  envy  no  man  who  can  read  the  story  of  such  devotion 
without  the  deepest  emotion.  Respect  in  our  own  well-beloved 
country  for  the  nation's  dead  children,  elevated  into  a  national 
sentiment,  has  been  displayed  in  the  establishment,  since  the 
termination  of  the  late  war,  of  numerous  national  cemeteries  in 
convenient  and  suitable  positions,  in  which  the  remains  of  the 
patriot  soldiers  who  fell  in  the  defence  of  the  Government 
against  the  hands  of  its  parricidal  assailants  are  to  be  reverently 
interred,  and  placed  under  the  protection  of  the  gratitude  and 
loyalty  of  the  nation.  War-worn  veterans,  comrades-in-arms: 
our  assembling  to-day  is  a  manifestation  of  the  national  feeling 
of  respect  for  the  dead  exalted  into  a  national  sentiment.  This 
is,  truly,  a  solemn  and  impressive  occasion  !  With  no  light 
or  trivial  or  irreverent  feelings  are  we  animated  to  day.  The 
duty  which  we  are  met  to  perform  this  day  is  the  result  of 
the  deep  and  sincere  conviction  that  we,  the  survivors,  owe  a 
profound  and  lasting  debt  of  gratitude  to  those  bjjave  and  true 
men  who  fell  in  the  military  service  of  the  country  in  the  late 
war ;  and  that  a  solemn  obligation  rests  upon  us  to  assemble 
ourselves  together  at  stated  times,  and,  by  appropriate  observ- 
ances and  ceremonies,  to  make  such  oblations  to  the  dead  aa 
will  preserve,  fresh  and  green,  the  memory  of  their  great  and 
glorious  services  in  the  cause  of  the  right  and  the  truth,  as  well 
as  testify  the  largeness  of  our  indebtedness  to  them.  To-day, 
the  nation's  reverent  homage  and  gratitude  to  its  patriot  dead 
are  ascending  in  a  grand  and  mighty  diapason.  From  the  busy 
31 


482  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

shores  of  the  Atlantic  to  the  far  off  Occident,  where  the  wavea 
of  the  great  peaceful  oc^an  wash  the  sands  of  the  golden  State 
of  California,  or  jut  against  the  rock-bound  coast  of  Oregon,  as- 
semblies, animated  by  the  same  sentiment  as  ourselves,  have 
met  together  this  day.  Throughout  all  this  broad  area,  occu- 
pied by  more  than  twenty  five  millions  of  loyal,  intelligent,  law- 
abiding,  and  liberty -loving  people,  vast  concourses  of  beautiful 
women  and  true  men  are  this  day  voluntarily  assembled  to  pay 
deserved  honor  to  the  memory  of  the  nation's  heroic  dead,  and 
to  garland  their  last  resting  places,  where  they  sleep  so  well  after 
"  their  duty  done,"  with  appropriate  tributes.  Human  history 
presents  no  loftier  spectacle.  Could  there  be  a  more  satisfactory 
proof  of  the  influence  of  an  ennobling  and  sublime  sentiment? 
A  few  moments,  my  friends  and  military  comrades,  may  be  in- 
structively and  improvingly  devoted  to  inquiring  why  this  grand 
and  noble  display,  why  this  voluntary  national  uprising?  The 
movement  of  vast  masses  of  people,  animated  by  a  common 
sentiment,  is  ever  an  instructive  and  instructing  theme.  And 
what  more  appropriate  place  to  make  this  inquiry  than  over  the 
graves  of  our  former  comrades-in-arms  where  we  will  be  sur- 
rounded by  the  most  sacred  and  ennobling  influences  ?  Quietly 
and  without  ostentation,  removed  as  much  as  possible  from  the 
observation  of  the  world,  in  silence  and  in  sorrow,  the^ mem- 
bers of  an  individual  family  which  has  been  bereaved  by  death 
visit  the  graves  of  its  dead,  and  make  their  affectionate  offerings ; 
and  such  conduct  is  appropriate  and  becoming.  Why  is  a  de- 
parture from  the  ordinary  and  individual  method  of  testifying 
respect  for  the  dead  and  evincing  a  reverent  care  for  their 
graves  proper,  and  not  only  proper,  but  demanded  on  this  oc- 
casion? What  extraordinary  services  illustrated  the  lives,  what 
memorable  circumstances  distinguished  and  rendered  illustrious 
the  death,  why  is  a  profound  and  intense  national  interest  at- 
tached to  the  memory  of  those  whom  we  meet  this  day  to  honor? 
In  the  performance  of  the  sacred  and  solemn  services  of  this 
occasion,  surrounded  by  the  exalting  and  inspiring  influence  of 
the  illustrious, example  of  these  buried  patriots,  it  is  meet  and 
fit  that,  we  their  surviving  comrades,  who  are  enjoying  the 
fruits  of  their  great. deeds,  of  their  sufferings  and  their  life- 
sacrifice,  should  make  these  inquiries,  and  by  the  teaching  of 
their  devoted  and  unselfish  example  purify  and  elevate  our 
patriotism.  The  simple  answer  to  the  foregoing  inquiries  is — - 
and  it  is  replete  with  the  most  touching  eloquence  and  pathos 
from  its  truthful  and  beautiful  simplicity — they  fell  in  the  de- 
fence of  our  common  country,  and  for  the  preservation  of  our 
constitutional  government,  and  of  our  national  unity.  Let  us, 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  483 

my  comrades,  review  briefly  a  few  of  the  leading  features  of  the 
great  conflict  between  the  loyal  and  djsloyal  sections  of  the 
Union,  the  occurrence  of  which  rendered  it  necessary  that  our 
deceased  comrades  should  sacrifice  their  lives  on  the  altar  of 
duty.  In  the  winter  of  1860  and  early  spring  of  1861,  an 
oligarchy  of  a  few  prominent  citizens  in  several  of  the  South- 
ern States,  influenced  by  the  most  unholy  and  wicked  desire  to 
control  the  political- power  of  the  nation  in  their  own  selfish  and 
tyrannical  interest,  and  for  the  extension  of  an  institution  ab- 
horred by  the  bulk  of  the  Christian  world,  and,  as  we  reverently 
believe,  by  Him  who  holds  the  destinies  of  nations  as  well  as 
of  individuals,  in  his  omnipotent  hand,  attempted  the  establish- 
ment of  a  treasonable  and  revolutionary  government.  For  the 
accomplishment  of  this  wicked  and  treasonable  design  an  im- 
mense military  organization  was  silently  but  efficiently  created. 
While  the  government  of  the  Union  and  the  loyal  people  were 
reposing  in  a  delusive  security  and  a  treacherous  peace,  the  con- 
spirators were  prepared  to  accomplish  their  fell  purpose  by  an 
appeal  to  the  dire  arbitrament  of  arms.  They  had  equipped 
Bellona's  chariot  for  a  war  against  their  own  brethren !  The 
success  of  the  attempted  revolution  would  have  been  the  utter 
subversion  of  the  government  established  by  our  Revolutionary 
fathers ;  and  I  have  no  hesitation  in  declaring  my  firm  convic- 
tion that,  if  the  conspirators  had  been  successful,  the  govern- 
ment they  would  have  established  would  have  been  more  op- 
pressive than  the  odious  rule  of  the  hated  Ten  of  Yenice. 

The  first  overt  acts  of  treason,  and  rebellion,  and  hostility, 
created  among  the  loyal  people  an  intense  feeling  compounded 
of  grief,  horror,  and  indignation ;  but,  at  the  outset,  they  were 
long-suffering,  and  disposed  to  hope  that  a  returning  sense  of 
moderation,  of  fraternal  love,  and  of  attachment  to  our  common 
country  and  our  benign  Government,  would  induce  our  erring 
brethren  to  abandon  their  wicked  designs  and  remain  in  the  sa- 
cred fold  of  the  Union.  But  this  cherished,  fondly-indulged 
hope,  was  destined  to  be  sadly,  bitterly  disappointed ;  and  all 
the  forbearance  of  the  loyal  people  was  wasted  on  men  already 
committed  fully  to  a  criminal  rebellion,  and  whose  hearts  were 
steeped  in  treason.  The  long-suffering  and  forbearance  of  the 
nation  was  attributed  to  weakness,  and  only  served  to  still 
further  embolden  the  conspirators.  Various  treasonable  and 
openly  hostile  acts  had  been  committed  by  the  rebels  antecedent 
to  the  last  culminating  deed  of  aggression  ;  all  these  the  nation 
had  seen  with  deep  and  painful  regret,  but  had  borne  with  pa- 
tience. Finally,  on  the  12th  day  of  April,  1861,  a  national  fort, 
garrisoned  by  a  single  company  of  federal  troops,  with  the  na- 


484  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

tional  standard,  the  symbol  of  our  majesty  as  a  nation,  flying 
over  its  ramparts,  was  fired  on  by  the  rebels,  bombarded  for 
twenty-four  hours,  and  compelled  by  an  overwhelming  force  to 
capitulate.  This  was  the  outrage  that  at  last  broke  the  national 
patience — the  drop  that  caused  the  cup  of  the  nation's  anger  to 
overflow.  The  intelligence  of  this  last  and  intolerable  insult  to 
our  nationality,  borne  on  lightning  wings  all  over  the  land,  set 
the  loyal  people  in  a  blaze  of  just  and  righteous  indignation. 
This  last  act  of  rebel  outrage  and  atrocity  showed  that  the  for- 
bearance of  the  loyal  people  could  no  longer  be  considered  a 
virtue,  but  must  henceforth,  if  continued,  be  esteemed  craven- 
hearted  weakness.  With  unparalleled  alacrity  and  zeal  and 
etern  resolve  the  people  in  the  loyal  States,  of  every  pursuit 
and  vocation,  laid  aside  the  garb  of  peace  and  responded  to  the 
call  of  the  Executive  to  rally -under  the  national  flag  against 
the  armed  hosts  of  treason,  secession,  and  rebellion.  It  is  not 
necessary,  iior  would  the  limits  of  an  address  appropriate  to  this 
occasion  permit,  that  I  should  go  into  a  minute  detail  of  all 
the  nation's  struggles  and  sacrifices  from  the  beginning  to  the 
end  of  the  gigantic  conflict.  These  are  a  theme  that  might 
nobly  employ  a  loftier  muse  than  that  of  the  grand,  blind  "  old 
poet  of  Scions  rocky  isle ; "  and  rightly,  truly  sung,  would  form 
an  epic  sublimer  far  than  the  Iliad.  But,  without  too  much 
taxing  of  your  patience,  I  may  refer  to  a  few  of  the  leading  and 
most  remarkable  incidents  of  the  great  struggle.  Briefly,  com- 
rades and  friends,  I  call  your  attention  to  the  extraordinary 
sacrifices  made  by  the  loyal  people  for  the  preservation  of  the 
Government  founded  by  our  Revolutionary  fathers,  and  for  the 
maintenance  of  our  distinct  nationality.  I  present  for  your 
consideration  the  prompt,  generous,  and  unfailing  manner  in 
which  the  loyal  people  poured  forth  their  treasures  of  property 
and- money,  and  their  yet  dearer,  more  valuable  treasure  of 
blood,  during  the  four  long  and  dark  years  of  the  direful  con- 
flict. How,  in  all  this  long  and  soul-trying  term,  they  never 
lost  their  faith  in  the  ultimate  triumph  of  the  cause  of  truth,  of 
justice,  and  of  the  right,  but  continued  to  furnish  with  the  most 
generous  profusion  to  the  very  end  of  the  war,  all  the  supplies 
required  for  military  operations.  How,  by  promptly  and  cheer- 
fully responding  to  all  his  calls  for  the  sinews  of  war,  they  bore 
up  the  hands  and  sustained  the  heart  of  the  President— ?A<s 
martyred  patriot,  Abraham  Lincoln.  And,  when  the  great  goal 
had  been  won  by  the  suppression  of  armed  resistance  to  the 
Government,  and  when  the  rebel  armies  had  surrendered,  I  de- 
sire especially  to  invite  your  attention  to  the  moderation  dis- 
played by  the  victors,  to  the  ready,  orderly,  and  facile  manner 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        485 

in  which  the  great  national  armies,  amounting  to  more  than  a 
million  of  men,  quitted,  at  the  order  of  the  Government,  the 
ranks  of  their  military  organizations,  and  became  once  more 
merged  in  the  general  and  undistinguished  mass  of  citizens. 
The  moderation  displayed  by  the  conquerors  at  the  close  of  the 
war  is  rendered  still  more  remarkable  by  the  fact  that  he  who 
had  been  their  Executive  head  during  the  conflict,  who  had, 
during  the  long  hours  of  darkness,  of  trial,  and  of  sacrifice,  been 
to  them  "the  pillar  of  a  cloud  by  day,  and  the  pillar  of  tire  by 
night,"  was,  just  as  the  glorious  dawn  of  the  triumphant  close 
wjis  bursting  on  the  sorely-tried  land,  stricken  down  by  the  hand 
of  an  assassin.  The  great  shock  to  the  feelings  of  the  nation 
caused  by  the  detestable  death  of  the  well-beloved  President, 
though  it  caused  the  country  to  thrill  from  end  to  end  with  hor- 
ror, grief,  and  indignation,  did  not  change  the  national  modera- 
tion. In  this  connection,  I  may  appropriately  give  utterance 
to  a  sentiment  to  which  I  feel  well  assured  you,  my  veteran 
comrades  and  friends,  will  most  cordially  and  heartily  respond. 
Though,  in  the  inscrutable  dispensation  of  Providence,  it  was 
not  permitted  to  Mr.  Lincoln  to  finish  the  great  work  in  which 
he  had  borne  the  chief,  the  most  conspicuous  part — to  see  the 
country  pacified  and  the  rebellious  States  restored  on  a  secure 
and  peace-assured  basis  to  their  normal  relations  to  the  Gov- 
ernment, with  fraternal  harmony  smiling  on  and  blessing  the 
land,  it  is,  nevertheless,  the  source  of  the  intensest  satisfaction, 
yea,  more,  the  source  of  the  profoundest,  most  reverent  grati- 
tude to  the  hearts  of  all  patriots,  that  he  was  spared  to  see  the 
back  of  the  military  resistance  to  the  Government  broken,  and 
to  behold  the  largest  rebel  army  held  captive  by  the  national 
troops.  1  maintain,  my  comrades  and  friends,  that  the  few  lead- 
ing incidents  out  of  the  many  of  the  grand  struggle  to  which  I 
have  succinctly  called  your  attention,  are  without  a  parallel  in 
the  history  of  any  other  people.  From  them,  the  most  import- 
ant and  instructive  lessons  of  patriotism,  of  loyalty  to  the  true 
and  the  right,  of  devotion  to  country  and  duty,  and  of  subordi- 
nation to  law  and  order  may  be  drawn  as  well  for  the  present 
as  future  generations.  No  better,  no  more  potent  defence,  than 
is  furnished  by  these  facts,  could  be  made  of  republican  institu- 
tions ;  no  stronger,  more  compact,  logical,  unanswerable  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  the  capacity  of  an  intelligent  people,  practiced 
and  educated  in  the  art  of  political  government,  by  actual  par- 
ticipation, to  govern  themselves,  and  to  maintain  under  the 
sorest  trials  such  form  of  government,  could  be  adduced.  But 
such  a  digression,  involving  necessarily  a  polemical,  political 
disquisition,  would  not  be  appropriate  to  this  solemn  occasion. 


486  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

We  are  not  met  to-day,  my  comrades  and  friends,  for  discussion, 
but  to  pay  solemn  and  reverent  homage  to  the  memory  of  our 
departed  comrades. 

But  the  great  struggle  bore  other  fruits,  not  less  important 
and  significant  than  those  to  which  I  have  briefly  adverted, 
which  should  not  be  overlooked.  It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  the 
public  functionaries,  as  well  as  the  largely  preponderating  ma- 
jority of  the  loyal  people,  at  the  outset  of  the  war,  expected  to 
suppress  the  rebellion  without  materially  altering  any  of  the 
then  existing  political  or  social  institutions  of  the  Government 
or  the  country.  But  the  history  of  the  war  shows  that  this  ex- 
pectation was  not  destined  to  be  realized.  The  progress  of  the 
contest  convinced  all  observant  and  reflecting  men  that  the 
social  and  political  institutions  which  had  been  the  cause  of  the 
rebellion  must  be  swept  away  before  the  war  could  be  brought 
to  a  proper  and  successful  close.  The  bulk  of  the  loyal  people 
rose  to  the  dignity  of  the  great  crisis  in  the  sectional  contest ; 
and  acknowledging  the  imperative  necessity  for  the  great  move- 
ment in  national  progress  about  being  made,  their  hardly 
wrought-out  conviction  found  expression  in  the  Executive  Proc- 
lamation of  Emancipation.  Thus  were  the  loyal  masses  com- 
mitted irrevocably  to  the  extirpation  of  human  slavery  in  the 
United  States  of  America,  and  to  the  maintenance  throughout 
all  our  territory  of  the  sacredness  of  individual  freedom.  A 
nation  of  thirty-five  millions  of  people  preserved  from  disin- 
tegration and  destruction  ;  the  perpetual  nature  of  our  national 
unity  decreed  by  the  triumphant  and  unquestionable  decision 
of  the  highest  earthly  tribunal — the  sword  /  the  paramount 
supremacy  of  law  and  order  and  the  sacred  obligation  of  con- 
stitutional government  asserted,  maintained  and  established 
against  treason,  secession  and  rebellion  ;  and  four  millions  of 
human  beings  released  from  the  galling,  depressing  bondage 
of  personal  slavery,  and  clothed  with  equal  civil  and  political 
rights  and  franchises  with  the  rest  of  the  citizens — these  are  the 
great,  the  inestimable  results  of  our  civil  war.  In  these  majes- 
tic, triumphant,  heaven-given  achievements,  are  to  be  found  the 
reason  why  the  natural  feeling  of  respect  for  the  dead  has,  in 
regard  to  our  departed  comrades,  been  elevated  into  a  national 
sentiment — has,  in  fact,  been  exalted  to  national  enthusiasm. 
Who  accomplished  these  grand  and  enduring  deeds  ?  The  great 
work,  through  much  lab^r,  suffering  and  sacrifice,  was  achieved 
by  the  soldiers  of  the  Republic.  Therefore  it  is  most  becoming 
and  proper  that  the  surviving  comrades  of  the  heroic  dead,  and 
not  the  survivors  only,  but  the  whole  loyal  people  of  the  land, 
should  assemble  at  stated  times  to  acknowledge,  by  appropriate 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        487 

ceremonies,  their  lasting  obligation  to  tlie  nation's  dead,  to 
testify  the  national  gratitude  to  them,  and  to  do  honor  to  their 
sacred  memories  by  worthy  tributes  of  respect  and  affection. 
For  this  purpose  are  we  met,  comrades  and  friends,  on  this  occa- 
sion. From  the  reverent  and  appreciative  performance  of  this 
sacred  duty  to  our  departed,  comrades,  we  may  derive  renewed 
inspiration  to  our  patriotism,  the  highest  of  the  civic  virtnes. 
The  observance  of  this  day,  bringing  most  vividly  before  us  the 
lolty  and  self-sacrificing  example  of  our  dead  brethren  to  the 
calU  of  duty,  will  not  only  exalt,  ennoble  and  purify  our  devo- 
tion to  national  unity  and  constitutional  government — will  not 
only  make  us  more  firmly  resolve  that  the  nation  which  they 
preserved  shall  not  be  destroyed  by  traitorous  hands — will  not 
only  teach  us  to  imitate  and  emulate  their  noble  public  deeds, 
but  will  enlarge  and  strengthen  our  love  for'  universal  truth, 
justice  and  liberty,  and  shed  a  hallowing  influence  over  the  per- 
formance of  all  the  varied  duties  of  life.  Then  with  renewed 
and  elevated  convictions  of  our  duties  as  citizens  of  a  most 
heaven-blessed  land,  with  a  government  giving  liberty  and  pro- 
tection to  all  who  acknowledge  and  maintain  its  just  authority 
preserved  to  us  by  the  exertions  and  sacrifices  of  our  dead  com- 
rades, let  us  sacredly  vow  to  each  other,  that  we  will,  with  the 
annual  recurrence  of  the  season  of  flowers  and  of  the  natural 
beauty  of  the  land,  make  pious  pilgrimages  to  the  graves  of  our 
heroic  dead,  and  decorate  them  with  appropriate  offerings — 
thus  shall  we  fittingly  and  faithfully  acknowledge  our  obliga- 
tions to  our  departed  comrades;  thus  shall  we  vitalize  and 
render  efficacious  their  noble  examples,  thus  shall  we  preserve 
perennially  fresh  and  green,  and  transmit  to  the  guardianship  of 
posterity,  their  sacred  memories ;  and  thus  shall  we  vindicate 
to  our  contemporaries  and  to  the  rising  generation,  which  must 
in  a  few  years  take  our  places  in  the  administration  of  active 
affairs,  the  truth  of  the  maxim,  dulce  et  decorum  est  pro  patina 
mori. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  address,  Gen.  Ingraham  announced 
that  Geo.  Zincke,  a  German,  and  an  inmate  of  the  Home  who 
did  not  speak  English,  would  address  a  few  words  to  his  German 
comrades,  in  their  own  language.  He  referred  to  the  generous 
regard  for  the  interests  of  the  soldier  which  characterized  the 
Government  and  people  of  the  United  States  as  contrasted  with 
the  course  of  the  monarchies  of  the  old  world.  With  much 
feeling  he  spoke  of  the  tributes  of  affection  and  reverence  which 
the  scene  before  them  presented,  and  closed  with  a  few  lines  of 
of  verse  of  his  own  composition  which  may  be  freely  translate^ 
thus : 


488  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Yon  who  stand  around  the-e  graves, 
Where  the  preen  grass  gently  grows, 
See  the  end  of  mortal  life 
With  its  cares  and  scenes  of  strife. 
Those  who  sleep  so  quiet  there 
Once  like  us  could  do  aud  dare. 
"What  they  are  now,  we  soon  shall  be, 
Dwellers  in  Eternity. 

Chaplain  Earnshaw  pronounced  the  benediction,  tLc  proces- 
sion again  formed  and  marched  back  to  headquarters,  and  the 
ceremonies  of  the  day  at  the  Soldier's  Home  were  closed. 

AT  WEST  FARMINGTON,  OHIO. 

The  Post  of  the  G.  A.  R.  of  this  place  (including  citizens  of 
this  and  adjoining  towns),  celebrated  May  30th,  as  recommend- 
ed by  the  Grand  Commander,  in  decorating  the  graves  of  their 
fallen  comrades,  and  other  appropriate  ceremonies.  The  choicest 
Spring  flowers,  wild  and  cultivated,  were  twined  in  wreaths  of 
evergreen  aud  myrtle,  and  arranged  in  beautiful  bouquets  for 
the  occasion.  The  bands  from  Mesopotamia  and  Parkman  were 
in  attendance,  and  in  turn  "  discoursed  sweet  music."  About 
11  o'clock,  A.  M.,  the  members  of  the  Order,  with  a  crape  badge 
upon  the  arm  of  each,  preceded  by  the  bands  of  music,  and 
•loaded  with  wreaths  and  bouquets,  took  up  their  line  of  march 
for  the  cemetery,  a  half  mile  east  of  their  hall,  followed  by  a 
long  procession  of  citizens  and  friends  of  the  deceased  soldiers. 
On  arriving  at  the  Soldiers'  Monument,  erected  by  the  people 
of  the  township,  near  the  centre  of  the  cemetery,  and  which 
had  been  previously  decorated  for  the  occasion,  they  formed  in 
a  hollow  square  about  the  same,  and,  at  a  signal  from  the  Com- 
mander of  the  Post,  each  member  knelt,  while  the  officer  of  the 
day  read  a  beautiful  sentiment  of  respect  and  honor  to  the  mem- 
ory of  their  fallen  comrades.  On  rising,  each  member  stepped 
forward  and  deposited  a  wreath  or  bouquet  at  the  base  of  the 
monument.  Prof.  A.  N.  Craft,  of  the  Western  Reserve  Semi- 
nary at  this  place,  then  delivered  an  address  full  of  historical 
facts,  and  logical  deductions  therefrom,  discussing  in  a  very  able 
manner  the  proposition  that  a  nation's  destiny,  and  life  even, 
depends  upon  its  adherence  to  the  principles  of  morality  and 
justice ;  giving  a  history  of  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  governments 
of  the  Old  World,  and  delineating  with  wonderful  accuracy  the 
character  and  operations  of  the  principal  actors  upon  the  stage, 
during  the  transmigration  of  their  governments  from  weakness 
to  strength  and  from  prosperity  to  decay. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  489 


AT  KINSMAN,  OHIO. 

A  number  of  the  citizens  of  Kinsman  met  at  the  Academy, 
and  spent  some  time  in  making  wreaths  and  bouquets  from  the 
choicest  Spring  flowers,  wild  and  cultivated.  After  partaking 
of  some  refreshments  kindly  furnished  by  the  ladies,  the  friends 
and  comrades  of  the  deceased  proceeded  to  the  cemetery,  to 
strew  flowers  and  decorate  the  graves  of  our  honored  comrades. 
As  they  passed  each  grave,  Mr.  John  T.  Yeomans  gave  a  short 
history  of  the  deceased.  When  the  graves  were  all  decorated, 
the  martial  band  escorted  the  citizens  back  to  the  Academy, 
where  they  appointed  a  committee  of  five  to  have  charge  of  the 
next  annual  decoration  of  the  soldiers'  graves.  After  a  few  ap- 
propriate remarks  by  Mr.  John  T.  Yeomans  and  William  A. 
Levin,  the  company  separated. 

AT  EATON,  OHIO. 

Under  the  marshalship  of  Col.  Robert  Williams,  Jr.,  the 
procession  formed,  at  2  o'cock,  p.  M.,  in  front  of  the  Court-House, 
in  the  following  order:  1.  The  Band.  2.  The  Chaplain  and 
Orator  of  the  day.  3.  Two  color-bearers  —  Rev.  Hiram  John- 
son and  John  L.  Bruce  —  followed  by  thirty-five  Misses  in  red, 
white,  and  blue,  who  carried  the  wreaths  and  bouquets,  and 
who  were  followed  immediately  by  thre.e  of  the  old  flags  that 
had  seen  service,  carried  by  Captain  Lanius,  J.  H.  Bostwick, 
and  Tim  Kelly.  4.  Soldiers  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion. 
5.  Citizens.  On  reaching  the  ground,  a  pleasant  shade  was 
selected.  "  America  "  was  sung  by  a  choir,  and  a  prayer  was 
offered  by  Rev.  T.  J.  Harris.  ]N  ext  followed  the  oration  of  Col. 
A.  L.  Harris,  as  follows  : 

LADIES,  GENTLEMEN,  AND  COMRADES  :  The  12th  day  of  April, 
1861,  will  long  be  remembered  by  us  as  a  nation.  It  was  on 
that  day  that  the  first  gun  was  fired  upon  Fort  Sumter.  The 
South  had  long  indulged  in  the  threat  that  they  would  take  up 
arms  to  defend  ther  favorite  institution  —  Slavery.  No  one  in  the 
Nortli^  thought  for  a  moment  that  they  would  ever  put  that 
threat  into  execution.  The  firing  upon  our  flag  created  univer- 
sal amazement  and  indignation.  You  remember  your  own  feel- 
ings, when  the  news  of  the  insult  to  our  national  banner,  of  the 
battle,  and  of  the  capture  of  Sumter  by  the  rebels,  were  flashed 
along  the  wires.  Excitement,  perhaps  unparalleled  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world,  pervaded  every  city  and  hamlet,  and  almost 
every  heart.  The  farmer  stopped  his  plow  in  the  furrow,  the 
merchant  dropped  his  yard-stick  upon  the  counter,  the  black- 


490  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

smith  his  hammer  upon  the  anvil,  the  carpenter  his  plane  upon 
the  bench,  and  all,  with  one  accord,  listened  in  breathless  silence 
to  catch  every  word  of  the  startling  news.  For  the  first  time  in 
our  history  the  Stars  and  Stripes  were  trailed  in  the  dust  by 
traitors — by  the  very  men  that  the  flag  had  honored  at  home 
and  protected  abroad.  The  indignation  of  a  loyal  people,  at 
that  hour,  cannot  be  described.  Party  lines,  for  the  time  being, 
were  blotted  out ;  party  feuds  were  forgotten,  and,  with  one 
sentiment,  the  young  men  of  all  political  parties  rallied  around 
the  flag,  and  pledged  themselves  to  protect  it  from  insult,  and 
place  it  again  upon  the  walls  of  Sumter  without  a  star  upon  its 
beautiful  shield  being  dimmed. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  the  most  gigantic  rebellion  that 
history  has  ever  recorded.  Battle  after  battle  was  fought  with 
varied  results,  and  month  after  month  the  cause  of  treason  ap- 
peared to  gain  strength.  At  times,  the  most  patriotic  men  of 
the  nation  felt  that  the  life  or  death  of  the  Republic  hung  on 
the  scale,  nearly  equally  balanced.  But  the  Goddess  of  Liberty 
watched  over  the  cause  of  the  young  Republic,  and  guided  its 
statesmen  in  council,  and  its  generals  in  the  field,  to  victory. 
The  last  bloody  battle  has  been  fought ;  the  last  armed  foe  has 
surrendered.  The  earth  no  longer  trembles  with  the  tramp  of 
opposing  armies  as  they  rush  to  the  charge.  The  air  is  no 
longer  filled  with  the  shrieks  of  the  wounded  or  the  groans  of 
the  dying.  The  smoke  of  battle  is  no  longer  ascending  toward 
heaven,  indicating  the  terrible  conflict  on  earth  which  was  being 
fought  in  defense  of  religious  and  political  liberty.  The  mighty 
engines  of  war  are  now  silent  in  the  arsenals  of  a  victorious  na- 
tion. The  volunteers  who  made  up  the  legions  of  our  Grand 
Army  are  no  longer  pacing  their  lonely  beats  in  the  dead  hours 
of  the  night,  or  charging  on  to  victory  against  living  walls  of 
opposing  forces,  but  have  returned  to  the  quiet  pursuits  of  civil 
life. 

They  have  not  all  thus  returned.  Many  of  them  lie  buried 
•where  they  fell,  flushed  with  victory  or  saddened  by  defeat,  and 
their  last  resting-place  will  never  be  known  to  man ;  while  thou- 
sands of  others  have  been  gathered  together  and  lie  buried  be- 
neath the  flag  which  waved  over  them  when  they  fell,  and  are 
to-day  "  sleeping  the  sleep  that  knows  no  waking,"  side  by  side 
and  shoulder  to  shoulder  in  the  quiet  embrace  of  death.  The 
remains  of  these  warriors  are  beyond  our  reach.  We  would  all 
like  to  make  a  pilgrimage  to  their  tombs,  and  pay  to  them  the 
same  tribute  of  respect  that  we  have  met  together  to-day  to  pay 
to  our  brave  comrades  whose  mouldering  forms  lie  buried  with- 
in this  beautiful  "  city  of  the  dead."  While  many  who  are 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  491 

..oar  anu  dear  to  us  are  beyond  our  reach  to-day,  we  are  con- 
soled with  the  thought  that  some  friend  is  paying  to  them  the 
same  tribute  of  respect  that  we  are  paying  to  those  that  lie 
buried  here.  If  there  is  no  relation  near  to  perform  this  solemn 
duty,  we  know  that  there  is  a  race  of  fellow  mortals  there,  who 
were  once  slaves,  but  are  now  freemen  ;  who  were  once  in 
chains,  but  whose  manacles  have  been  snapped  asunder  by  the 
bayonets  of  our  illustrious  dead,  that  will  perform  it  in''  our 
stead.  The  child  may  forget  its  parent,  the  subject  may  deny 
his  allegiance  to  his  Government,  but  this  people  will  never  for- 
get their  deliverance  from  bondage.  As  long  as  the  American 
patriot  reveres  the  name  of  the  immortal  Washington,  and  loves 
to  visit  his  tomb  arid  kneel  in  reverence  at  his  grave,  these  peo- 
ple will  make  their  frequent  pilgrimage  to  the  earthly  tenements 
of  the  dead  patriots  who  lie  buried  far  from  the  scenes  of  their 
childhood,  and  amid  tears  of  affection  and  love  strew  flowere 
upon  their  graves. 

Fathers,  mothers,  sisters,  brothers,  widows,  and  orphans, 
console  yourselves  with  the  thought,  that  while  the  absent, 
though  not  forgotten,  remains  of  your  kindred  are  far  away, 
the  Government,  which  they  fought  so  nobly  to  maintain,  will 
ever  guard  their  graves  with  sleepless  vigilance.  All  that  the 
consecrated  wealth  and  taste  of  this  nation  can  do  to  add  to 
their  tombs  will  be  done,  and  they  will  sweetly  sleep  within 
the  sunny  fields  of  the  South,  beneath  the  "starry  flag"  under 
which  they  fell.  One  million  of  surviving  comrades  will  see 
that  no  wanton  foot  ever  treads  rudely  on  such  hallowed 
ground.  No  insult  shall  ever  be  given  them.  No  vandalism 
shall  ever  befall  them.  By  our  acts  we  will  testify  to  coming 
generations  that  we  have  not  forgotten  them,  though  they  sleep 
far  from  us.  • 

The  little  hillocks  that  surround  us  here  to-day  we  can  keep 
under  o;ir  immediate  eye,  and  we  will  hold  them  sacred  as  long 
as  the  light  and  warmth  of  life  remains  within  us.  These 
graves  are  in  no  danger  of  desecration  by  a  vandal  hand. 
Their  remains  sleep  among  their  living  friends.  They  are 
watched  over  and  wept  over  by  near  relations.  They  will 
never  again  wake  at  the  sound  of  the  reveille.  Their  places 
are  vacant  in  our  ranks,  and  around  the  hearth-stones  of  their 
families.  Their  cheeks,  so  often  flushed  with  victory,  have 
long  ago  been  food  for  worms.  Their  tongues  that  cheered  us 
on  in  battle  are  now  still  in  death,  but  their  memories  are  as 
bright  in  our  minds  as  though  they  had  fallen  but  yesterday, 
The  act  alone  of  placing  these  beautiful  bouquets  and  wreaths 
upon  their  graves  is  but  a  small  tribute  within  itself,  and  little 


492  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

do  their  remains  heed  it  as  they  sleep  at  our  feet ;  but  we  do  it 
as  a  mark  of  the  love  and  affection  which  we  had  for  them  in 
life,  and  which  has  not  been  lessened  by  death.  We  love  them 
for  the  cause  for  which  they  fought  and  fell !  We  honor  them 
for  their  patriotism  in  tearing  themselves  away  from  happy 
homes  and  going  forth  to  battle  for  our  common  country. 
From  our  very  infancy  we  have  been  taught  to  honor,  love  and 
respect  the  names  of  our  Revolutionary  fathers,  who,  with 
their  united  strength  threw  off  the  British  yoke  of  oppression, 
and  handed  down  to  us  the  liberties  which  we  enjoy  ;  and  while 
they  are  entitled  to  all  the  honor  and  marks  of  affection  that 
has  been  bestowed  upon  them  by  a  grateful  nation,  yet  we 
must  claim,  standing  as  we  do  in  the  very  presence  of  our 
honored  dead,  among  the  graves  of  our  departed  comrades, 
that  the  cause  for  which  they  fought  arid  fell  is  no  less  sacred 
to  every  patriot.  Our  fathers  fought  to  establish  American 
independence  ;  our  brothers  fought  to  defend  and  perpetuate  it. 
Oar  fathers  offered  up  their  lives  upon  the  altar  of  freedom, 
and  succeeded  in  founding  the  great  principle  of  self  govern- 
ment. Our  brothers  sacrificed  their  lives  upon  the  same  altar 
in  defense  of  the  same  great  principle.  Our  fathers  planted 
the  tree  of  liberty  and  watered  it  with  their  own  blo<}d  ;  our 
brothers  found  it  dying  with  treason,  and  they  gave  their  lives 
that  it  might  live.  The  parallel  is  so  perfect,  in  fact,  that  when 
the  future  historian  shall  write  the  history  of  the  nation,  past 
and  present,  he  will  crown  the  heads  of  our  fallen  brothers  with 
the  same  wreath  of  laurels  that  a  grateful  people  have  placed 
upon  the  brows  of  our  fathers.  If  the  latter  are  honored  by  all 
who  love  our  free  institutions,  for  establishing  them,  the  other 
must  be  equally  honored  for  defending  them  in  the  hour  of 
their  greatest  peril.  If  our  brothers  had  not  come  forward 
with  their  lives,  we  would  have  had  the  poor  satisfaction  of 
handing  down  to  the  rising  generation  a  broken  and  distracted 
country  ;  while,  now,  we  will  hand  it  down  united.  Not  a  star 
of  the  galaxy  of  States  as  they  shine  forth  in  the  bright  con- 
stellation of  our  political  heavens  shall  be  dimmed  or  wanting. 
We  will  hand  it  down  better  and  stronger  and  freer  than  when 
we  received  it.  When  it  came  into  our  hands,  the  clank  of 
four  millions  of  human  beings  in  slavery  sounded  upon  our 
ears.  Now,  not  a  slave  can  be  found  anywhere  in  the  land.  It 
is  truly  "  the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave."  We 
have  washed  out  many  of  the  errors  of  our  fathers  with  the 
blood  of  this  generation.  We  gave  thousands  of  lives  and  mil- 
lions of  treasure  to  wipe  out  the  sin  of  slavery,  and  to  prove  to 
the  world  that  republicanism  is  no  longer  on  trial.  And  now, 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  493 

since  peace  and  happiness  once  more  smile  upon  onr  land,  we 
arc  thankful,  even  with  this  great  sacrifice,  that  we  have  been 
able  to  perfect  the  -freedom  of  our  Government  until  it  now  is 
in  reality,  what  we  have  heretofore  falsely  claimed  for  it,  a 
"  land  of  liberty,  and  an  asylum  for  the  oppressed  of  every 
race."  These  are  some  of  the  fruits  of  the  victory  obtained  by 
the  blood  of  our  dead  brothers  whose  graves  we  decorate  to- 
day. 

Tell  us  not  then  that  the  fire  of  patriotism  does  not  burn  as 
warmly  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  of  this  generation  as  it  did 
in  any  generation  that  has  gone  before.  Our  people  have  the 
same  love,  the  same  veneration  for  our  flag  that  our  fathers  had, 
and,  if  need  be,  they  will  undergo  the  same  hardships,  suffer  the 
same  privations  and  surmount  the  same  obstacles  to  protect  it 
whenever  its  safety  is  in  danger.  When,  at  any  time  in  the 
past,  can  you  point  to  more  heroic  devotion  and  greater  love  for 
our  country,  or  to  purer  patriotism,  than  can  be  found  on  the 
pages  of  history,  that  but  faintly  narrates  the  sufferings  of  our 
prisoners  at  Anderson ville  and  Belle  Isle  ?  In  some  of  the  very 
graves  that  we  are  to  strew  with  flowers  to-day  can  be  found 
the  victims  of  those  prison  pens.  No  man  over  passed  through 

freater  trials,  no  man  ever  endured  severer  torture  and  suffering 
>r  any  cause  than  did  tiiese  patriots  for  their  country  !  When 
starved  to  the  very  verge  of  the  grave,  when  reason  was  almost 
dethroned,  hour  after  hour  and  day  after  day,  as  long  as  they 
had  strength  to  speak,  they  would  indignantly  repel  the  insult 
offered  them  by  an  unprincipled  foe  to  abandon  their  flag  and 
enlist  under  the  banner  of  treason  and  shame !  These  brave 
men  chose  rather  to  die,  inch  by  inch,  by  starvation,  and  be 
faithful  to  the  cause  of  liberty,  than  to  live  and  owe  their  lives 
to  turning  against  the  flag  and  the  cause.  This  is  one  of  the 
blackest  and  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  brightest  pages  of  our 
history — black,  that  any  people  claiming  to  be  civilized  would 
inflict  such  cruelties  upon  their  fellow-men,  and  bright,  because 
it  brings  to  view  the  most  unyielding  patriotism  that  ever  in- 
spired the  soul  of  man.  You,  my  hearers,  whose  heads  are 
bowed  down  in  sadness  to-day,  when  the  forms  of  your  deceased 
fathers,  husbands,  or  sons  are  presented  to  your  minds,  and 
whose  many  virtues  fitted  them  to  be  gathered  to  the  Spirit 
Land,  and  there  crowned  with  a  crown  of  glory,  you  should  not 
weep,  but  rather,  like  the  Spartan  motliers  of  old,  rejoice  that  it 
has  been  your  privilege  to  send  forth  a  strong  arm  to  stay  the 
onward  flood  of  treason  and  its  kindred  crimes.  Friends,  why 
should  we  mourn  over  the  remains  of  our  glorious  dead  ?  We 
should  rather  wish  to  be  in  their  places,  honored,  respected,  and 


494  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

glorified  by  a  grateful  and  patriotic  people,  Far  removed  from 
the  cares  of  life  they  quietly  sleep,  and  their  names  shall  be 
handed  down  to  generations  yet  unborn  as  the  patriots  of  1861. 
The  hill  on  which  we  stand  may  be  changed  by  the  convulsions 
of  time,  but  the  names  of  the  patriots  never.  Their  soldier  lives 
were  the  reveille  of  a  race  of  human  beings  in  chains,  and  their 
death  the  tattoo  of  rebellion's  tyranny  in  arms.  It  is  not  only 
our  right  but  our  duty  to  visit  the  last  resting-place  of  these 
patriots  in  death,  and  weave  garlands  of  flowers  about  their 
graves.  "If  other  eyes  grow  dull  and  other  arms  grow  weak," 
comrades  of  the  Grand  Army,  our  eyes  must  grow  brighter  and 
our  arms  stronger  in  performing  this  solemn  duty.  We  prom- 
ised them  upon  a  hundred  battle-fields  that  if  they  fell  in  the 
charge,  their  fail  should  not  be  in  vain.  "We  rejoice  to-day  to 
know  that,  by  the  blessing  of  Divine  Providence,  that  promise 
has  been  made  good,  and  though  they  are  dead,  the  cause  for 
which  they  died  still  lives,  and  will  continue  to  live  long  after 
we,  who  are  alive  to-day,  "  have  shuffled  off  this  mortal  coil." 
Year  after  year,  while  ages  roll  on,  we  will  cherish  with  soften- 
ed hearts  and  warm  affection  their  honored  remains.  "We,  of  all 
ages  and  of  every  sex  will  mingle  our  tears  together  over  their 
graves,  and  in  the  presence  of  a  just  God  renew  our  allegiance 
to  justice  and  to  freedom. 

After  a  piece  of  music  by  the  band,  and  a  song  "  Brave  Boys 
were  They,"  a  large  bouquet  and  wreath  were  presented  to 
Rev.  F.  Senour,  in  the  name  of  the  absent  dead,  the  brave  boys 
who  lie  buried  near  where  they  fell,  on  nearly  every  field  of  the 
Sonth,  for  whom  he  responded.  The  large  assemblage  then  pro- 
ceeded to  surround  each  grave  in  succession,  and  to  witness  the 
depositing  of  a  bouquet  in  a  can  of  water,  previously  sunk  about 
the  centre  of  the  grave,  and  surrounding  this  a  beautiful  wreath 
of  evergreen.  At  each  grave  the  chaplain,  Rev.  T.  J.  Harris, 
read  the  name  of  the  soldier,  the  regiment  and  company  to 
which  he  belonged,  as  far  as  known,  the  time  and  manner  of  his 
death,  and  at  nearly  all,  expressed  some  sentiment  regarding  the 
memory  of  those  who  slept  beneath. 

AT  SALEM,  OHIO. 

At  2  o'clock,  headed  by  the  Salem  Silver  Cornet  Band,  they, 
accompanied  by  hundreds  of  citizens  on  foot  and  in  carriages, 
marched  from  the  Town  Hall  to  the  cemetery.  Every  soldier 
had  hung  on  his  arm  a  beautiful  evergreen  wreath,  and  a  fresh, 
fragrant  bouquet  of  flowers  in  his  hand,  each  to  mark  the  spot 
where  a  "  dead  hero  lay."  Arriving  on  the  ground,  the  soldiers 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        495 

and  citizens  were  addressed  by  Judge  J.  A.  Ambler,  who  was 
the  selected  orator  of  the  day,  in  a  speech  of  about  forty-five 
minutes'  length,  replete  with  the  facts  of  recent  history  as  re- 
garded our  country  s  great  struggle  in  the  Rebellion,  and  appro- 
priate references  to  the  dead  in  our  burial-ground,  who  had  lost 
their  lives,  directly  and  indirectly,  in  the  great  struggle  for  the 
Union.  At  the  conclusion  of  his  remarks,  the  band  played  a 
stirring  national  air,  after  which,  under  direction  of  Major 
Clemmer,  Commander  of  the  Post,  the  members  of  the  Grand 
Army  marched  in  silent  tread  from  one  grave  to  another, 
marked  with  the  name  and  regiment  of  the  soldier  whose  body 
it  contained,  and  performed  the  ceremony  of  decoration.  As 
the  flowers  and  evergreens  were  strewn  upon  the  grassy  mound 
in  well- arranged  profusion,  the  Commander  of  the  Post,  with  a 
clear,  strong  voice,  said  : 

COMRADES  :  On  the  grave  of  our  beloved  comrade  we  plant 
the  dear  old  flag  he  so  nobly  defended.  Like  this  wreath  of 
evergreen,  our  remembrance  of  him  as  a  comrade  in  camp,  on 
the  march,  and  in  the  field  of  battle,  will  be  unbroken  and  ever 
green.  In  commemoration  of  his  noble  deeds  in  defending  our 
national  honor  in  the  hour  of  trial — its  glorious  banner,  equal 
and  impartial  justice  and  liberty  for  all — we  have  gathered,  and 
now  strew  his  grave  with  our  choicest  flowers. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  interesting  ceremony,  the  Grand 
Army,  preceded  by  the  band,  marched  to  the  Baptist  burying- 
ground,  and  performed  the  same  token  of  respect  and  remem- 
brance to  a  soldier  buried  there,  after  which  they  were  disband- 
ed in  regular  order. 

AT  MEDINA,  OHIO. 

The  procession  formed  upon  the  street,  in  front  of  the  hall 
used  by  the  Post,  in  the  following  order  :  1.  Martial  Band.  2. 
Chaplain  of  the  G.  A.  R.  3.  Color-bearers.  4.  Guard  of 
Honor,  composed  of  twenty  comrades  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  fully 
armed  and  equipped,  under  command  of  the  Post  officer  of  the 
day.  5.  Decorating  Party,  composed  of  young  ladies,  to  whom 
was  assigned  the  duty  of  strewing  with  flowers  the  graves  of 
the  fallen  comrades.  Two  ladies  were  assigned  to  each  grave, 
and  as  many  more  of  the  friends  as  chose,  could  assist  in  the 
decoration,  6.  Comrades  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  not  under  arms,  but 
wearing  upon  the  left  arm  the  appropriate  badge  ot  mourning, 
and  upon  the  left  lappel  of  the  coat  a  sprig  of  evergreen.  7. 
Citizens.  T3ie  procession  moved  in  the  above  order  to  the  ceme- 
tery, the  band  playing  the  "  Soldier's  Farewell  to  Earth,"  and 


496  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

the  guard  carrying  their  pieces  at  a  "  reverse  arras,"  arrived  at 
the  cemetery  ;  the  guard  filed  to  each  side  of  road  inside  the 
gateway,  nnd  presented  arms,  the  procession  passing  into  the 
cemetery  between  their  lines.  The  procession  was  then  halted, 
and  the  decorating  began.  As  each  soldier's  name  was  called, 
the  two  ladies  assigned  to  his  grave  stepped  forward,  and,  being 
informed  of  the  whereabouts  of  said  grave,  proceeded  to  strew 
it  with  flowers,  wreaths,  &c.  When  this  ceremony  was  com- 
pleted, the  column  marched  to  the  centre  of  the  cemetery, 
where  a  large  wooden  cross,  fifteen  feet  in  length,  was  then 
raised  and  firmly  set  in  the  ground  by  the  Guard  of  Honor,  as 
a  monument  to  those  brave  boys  from  the  village  who  lost  their 
lives  in  the  service,  and  whose  remains  were  never  brought 
home.  A  frame,  containing  a  piece  of  parchment,  upon  which 
was  written  the  soldier's  name,  regiment,  place  of  death,  where 
buried,  &c.,  &c.,  was  then  hung  in  the  centre  of  the  cross. 
The  Chaplain  then  proceeded  to  read  the  names  of  the  soldiers 
contained  within  this  frame,  and  to  give  a  short  history  of  his 
career  as  a  soldier ;  and  as  each  name  was  read,  a  young  lady 
stepped  forward  and  hung  upon  either  arm  of  the  cross  a  wreath 
of  evergreen,  twined  with  red,  white,  and  blue  ribbons.  The 
Chaplain  then  made  a  very  solemn  and  touching  prayer.  The 
Guard  pronounced  the  benediction,  by  filing  the  usual  three 
vollies. 

AT  WELLINGTON,  OHIO. 

The  soldiers,  under  whose  auspices  the  ceremony  took  place, 
assembled  at  the  Town  Hall  at  half-past  2  o'clock,  and  moved 
for  the  Western  Cemetery  at  3,  the  procession  headed  by  the 
Wellington  Cornet  Band,  under  the  command  of  Maj.  A.  C. 
Houghton,  officer  of  the  day.  Arriving  at  the  cemetery,  the 
graves  of  the  five  soldiers  buried  there — whose  names  we  give 
below — were  visited,  and  covered  with  a  profusion  of  sweet 
flowers,  after  which  the  procession  moved  to  the  Hall.  Being 
joined  here  by  hundreds  of  citizens,  in  carriages  and  on  foot, 
the  procession  resumed  its  march  for  the  New  Cemetery.  The 
exercises  were  opened  with  singing  by  a  choir 'selected  for  the 
occasion,  followed  by  prayer  by  Rev.  E.  H.  Bush,  Chaplain ; 
after  which  an  address  was  delivered  by  Maj.  A.  C.  Houghton, 
in  substance  as  follows  : 

COMRADES  :  We  have  come  to-day  as  pilgrim  soldiers,  from 
the  strife  and  dust  of  action,  to  the  quiet  resting-place  of  our 
fallen  brothers,  bearing  fresh  flowers  to  strew  upon  their  graves, 
in  token  of  .our  remembrance  of  their  noble  deeds  and  costly 
sacrifice.  We  have  come,  not  so  much  in  obedience  to  any  spe- 


AT  THE  SOLDIEKS'  GRAVES.  497 

cial  order,  as  by  the  promptings  of  heart  that  bind  ns  in  sacred 
sympathy  to  those  whose  devotion  and  death  we  memorize  in 
our  ceremonies.  We  do  not  come  as  new-made  mourners  go  to 
the  graves  of  their  lost,  in  the  first  deep  poignancy  of  grief,  sor- 
rowing and  not  comforted ;  but  we  tread  among  the  graves  of 
our  martyred  dead  as  though  we  walked  among  the  sainted  ones, 
only  to  do  them  homage.  ^No  eulogium  that  can  be  pronounced 
in  words  over  the  remains  of  the  men  made  immortal  in  their 
deeds  and  death,  can  equal  the  silent  eloquence  of  the  emotions 
that  are  felt  in  every  heart  awakened  by  the  associations  this 
hour  calls  forth.  It  needs  no  argument  to  urge  a  claim  of  sym- 
pathy and  reverence  upon  us,  which  is  already  written  in  the 
imperishable  decrees  of  history.  It  needs  no  recital  of  the 
struggle  of  years — of  when  they  first  buckled  on  the  armor — 
of  the  early  days,  dark  and  gloomy,  that  bore  little  of  hope  to 
the  patriot  soldier,  save  in  the  truth  of  his  cause  and  his  trust 
in  the  God  of  nations — of  the  lonely,  sleepless  nights  on  guard 
— of  the  burning,  thirsty  fight — of  the  fainting,  bloody  couch 
upon  the  field  at  the  battle  s  close — of  the  mounds  we  heaped 
when 

"  Slowly  and  sadly  we  laid  them  down, 
From  the  field  of  their  fame,  fresh  and  gory — " 

or  of  the  racking  fever  on  the  hospital  cot — or  of  the  starving, 
and  torture,  and  death  in  the  rebel  prison-pens — no  delineation 
of  the  fierce  struggles  through  which  they  passed  in  those  years. 
We  stand  in  silence  by  their  graves,  our  hearts  already  too  full 
for  the  utterance  of  the  emotions  we  feel,  our  words  too  short 
to  measure  the  depth  of  our  respect  and  reverence  for  our  heroic 
dead.  It  is  past  our  power  to  add  to  the  glory  that  gathers 
around  their  names  and  memories.  But  not  alone  to  the  dead 
who  lie  entombed  at  our  feet  do  we  do  reverence  and  homage 
this  day,  but  also  to  our  dead  who,  lie  upon  the  line  where  they 
fell— 

"  By  the  flow  of  the  inland  river. 

Whence  the  fleets  of  iron  have  fled, 
Where  the  blades  of  the  grave-grass  quiver, 

Asleep  are  the  ranks  of  our  dead." 

No  marble  slab  or  shaft  of  stone  marks  their  last  resting-place ; 
no  loving  hand  is  there  to  strew  to-day  upon  their  graves  the 
tokens  of  a  tender  and  reverent  affection.  But  they  are  not 
forgotten.  Prouder  and  more  enduring  than  any  monument  of 
stone  could  be,  is  their  cenotaph,  erected  amid  the  sorrowing 
desolation  of  ten  thousand  homes — in  the  gratitude  of  a  loyal 
people — in  the  annals  of  a  nation  saved — in  the  hearts  of  a  race 
32 


498  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

redeemed  through  their  blood  from  bondage — in  the  hearts  of 
the  oppressed  the  world  over.  Their  silent  tents  are  pitched  on 
Fame's  eternal  camping-ground,  and  above  them  bright-winged 
angels  keep  their  loving  watch.  When  we  think  of  the  places 
where  they  lie,  their  graves  beneath  an  unspeaking  sod,  their 
bones  bleaching  upon  the  plain  ;  when  we  think  of  the  sorrow 
and  anguish  that  have  wrung  the  hearts  of  the  disappointed 
watchers  for  their  return,  we  involuntarily  ask,  "  Was  it  neces- 
sary they  should  thus  yield  up  their  lives  ?  We  are  compelled 
to  answer  that  it  was.  All  great  achievements  require  great 
sacrifices,  great  sins  require  great  atonements,  and  the  blood  of 
these  martyred  and  innocent  dead  was  needed  for  the  salvation 
of  a  nation  that  had  greatly  sinned.  The  nation  was  saved,  and 
the  blood  that  bought  its  salvation  has  become  sacred.  Upon 
the  cross  they  bore  have  these  martyred  ones  been  raised,  and 
are  drawing  the  hearts  of  all  men  unto  them,  in  devotion  to  the 
principles  of  truth  to  which  they  yielded  up  their  last  full  meas- 
ure of  devotion. 

This  day  and  this  occasion,  while  it  commemorates  the  dead, 
is  not  without  its  lesson  to  the  living.  Their  work  is  ended, 
their  last  battle  fought,  they  are  removed  to  the  soldiers'  home, 
and  where  no  longer  they  need  the  inspiration  that  nerved  them 
to  the  contest  here.  We  are  still  left  on  the  line,  still  at  the 
front.  The  action  that,  with  them,  closed  with  their  life's  last 
act,  still  continues.  And  here,  at  the  graves  of  those  who  yield- 
ed on  the  altar  of  truth  and  liberty  all  that  man  could  yield, 
let  us  dedicate  ourselves  anew  before  the  altar  on  which  they 
were  sacrificed,  seeking,  from  the  source  whence  they  found  it, 
inspiration  for  that  deathless  devotion  that  animated  their  lives 
and  made  immortal  their  memories. 

Rev.  E.  H.  Bush  followed,  in  a  few  remarks  upon  the  appro- 
priateness of  dedicating  a  day  to  be  set  apart  for  commemorable 
services  over  the  graves  of  those  who  had  so  nobly  sacrificed 
their  lives  in  the  cause  of  universal  freedom,  and  in  overthrow- 
ing treason. 

The  names  of  the  dead  were  then  read,  as  given  in  the  list 
below,  and  the  order  in  which  the  ceremonies  would  be  con- 
ducted announced: 

WESTERN  CEMETERY. — Gilbert  Field,  23d  Inf.  (cenotaph),  ex- 
plosion of  the  Sultana,  Mississippi  River;  Ensign  Hill,  Edgars- 
ton's  Battery,  in  hospital,  Nashville,  Tenn. ;  Dwight  Battle,  Q. 
M.  Dept.  at  Beverly,  Va. ;  Orin  Green,  23d  Inf.,  hospital,  Rolla, 
Va.  ;  Mills,  43d  Inf.,  sick-furlough,  at  home. 

NEW  CEMETEKY. — Frank  Gillett,  1st  Art.,  hospital,  Ky. ; 
Henry  W.  Houghton,  176th  Inf.,  hospital,  Nashville,  Tenn. ; 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  499 

James  Foote,  176th  Inf.,  Nashville,  Tenn. ;  Garrison  Marcy, 
86th  Inf.,  Camp  Nelson,  Ky.  ;  J.  0.  Lang,  Q.  M.  Dept.,  sick- 
leave  at  home;  Preston  D.  Smith,  Q.  M.IDept,  hospital,  Va. ; 
George  Whiton,  2d  Ohio  Cav.,  hospital,  Mo.  ;  Frank  H.  Howk, 
•2d  Ohio  Cav.,  hospital,  Mo. ;  Henry  West,  41st  Inf.,  Pittsburgh 
Landing,  Miss. ;  Silas  Kingsley,  103d  Inf.,  Camp  Dennison, 
Ohio  ;  James  Chapman,  42d  Inf.,  hospital,  Va. 

IN  THE  FIELD. — Wm.  Cliallacombe,  2d  Cav.,  hospital,  Fort 
Scott,  Kansas  ;  Samuel  L.  Drake,  2d  Cav.,  hospital,  Fort  Scott, 
Kansas  ;  Thomas  Kuowles,  2d  Cav.,  Buffington  Island,  Oliio ; 
John  H.  Bowers,  103d  Inf.,  Knoxville,  Tenn. ;  Joseph  H.  Rob- 
inson, 103d  Inf.,  Frankfort,  Ky.  ;  Samuel  Clifford,  23d  Inf., 
Cloyd's  Mill,  Va. ;  Alonzo  Clifford,  Edgarston's  Battery,  Chat- 
tanooga, Tenn.  ;  Francis  Finch,  2d  Ohio  Cav.,  Diniddi  C.  H., 
Va. ;  Orlando  Smith,  2d  Ohio  Cav.,  Andersonville  Prison ; 
Isaac  Barker,  23d  Inf.,  South  Mountain,  Md.  ;  Frederick  Hook- 
er, 23d  Inf.,  South  Mountain,  Md. 

The  soldiers  moved  into  two  lines,  one  on  each  side  of  the 
graves.  Halting  at  a  "  Present "  at  each  grave,  the  ladies  bear- 
ing flowers  were  also  permitted  to  pass  through  the  square  and 
deposit  their  offerings.  Thus  the  grave  of  every  soldier  was 
visited.  The  band,  which  had  been  stationed  on  an  eminence 
in  the  centre  of  the  grounds,  played  a  funeral  march  as  the  pro- 
cession moved  along.  The  last  green  mound  receiving  the  sweet 
tokens  of  love  and  reverence,  the  procession  returned  to  the 
Hall,  and  was  dismissed. 

AT  TOLEDO,  OHIO. 

About  1  o'clock,  the  members  of  Post  No.  40,  G.  A.  R.,  be- 
gan to  assemble  in  front  of  their  hall.  Busy  hands  had  been 
employed  during  the  morning  in  making  wreaths,  bouquets, 
and  other  floral  emblems  of  love  and  respect,  to  lay  upon  the 
honored  graves.  These  were  carried  in  the  procession,  and  their 
presence  gave  a  novel  and  pleasing  appearance  to  the  gathering. 
At  about  2  o'clock,  the  members  of  the  Post  fell  into  line,  and 
were  told  off  info  companies,  and  inarched  to  Madison  street, 
where  the  procession  was  to  be  formed.  On  each  flank  of  each 
company  was  borne  an  old  warworn  flag,  wrhose  tattered  folds, 
as  they  fluttered  in  the  breeze,  spoke  eloquently  of  many  a  hard 
fight  and  fearless  charge.  After  allowing  the  stream  of  car- 
riages that  had  assembled  on  the  street  to  pass  down  to  the  left 
of  the  line,  the  battalion  countermarched  in  column  of  com- 
panies, and  the  procession  moved  to  Superior  street,  on  its  way 
to  the  City  Cemetery.  The  column  marched  to  the  centre  of 


500  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

the  cemetery,  and  closed  on  the  first  wing.  The  nature  of  the 
ceremonies  was  briefly  stated  by  the  Post  Commandant,  General 
Hill.  A  few  speeches  were  made  by  the  clergymen  present,  the 
Rev.  Messrs.  Raffensperger,  Camp,  Bacon,  and  Williams,  each 
making  brief  but  very  appropriate  remarks.  The  assemblage4 
then  dispersed,  and  commenced  the  decoration  of  the  graves 
that  were  scattered  through  the  cemetery,  each  marked  by  a 
little  flag  that  fluttered  over  it  in  the  gentle  breeze.  Each  of 
these  graves  was  visited,  and  not  one  was  neglected.  Every 
body  who  passed  by  strewed  some  offering -of  love  and  gratitude 
on  every  mound  marked  as  a  soldier's  grave.  Some  were  espe- 
cially decorated  by  the  hands  of  friends,  whose  love  for  the 
memory  of  their  lost  friends  jor  relatives  prompted  especial  care 
in  the  decoration  of  their  last  resting-place.  Over  the  grave  of 
Col.  E.  H.  Phelps,  of  the  30th  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  the 
banner  of  his  regiment  was  planted,  and  its  presence  over  the 
earthly  remains  of  that  brave  soldier  seemed  peculiarly  appro- 
priate and  impressive.  With  equal  appropriateness  the  flag  of 
the  67th  was  planted  over  the  grave  of  Gen.  L.  C.  Hunt,  about 
whose  grave  a  large .  number  of  the  visitors  were  continually 
gathered. 

At  the  appointed  bugle-call,  the  procession  re-formed,  and 
marched  by  way  of  the  Lagrange  street  road  to  the  Catholic 
Cemetery.  It  was  a  long  distance,  and,  as  the  road  was  rough, 
many  of  the  carriages  returned  to  the  city  from  this  point,  but 
a  long  procession  still  followed  the  members  of  the  Grand  Army 
in  their  complete  discharge  of  their  duties  toward  their  dead 
brothers-in-arms.  On  arriving  at  the  cemetery,  a  closed  column 
was  formed,  and  two  brief  but  very  effective  addresses  were 
made  by  Chaplains  Beatty  and  Collier.  The  propriety  of  Chap- 
lain Collier's  short  address  deserves  especial  attention.  He 
spoke  in  fitting  terms  of  the  sei*vices  of  the  dead  men  \yhose 
memory  the  nation  had  assembled  to  honor,  and  said  that,  in 
honoring  their  memory,  we  ought  especially  to  remember  those 
whom  these  brave  men  had  left  behind  them.  The  widows  and 
orphans  of  the  nation's  martyrs,  and  the  national  duty  of  pro- 
viding for  them,  were  his  especial  theme,  and  his  remarks  were 
very  effective  and  appropriate.  It  is  to  be  desired  that  every 
body  could  have  heard  and  pondered  his  speech.  After  these 
remarks  were  ended,  the  column  was  again  dismissed,  and  scat- 
tered throughout  the  cemetery  on  their  errand  of  love.  Espe- 
cially noticeable  in  the  Irish  Catholic  Cemetery  was  the  grave 
of  Edward  McMahon,  of  Battery  H,  1st  Regt.  Ohio  Volunteer 
Artillery,  over  which  a  flag  of  that  battery  was  waving.  All 
the  other  graves  in  the  cemetery  were  visited  and  honored  alike, 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        501 

each  passer-by  placing  reverently  thereon  some  token  of  love; 
honor,  and  respect.  At  the  bugle-signal,  the  column  was  again 
formed.  The  carriages  of  those  detailed  to  visit  other  ceme- 
teries, too  far  away  from  the  line  of  inarch  for  the  procession  to 
"reach,  left  the  column  here.  The  main  column  crossed  over  to 
Cherry  street,  and  marched  in  by  Cherry  and  Madison  streets, 
reaching  the  original  starting-point  at  about  half-past  6,  when  it 
was  at  once  dismissed.  • 

AT  CHABDON,  OHIO. 

Eight  guns  were  fired  at  daylight,  eight  as  the  procession  was 
moving  from  the  Hall  to  the  Cemetery,  and  eight  at  sunset,  three 
for  each  soldier  buried  in  the  place.  The  procession  was  formed 
at  about  one  o'clock,  in  front  of  the  Town  Hall,  headed  by  a 
Guard  of  Honor,  followed  by  the  Chardon  Cornet  Band,  speakers, 
Colors  of  the  41st  Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry,  with  a  guard ;  Offi- 
cers of  Munn  Encampment ;  soldiers  of  the  late  war,  in  two 
ranks  in  open  order,  with  ladies  bearing  flowers ;  and,  immedi- 
ately after  these,  came  a  company  of  Zouaves,  in  uniform,  com- 
posed of  boys  of  twelve  years  and  under%  The  line  of  march 
was  taken  up,  to  the  music  of  the  band,  who  played  the  entire 
distance  from  the  Hall  to  the  Cemetery.  On  arriving  at  the 
Cemetery,  the  ground  was  so  wet  that  it  became  necessary  to 
change  the  programme  somewhat,  but  not  enough  to  mar  the 
harmony  of  the  occasion.  After  the  procession  was  halted  and 
properly  "  fronted,"  a  prayer  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  C.  T. 
Kingsbury,  immediately  followed  by  the  address  of  Tilden  W. 
Porter,  Esq.,  speaker  of  the  day.  Then  followed  volunteer  ad- 
dresses by  J.  O.  Converse  and  Hon.  D.-W.  Canfield. 

ADDRESS   OF   T.    W.    POETEB. 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN,  SOLDIERS  AND  COMRADES  :  It  is  with 
a  great  degree  of  embarrassment  that  I  attempt  to  perform  a 
pleasant  duty,  though  a  sad  and  mournful  one ;  pleasant,  be- 
cause it  affords  me  great  happiness  to  be  able  in  the  smallest 
degree  to  pay  my  tribute  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  our  fallen 
brave ;  sad  and  mournful,  because  it  is  always  so  to  contemplate 
young  manhood  cut  off'  in  its  busiest  hours  of  usefulness,  and  in 
its  flush  of  early  hope  and  ambition.  I  know  my  utter  inability 
to  say  just  those  words  that  should  convey  what  every  man  and 
woman  in  our  land  feels,  in  love  and  reverence  for  those  brave 
two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dead  whose  green  graves  dot 
our  land  from  the  Lakes  to  the  Gulf,  and  from  one  ocean  to 
another.  This  is  an  occasion  in  which  soldiers  and  citizens  all 
take  a  like  interest,  but  none  but  soldiers  can  realize,  perhaps, 


502  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

the  duty,  the  trials,  the  death,  the  firm  and  lasting  friendship 
of  the  soldier  for  comrades  of  field  and  battle.  The  soldier  has, 
or  ought  to  have,  a  keener  realization  than  others  can  have,  of 
the  duty  and  importance  of  a  day  like  this,  set  apart  as  a  na- 
tional day  whereon  we  may  meet  and  strew  the  graves  of  our 
lamented  dead  with  flowers,  conscious  that,  in  whatever  part 
of  our  land  the  fallen  braves  sleep,  if  there  our  common  country 
is  loved,  respected  and  honored,  will  their  graves  receive  the 
same  beautiful  tribute.  But.  alas !  they  do  not  all  rest  in  the 
sleep  of  death  among  kind  friends,  devoted  comrades,  and  loving 
relatives.  Yery  many,  by  far  too  many,  have  found  an  unknown 
and  nameless  grave,  but  not  an  unhoriored  one.  Some  are  buried 
alone,  or  in  groups,  in  wild  and  solitary  mountain  forests.  For 
such,  perhaps,  and  let  us  hope  it  may  be,  nature  puts  forth  her 
bountiful  hand,  and  strews  their  graves  with  the  living  flowers 
of  the  forest. 

Comrades,  what  time  more  fitting,  or  what  occasion  can  more 
vividly  recall  to  our  minds  that  part  of  our  lives'  history  spent  in 
the  service  of  our  country,  and  saving  from  dishonor  and  shame 
that  beautiful  emblem  of  our  glorious  and  happy  Republic  which 
to-day  kisses  the  happy  breeze  in  glorious  pride  and  freedom  ? 
To-day,  as  if  clothed  with  the  poet's  and  artist's  double  power, 
we  can  live  over  the  most  momentous  era  in  our  several  histo- 
ries. The  fearful  and  startling  war  telegrams  of  1861,  which 
set  the  patriotism  of  the  whole  North  on  fire ;  the  enlistment 
into  the  service ;  the  farewell  to  friends ;  the  equipment,  and  the 
first  novel  sensations  on  buckling  on  our  knapsacks,  girding  us 
about  with  cartridge-box,  and  shouldering,  for  the  first  time,  our 
faithful  friend  and  companion,  the  rifle,  or,  for  the  fy-st  time, 
unsheathing  from  its  scabbard  the  trusty  sabre,  or  standing,  for 
the  first  time,  beside  a  splendid  death-dealing  piece  of  artillery. 
Then  the  march,  and  those  early  annoyances  of  the  soldier  in 
his  first  attempts  at  pitching  or  striking  tents,  his  earliest  expe- 
rience in  the  soldier's  way  of  living,  learning  to  take  his  coffee 
without  milk,  his  bread  without  butter,  and  to  eat  his  bacon 
raw.  Then  the  picket  post,  his  first  thoughts  as  silently  he 
treads  back  and  forth  his  lonely  beat.  Then,  as  we  nearer  ap- 
proach the  enemy,  and  have  seen,  for  the  first  time,  that  traitor- 
stained  wretch  in  dirty  homespun  gray,  and  are  advanced  beyond 
the  picket  line  to  .do  vidette  duty,  how  well  can  we  recall  the 
silent  though  ever-watchful  hours  that,  as  they  pass  by,  chal- 
lenged every  moving  thing.  Then,  as  nearer  still  the  two  armies 
approach  each  other,  can  we  behold,  as  if  we  were  living  it  all 
over  again,  the  days  spent  in  cautious  marching  and  counter- 
marching until  the  eve  of  battle  arrives ;  then  the  hushed  and 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  503 

rapid  moving  of  columns  into  place  and  line;  and,  as  the  morn- 
ing dawns  upon  the  day  whereon  many  of  pur  brave  comrades 
bit  the  dust,  and  just  as  the  sun  looks  over  some  distant  hill, 
we  hear  the  sharp  crack  of  a  solitary  rifle,  then  another  and 
another,  till  along  our  picket  line  there  is  heard  the  constant 
report  of  the  rifles  of  those  men  to  whose  fidelity  the  army  owes 
its  safety,  and  the  country  its  salvation.  It  is  the  morn  of  battle ! 
To-day  the  two  armies  are  to  be  hurled  against  each  other,  to 
spill  each  other's  blood.  To-day  that  glorious  old  flag  is  to  be 
torn,  trampled  and  trailed  in  the  dust,  or  to  be  borne  aloft  and 

guarded,  honored,  and  protected  against  the  polluting  touch  of 
lood-stained  rebels.  How  well  it  was  guarded,  let  these  graves, 
containing  eight  of  our  comrades,'  as  well  as  the  results  of  the 
four  years  of  vigorous  war  between  people  of  the  same  blood, 
and  owning  the  same  nationality  and  government,  bear  witness. 
How  well  and  how  faithfully  that  starry  banner  was  shielded 
during  its  terrible  ordeal,  may  be  attested  by  the  fact  that  not  a 
single  star  has  been  torn  from  its  constellation,  but  to-day  it  is 
the  same  glorious  old  flag  that  it  was  when  under  it  Washington 
fought  and  Warren  fell.  Only  this  difference — it  has  grown 
larger  and  stronger.  And  here,  in  the  presence  of  our  dead,  let 
us  pledge  ourselves  that  so  long  as  we  may  be  permitted  to  oc- 
cupy our  earthly  homes,  we  will  bear  the  same  fealty  to  our  flag 
and  our  country  that  we  have  ever  done.  And  here,  too,  we 
must  pledge  ourselves  that  the  families  of  our  fallen  comrades 
shall  ever  find  in  us  true  and  firm  friends.  We  must  not  tbrget 
in  our  happiness  at  once  again  meeting  friends  and  loved  ones, 
those  who  mourn  for  others  who  will  never  more  return.  Though 
their  grief  may  be  bitter,  and  their  mourning  cease  only  when 
death  shall  reunite  them  with  these  brave  men,  who,  in  life's 
earliest  manhood,  were  slain  by  the  hands  of  cruel  traitors,  yet 
they  have  this  proud  recollection,  that  they  fell  in  a  noble  cause, 
for  their  country,  for  the  freedom  of  their  countrymen.  Aye, 
more  than  that :  their  cause  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  struggling 
and  oppressed  everywher^  upon  the  face  of  the  earth.  Com- 
rades, had  we  failed,  the  toiling  millions  of  earth  would  have 
wept  bitter  tears,  and  tyrants  and  despots  would  have  held  high 
carnival  at  the  downfall  of  republics  and  our  free  institutions. 
A  just  God  would  not  permit  that  we  should  fail,  but  guided 
our  armies  to  a  final  and  triumphant  victory.  Ladies,  to  you 
our  country  owes  much,  her  soldiers  still  more.  How  we  are  to 
pay  the  debt  is  more  than  I  can  conjecture,  unless  we  all  strike 
our  colors  and  surrender  without  conditions.  But,  then,  that 
even  might  increase  our  obligations,  rather  than  diminish  our 
debt.  I  fear  we  will  have  to  go  into  bankruptcy,  unless  we  can 


504  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

make  a  compromise,  and  only  pay  a  percentage  of  our  indebted- 
ness. To  you,  ladies,  the  army  owed  much  of  its  efficiency.  To 
your  earnest  and  zealous  efforts  to  relieve  the  suffering  of  sick 
and  wounded  soldiers,  and  to  your  earnest  and  loving  sympathy 
for  those  who,  in  the  field,  faced  and  fought  a  relentless  enemy, 
the  army  owed  much  of  its  moral  strength.  And  words  cannot 
express  the  pleasure  of  every  true  soldier,  when  we  remember 
that  your  willing  hands,  loving  hearts,  and  exquisite  tastes  this 
day  weave  garlands  and  wreaths  of  flowers  for  the  graves  of  our 
comrades.  Citizens,  to  you  we  owe  much,  for,  with  money  and 
ballots,  you  maintained  a  reserve  corps  upon  which  we  could 
rely  with  perfect  faith  and  confidence.  Permit  me  to  thank  you 
all,  for  meeting  with  us  to-day,  to  join  your  efforts  with  ours, 
your  love  and  reverence  with  ours,  for  these  brave  men,  in  adorn- 
ing and  beautifying  the  graves  wherein  they  rest,  as  the  preser- 
vers of  a  country  that  they  loved,  and  we  all  love. 

ADDKESS  OF  J.  O.  CONVERSE. 

SOLDIERS  AND  FELLOW-CITIZEXS  :  At  a  time  like  this,  when 
language  seems  inadequate  to  express  the  thoughts  that  inspire 
the  mind,  or  the  emotions  that  move  the  heart,  silence  is  often 
more  expressive  than  the  most  eloquent  speech,  and  one  may 
well  hesitate  to  say  anything,  lest,  by  some  injudicious  or  mean- 
ingless word,  he  should  mar  the  solemnity  of  the  scene.  Stand- 
ing here,,  to-day,  in  the  midst  of  both  the  living  and  the  dead, 
and  deeply  conscious  of  the  significance  of  this  ceremonial,  I 
feel  that  the  most  fitting  tribute  that  I,  a  mere  civilian,  could 
pay  to  these,  our  departed  soldiers,  would  be  to  bow  the  head 
reverently,  and  keep  silence ;  and,  were  not  something  more 
demanded  to  satisfy  the  living,  I  would  offer  no  other.  How 
poor,  at  best,  are  the  noblest  of  our  offerings !  For  the  dead 
we  can  do  nothing.  Whether  distinguished  or  humble,  whether 
of  glory  or  of  shame,  the  brief  span  of  their  lives  here  is 
measured  ;  their  record  is  complete ;  they  have  passed  before 
us  into  that  unseen  world  whither  we  are  all  tending,  where 
they  are  beyond  the  reach  of  our  praise  or  censure.  No  human 
power,  but  only  the  power  of  Him  who  gave  thorn  being,  can 
reanimate  their  silent  dust.  But  one  duty  we  have  to  perform 
— one  privilege  to  enjoy.  It  is  ours  to  keep  their  memory  green 
among  the  living,  that  the  influence  of  the  good  they  have  done 
may  not  be  lost,  but  perpetuated  forever.  More  than  this  we 
cannot  do ;  less  than  this,  if  we  did  not  do,  we  would  prove 
ourselves  incapable  of  every  noble  or  honorable  emotion.  In 
this  view,  the  appointment  of  a  day  for  the  decoration 
of  the  graves  of  the  deceased  soldiers  of  the  Union, 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        505 

is  peculiarly  appropriate  ;  and  the  more  general  is  its  observance 
the  more  signally  will  their  surviving  countrymen  give  evidence 
that  they  have  not  died  in  vain.  When  we  consider  that  this 
place  is  but  one  of  the  many  where  the  day  is  being  observed, 
and  these  but  a  few  of  the  immense  number  of  soldiers  who 
have  died  in  the  service  of  their  country,  we  may  partially, 
though  we  can  never  fully,  realize  how  much  of  sorrow  and  of 
sacritice  it  has  cost  to  save  the  Republic.  And  think  of  those 
wln^e  graves  no  hand  of  affection  or  kindness  can  strew  with 
flowers ;  who  sleep  their  last  sleep  in  the  far-off  solitudes  where 
they  fell  beneath  the  Old  Flag,  with  no  eye  but  the  eye  of  the 
All-Seeing  to  note  their  exit,  or  watch  over  their  ashes  !  Thou-, 
sands  of  the  bravest  and  best  of  our  country's  noble  defenders, 
mown  down  in  the  fearful  death  harvest  that  has  swept  over  that 
long  belt  of  desolation  stretching  from  the  Potomac  to  the  Rio 
Grande,  now  sleep  in  unmarked  but  honored  graves,  and  will 
come  no  more  to  gladden  the  hearts  of  those  who  knew  and 
loved  them  here,  until  the  earth  and  the  sea  shall  give  up  their 
dead  !  Thousands  of  others  have  fallen  victims  of  the  mortality 
of  the  camp,  more  terrible  even  than  the  horrors  of  battle  ;  and 
thousands  of  others  still,  maimed  heroes  of  many  a  hard-fought 
contest,  are  scattered  here  and  there  among  us,  telling  by  their 
honorable  wounds  more  plainly  than  words  could  tell,  what  it 
is  to  suffer  in  the  cause  of  one's  country.  But  whether  they 
went  down  amid  the  thunders  of  battle,  or  wasted  away  and 
died  of  disease  in  the  hospital,  or  still  linger  to  drag  out  a  life 
of  misery  for  which  only  the  memory  of  their  gallant  service 
can  compensate,  they  are  martyrs,  all,  to  whom  should  be  as- 
cribed imperishable  honor.  Let  it  ever  be  remembered  that 
these  men  were  no  mere  soldiers,  machines  to  execute  the  will 
of  their  commanders,  or  impelled  to  do  their  duty  by  a  false 
ambition  or  unworthy  love  of  strife  ;  but  quiet  citizens,  like  our- 
selves, to  whom  the  call  of  their  country  was  as  the  voice  of 
God,  and  who  bared  their  bosoms  to  the  storm  of  war,  and 
offered  up  their  lives,  a  willing  sacrifice,  from  principle.  And, 
of  their  surviving  comrades  who  do  honor  to  their  memory,  be 
it  said  that,  animated  by  the  same  nobh*  spirit,  when  the  conflict 
of  arms  was  over  they  returned  to  their  homes  and  their  former 
pursuits,  to  mingle  once  more  with  the  mass  of  the  people  and 
serve  their  country  as  faithfully  in  peace  as  they  had  served  her 
in  war.  History  affords  no  parallel  to  this.  Then  strew  the 
graves  of  our  departed  soldiers  with  flowers !  The  bright,  beau- 
tiful flowers  of  tne  spring-time!  Meet  emblems  of  the  purity 
of  their  devotion  and  the  glory  of  their  sacrifice  !  Would  that, 
unlike  all  else  that  is  earthly,  they  might  never  fade,  but  bloom 


506  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

forever,  and  thus  be  emblems  also  of  the  immortality  of  their 
fame  !  One  of  the  most  gifted  of  poets  has  said  that 

"  The  paths  of  glory  lead  but  to  the  grave." 

But  this  is  true  only  in  the  sense  of  our  common  mortality,  for, 
in  a  higher  and  nobler  sense,  they  lead  beyond  it.  Though  we 
deplore  the  loss  of  our  heroes  here,  it  is  a  grateful  reflection 
that  no  enemy  can  now  disturb  them,  for  they  have  been  sum- 
moned to  join  the  army  of  that  better  country  where  the  dread 
alarms  of  war  are  never  heard. 


ADDEE83    OF   D.    W.    OANFIELD. 


Mr.  Canfield  made  a  brief  but  appropriate  and  earnest  ad- 
dress, in  which  he  reminded  the  people  of  their  duty  to  the 
living  as  well  as  the  dead  soldiers  of  the  Union,  and  paid  a  feel- 
ing tribute  to  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  which,  he  said, 
is  not  a  political  organization,  but  one  whose  aims  are  those  of 
patriotism  and  benevolence.  We  are  unable  to  do  justice  to  his 
remarks,  as  they  were  entirely  extemporaneous,  and  we  have 
received  no  report  of  them. 

Next  came  the  decoration  of  the  graves  of  the  following 
soldiers :  Riley  W.  Sanford,  177th  O.  V.  I. ;  Christopher 
Sawin,  128th  O.  Y.  I. ;  Horton  S.  Smith,  41st  O.  V.  I.  The 
body  of  this  soldier  was  never  brought  here,  but  the  friends  of 
the  deceased  have  erected  a  tombstone  for  him.  Capt.  T.  N. 
Pulsipher,  131st  111.  Y.  I. ;  Royal  H.  Munsell,  84th  O.  Y.  I. ; 
Lieut.  Amos  Wood,  21st  O.  Y.  I. ;  B.  F.  Cowles,  42d  O.  Y.  I. ; 
Lysander  King,  29th  0.  Y.  I.  In  the  decoration,  the  column 
moved  to  each  grave,  placing  a  cross  and  a  wreath  of  ever- 
greens and  flowers  upon  it.  The  name  of  the  soldier  and  his 
regiment  was  announced  by  Post  Commandant  P.  M.  Cowles, 
and,  as  the  column  passed,  each  dropped  a  bouquet  of  flowers 
on  the  grave.  After  all  the  graves  had  been  thus  decorated, 
the  column  was  again  halted,  and  a  salute  was  fired  by  the 
guard,  after  which  a  prayer  was  offered  by  Elder  O.  Higgins, 
when  the  procession  returned  in  the  same  order  as  it  came.  In 
addition  to  decorating  the  graves  of  those  who  were  buried  in 
this  cemetery,  a  wreath,  cross  and  bouquet  were  prepared  for 
the  following  soldiers,  who  were  buried  elsewhere,  and  placed 
in  the  Town  Hall :  Alexander  Griswold,  Battery  G,  1st  O.  Y. 
L.  A.,  buried  in  the  Protestant  burying  ground,  in  the  north 
part  of  the  town  ;  Munroe  Hazen,  7th  O.  Y.  I.,  buried  on  the 
battle-field,  near  Dallas,  Ga. ;  Charles  McGowan,  196th  O.  Y.  L, 
buried  in  Mesopotamia,  Trumbull  County ;  Wm.  Finney,  124th 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  507 

L>.  V.I,  uuried  at  Nashville,  Tennessee  ;  James  Melton,  7th  O. 
V.  I.,  wounded  and  supposed  to  have  been  killed  at  Gettysburg, 
Penn. ;  Horace  F.  Granger,  2d  O.  V.  I.,  buried  on  the  James 
River,  in  Virginia;  Frank  A.  Lamb,  2d  O.  V.  I.,  buried  in 
Luray  Valley,  Virginia;  Orville  Bushnell,  7th  O.  V.  I.,  buried 
at  Harper's  Ferry,  Virginia.  In  addition  to  the  decoration,  as 
related  above,  we  noticed  that  the  grave  of  Capt.  Pulsipher  re- 
ceived especial  attention.  The  grave  was  covered  with  a  board, 
with  the  name,  "  Capt.  T.  N.  Pulsipher,"  beautifully  arranged 
in  evergeens,  upon  it — the  work  of  Mrs.  B.  W.  Cantield,  who 
was  an  old  associate  and  firm  friend  of  the  deceased. 

AT  HAMBDEN,  OHIO. 

The  ceremonies  were  observed  by  the  members  of  Munn 
Encampment  residing  at  Hambden,  assisted  by  the  soldiers  and 
citizens  generally.  Services  were  held  in  the  M.  E.  Church. 
Rev.  P.  A.  Beane  occupied  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  in  inter- 
esting remarks,  and  was  followed  by  C.  W.  Osborne,  Esq.,  who 
with  eloquence  seldom  surpassed  in  a  country  town  like  this, 
eulogized  the  departed  heroes,  and  enchained  the  attention  of 
the  large  audience  with  vivid  delineations  of  the  sacrifice  made 
by  the  brave  soldiers,  and  the  benefits  resulting  therefrom. 
Mr.  Osborne  also  read  the  "  Roll  of  Honor,"  containing  a  list 
of  all  the  soldiers  who  enlisted  from  this  township,  and  lost  their 
lives  in  the  service  of  their  country  during  the  war,  together 
witli  statistics  in  regard  to  their  deaths,  flauibden  has  suffered 
a  loss  of  twenty  brave  men,  nine  of  whom  are  buried  in  the 
cemetery,  to  wit :  Charles  Young,  Flavel  Stebbins,  John  F. 
Treat,  Austin  Cook,  Orrin  Whitney,  Henry  T.  Brown,  Wm.  H. 
Hale,  Martin  Searl  and  Philo  Lewis.  Mr.  Osborne  was  followed 
by  Rev.  S.  L.  Wilkinson,  who  made  some  interesting  remarks, 
the  "exercises  being  interspersed  with  appropriate  music  by  the 
choir.  A  procession  was  then  formed  and  marched  to  the 
Cemetery,  when  the  ceremonies  of  decoration  were  performed. 
Nine  soldiers,  each  carrying  a  floral  wreath,  with  their  ladies, 
each  with  a  bouquet,  marched  in  front,  and,  on  arriving  at  each 
grave,  the  colors  were  planted  thereon.  Following  the  soldiers, 
were  citizens  with  flowers,  who  deposited  their  offerings  as  they 
passed. 

AT  OXFORD,  OHIO. 

At  the  time  appointed  the  members  of  the  Grand  Army, 
with  music  and  flags,  left  their  hall,  every  comrade  laden  with 
bouquets,  wreaths  and  baskets  of  flowers,  and  marched  to  the 


508  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

cemetery.  Passing  the  entrance  gate  to  the  grounds  of  the 
"Western  Female  Seminary,  the  procession  was  joined  by  teach- 
ers and  pupils  to  the  number  of  one  hundred  and  sixty,  all 
bearing  flowers,  which,  as  the  head  of  the  line  entered  the  gates 
of  the  cemetery  the  people  in  large  numbers  were  to  'be  seen 
conveying  toward  the  coming  multitude.  The  exercises  at  the 
graves  consisted  in  prayer  by  Rev.  J.  Crozier,  addresses  by 
Comrade  Edwin  S.  Scott,  of  Cincinnati,  now  attending  Miami 
University,  and  a  member  of  the  post  here,  Rev.  J.  P.  E. 
Kumler,  and  Colonel  R.  W.  McFarland,  Professor  ^n  the  Uni- 
versity, and  a  Grand  Army  man,  and  singing  by  the  University 
Glee  Club  and  the  young  ladies  from  the  Seminary.  At  its 
conclusion  the  procession  reformed  and  marched  through  the 
grounds,  casting  floral  tributes  upon  the  grave  of  every  soldier 
and  sailor,  twenty  in  all,  buried  in  this  enclosure.  The  speeches 
were  appropriate  and  eloquent,  and  all  the  events  of  the  day 
made  every  one  feel  that  it  was  indeed  good  to  be  there,  and 
that  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  had  done  a  noble  work  in 
inciting  us  to  the  inauguration  of  such  an  anniversary.  The 
appropriateness  of  the  presence  of  the  young  ladies  from  the 
Seminary  may  be  seen  when  it  is  known  that  when  at  a  meeting 
of  the  scholars  in  their  chapel,  the  lady  principal  called  upon 
all  who  had  relatives  or  near  friends  in  the  army  to  rise,  all  but 
two  of  the  scholars  rose  to  their  feet ;  and  when  a  call  for  those 
who  had  lost  relatives  or  near  friends  in  the  army  to  rise  was 
made,  nearly  seven-eighths  of  the  pupils  again  rose. — Cincinnati 
Gazette. 

,  AT  CADIZ,  OHIO. 

-  On  the  night  of  June  29,  the  ladies  of  Cadiz  and  vicinity 
assembled,  by  request,  at  the  Court  House,  taking  with  them  an 
abundance  of  flowers  and  evergreens,  with  which  they  formed 
wreaths  to  be  used  in  decorating  the  graves  of  our  fallen  heroes 
on  the  following  day.  Every  preparation  being  made,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Post  No.  43  assembled  at  1  o'clock,  on  the  30th; 
when  the  procession  was  formed  as  follows  :  Adjutant ;  Cadiz 
Brass  Band ;  officers  of  the  Post ;  members  of  the  Post ;  sol- 
diers, not  members  of  Post ;  sixty  little  girls  dressed  in  white  ; 
citizens.  After  having  arrived  at  the  Cemetery,  an  impressive 
prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  Wm.  Pittenger.  Post  Commander 
J.  M.  Garven  then  delivered  a  short  and  appropriate  address  to 
the  members  of  the  Post.  The  ceremony  of  decorating  the 
graves  (13  in  number)  was  then  quietly  performed.  Comrade 
G.  W.  Brown  then  addressed  the  assembled  throng.  An  im- 
promptu meeting  was  held  that  night,  and  speeches  were  made 
by  Revs.  Meloy  and  Pittenger,  and  Cols.  Lewton  and  Pearce. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        509 

At  Ashland,  Ohio,  the  decoration  was  accomplished  in  a 
very  peculiar  manner.  When  the  procession  reached  the  ceme- 
tery, several  young  ladies  took  a  position  by  the  side  of  each 
grave,  and  at  the  tap  of  the  drum,  wreaths,  evergreens  and 
Sowers  were  showered  upon  the  resting  places  of  the  departed. 
The  spectacle  was  most  beautiful  and  interesting,  every  grave 
being  decorated  at  the  same  instant.  A  stirring  address  was 
delivered  by  Judge  Bushnell.  The  scene  was  enlivened  by 
spirited  martial  and  vocal  music.  The  exercises  were  for  a  time 
interrupted  by  the  accidental  discharge  of  a  pistol,  wounding, 
though  not  seriously,  Miss  Sadie  Deshong. 

At  Van  Wert,  Ohio,  the  members  of  the  G.  A.  R.  organiza- 
tion met,  and  showed  their  respect  to  the  memory  of  their 
fallen  comrades  by  strewing  their  graves  with  flowers.  The 
procession  was  formed  at  the  Court  House  and  marched  to  the 
Cemetery,  preceded  by  a  band  of  music,  where  prayer  was 
offered  by  Rev.  Mr.  Elcox.  Appropriate  addresses  were  deliv- 
ered by  Colonel  Alexander,  Rev.  Watring,  and  Mr.  Sajtzgaber. 
Then  followed  the  "  Star-spangled  Banner  "  by  the  choir,  and 
prayer  by  Rev.  Pitcher.  After  strewing  the  graves  with  flowers, 
the  citizens  returned  to  the  Court  House.  The  exercises  were 
solemn  and  affecting  throughout,  impressing  upon  all  present  a 
feeling  of  devotion  for  the  fallen  heroes,  and  increased  respect 
and  care  for  their  living  friends. 

At  Canton,  Ohio,  the  ceremonies  were  observed  under  the 
direction  of  Post  No.  12,  G.  A.  R. 

AT  STEUBENVILLE,  OHIO. 

The  observances  of  the  day  were  initiated  by  the  belching  of 
cannon  at  early  sun- rise,  followed  by  the  busy  notes  of  prepara- 
tion at  "  Webster  Encampment,"  which  bears  the  name  of  the 
gallant  and  lamented  commander  of  the  98th  Ohio,  followed 
with  other  evidences  of  the  prevailing  disposition  to  honor  the 
departed  dead.  Battle-flags  of  the  2d  Ohi.o,  (Col.  Kells  and 
Col.  A.  G.  McCook),  the  98th  Ohio  (Col.  Webster,  Col.  Shane, 
and  others),  were  displayed  from  the  rooms  of  the  Grand  Army, 
together  with  the  flag  of  the  1st  Virginia  Cavalry.  Flags  hung 
from  public  buildings,  business  houses  and  private  dwellings,  the 
whole  presenting  a  scene  of  patriotic  grandeur.  The  procession 
formed  on  Market  street,  and  at  2  o'clock  it  moved  in  the  fol- 
lowing order :  Marshal ;  Aids ;  Carriages  with  Orator,  Readers 
and  Philharmonic  Society;  Band;  School  Children,  500  strong, 
under  charge  of  Superintendent  Buchanan  and  the  teachers ; 
Reliance  I  ire  Company,  dressed  in  red  shirts ;  Phoenix  Fire 


510  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Company,  dressed  in  "blue  shirts;  Martial  Music;  Altar  of  the 
Grand  Array,  borne  by  four  men  and  covered  with  flowers; 
Grand  Army,  in  citizens'  clothes,  bearing  in  their  midst  the  tat- 
tered flags  of  the  1st,  2d  and  98th  Ohio  Infantry,  and  1st  Vir- 
ginia Cavalry ;  carriages.  On  reaching  the  Cemetery,  the  vast 
assembly,  numbering  some  3,000,  gathered  about  a  stand  richly 
decorated  with  flags,  emblems  and  flowers,  when  Judge  Martin, 
Chief  of  Ceremonies,  announced  that  the  services  of  the  day 
would  be  opened  by  prayer,  which  was  done  accordingly,  by 
Rev.  M.  Southmayd,  in  an  impressive  prayer.  The  Philhar- 
monic Society  then  sang,  under  the  lead  of  Capt.  Skull,  when 
Rev.  Mr.  M'Curdy,  orator  of  the  day,  was  introduced,  and  de- 
livered the  following 

ADDRESS. 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  :  The  transaction  of  this  afternoon 
is  something  new  and  strange  in  the  history  of  our  nation.  It 
is  a  new  method  by  which  to  sympathize  with  bereaved  hearts, 
and  to  honor  the  lives  and  services  of  the  heroic  dead.  Novel, 
perhaps,  because  it  is  singular,  and  singular,  perhaps,  because  of 
the  circumstances  which  suggest  it ;  but  certainly  appropriate, 
honorable,  just  and  sympathetic. 

It  is  not  an  occasion  for  boisterous  exuberance  and  selfish 
joy.  Not  only  the  object  which  brought  us  hither,  but  the 
plane  also  forbids  it.  We  are  standing  on  sacred  and  holy 
ground.  This  forest  city  is  populated  by  the  buried  dead.  The 
flowers  which  already  bloom  ever  many  graves  seem  to  whisper, 
"  Tread  lightly,  for  temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost  lie  buried  here ; 
and  dust  precious  in  the  sight  of  God  lies  here  in  peace ;  disturb 
not  its»quiet  repose."  Holy  associations,  precious  recollections, 
even  the  strength  of  never-dying  affections  cluster  here.  "  Put 
off  thy  shoes  from  off  thy  feet,  for  the  place  whereon  thou  stand- 
est  is  holy  ground."  To  relieve  sadness,  to  keep  alive  affection, 
to  become  familiar  with  the  place  where  we  all  must  lie.  we 
come  here  to  weep.  Here  Abraham,  the  aged  man,  comes  to 
mourn  the  loss  of  Sarah.  Here  Rachel  comes  in  the  strength 
of  a  mother's  love,  and  refuses  to  be  comforted  for  her  children. 
Here  David  mourns  for  Jonathan,  and  in  the  bitterness  of  his 
soul  cries  out,  "  Oh  Absalom  !  my  son  !  my  son !  "  Here  the 
Sisters  of  Bethany  cry  from  their  sorrowful  hearts,  "  Ah,  Lord ! 
if  thou  had'st  but  been  here,  our  brother  had  not  died." 

"  And  hallowed  in  our  memory  remains  this  grassy  spot, 

.  "Where  kindred  lie,  not  lost,  still  loved,  and  still  forgotten  not." 

Exult  as  we  may  over  the  triumph  of  that  just  and  righteous 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  511 

cause  for  which  these  brave  men  fought,  and  others  as  brave  as 
they,  whose  graves  we  cannot  visit  to-day,  still  no  rejoicings  on 
that  account  can  obliterate  the  stern  facts,  that  it  was  achieved 
through  blood,  sufferings,  privations,  and  death.  Chasms  in 
many  human  hearts  yet  remain.  The  desolations  of  many 
families  are  not  yet.  and  never  will  be,  repaired — the  picture  of 
sadness  is  yet  seen  on  many  countenances—  American  soil  is  yet 
red  with  the  blood  and  white  with  the  bones  of  the  unreturning 
brave  ;  and  to-day  as  we  stand  by  the  graves  of  men,  and  think 
ot  those  who  were  denied  the  civilization  of  decent  burial,  and 
of  those  who  were  gathered  *by  their  comrades  and  buried  on  the 
field  of  battle,  boisterous  exuberance  must  give  place  to  other 
feelings,  higher  and  nobler  in  their  nature. 

It  is  sad  to  think  that  a  terrible  necessity  called  these  brave 
men  to  sacrifice  their  lives  to  our  country  from  a  national  death. 
Without  formality  or  affectation  we  say  to-day,  that  we  are  sad, 
when  we  remember  that  our  Government  nourished,  maintained, 
upheld/and  protected  men,  who,  at  the  first  dawn  of  disappoint- 
ed expectations  madly  endeavored  to  stab  with  treason's  dagger, 
the  nation  to  the  heart.  We  were  looming  up  among  other 
nations  of  the  earth  with  all  the  strength  and  majesty  of  a  free 
and  a  great  people.  We  were  taking  other  nations  by  the  hand 
and  leading  them  up  into  the  regions  of  a  pure  and  enlightened 
civilization.  We  were  extending  our  arms  and  taking  in  the 
houseless  and  homeless  from  off  both  oceans.  We  were  admin- 
istering peace  and  purity  to  all  lands  and  nations,  and  to  stop  in 
this  great  work  of  justice,  of  humanity,  of  civilization,  and  of 
religion,  to  ward  on  the  blows  of  household  enemies,  is  a  sad 
blot  on  our  national  records  and  a  sad  experience  to  the  Ameri- 
can people.  That  such  a  necessity  should  ever  have  arisen,  is 
as  painful  to  the  individual  heart  as  it  is  humiliating  to  our 
national  pride.  That  difficulties  in  a  nation  whose  laws  were 
so  perfect  as  to  be  almost  self-adjusting,  should  be  submitted 
to  the  arbitrament  of  the  sword ;  that  national  life,  rights,  and 
liberties  should  hang  tremblingly  on  the  point  of  the  American 
bayonet,  are  things  so  foreign  to  the  spirit  and  purpose  o*f 
this  Great  Republic,  that  even  now  we  half  skeptically  inquire,. 
Could  they  have  ~been  ?  War,  from  whatever  cause,  at  whatever 
sacrifice,  for  whatever  object,  is  a  thing  of  sadness.  Desolation, 
blood,  and  fiery  winged  death  follow  in  its  track,  while  ter- 
rible suspense  and  anguish  throb  in  the  nation's  heart.  But 
to-day  we  have  the  consciousness,  as  we  always  have  had,  that 
the  fearful  struggle  through  which  our  nation  has  passed,  and 
in  which  our  brave  soldiers  fell,  was  not  one  of  our  choice, 
but  one  from  imperious  necessity ;  one  which  required  us  to  do 


512  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

or  to  die.  But  when  we  found  that  it  must  needs  be,  we  were 
not  wanting  in  motives  to  stimulate  the  intelligent,  the  pious, 
and  the  daring  to  step  forward  in  the  hour  of  our  nations  peril, 
and  to  maintain  intact  our  country's  existence.  Rather  than 
become  a  hissing  and  a  by-word  among  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  rather  than  let  the  problem  of  self-government  fail  to  be 
solved,  rather  than  let  the  purchase  of  Revolutionary  blood  be 
torn  from  the  hands  of  legal  heirs,  rather  than  let  our  nation 
forever  stop  in  its  onward  march  to  liberty  and  glory,  these 
brave  men  chose  to  die,  that  by  means  of  their  death  we  might 
live.  They  laid  their  honor,  their  patriotism,  their  integrity, 
their  fortunes,  their  lives,  and  their  all,  on  their  country's  altar, 
and  sealed  these  gifts  with  their  blood,  and  ratified  them 
with  their  death.  In  the  event  of  their  death,  they  saw  the 
desolateness  of  widowhood,  the  loneliness  of  orphanage,  the 
broken-heartedness  of  parents,  but  through  the  purchase  of  their 
blood,  they  saw  for  the  desolate,  the  lonely  and  the  broken- 
hearted, an  inheritance  immortal  in  its  blessings  and  'priceless 
in  its  honor  and  glory.  That  inheritance  is  ours,  the  honor  of 
its  purchase  is  in strumen tally  theirs  ;  and  we  are  here  to-day  to 
recognise  this  fact — to  pay  a  tribute  of  respect  to  them  for  their 
lives  and  sacred  services ;  and  here  also  to  sympathize  with 
those  brave  and  noble  hearts  who  sacrificed  their  husbands  and 
sons  to  save  our  country  from  dishonor  and  enslavement.  Not 
without  many  misgivings  did  you  make  this  noble  and  priceless 
sacrifice.  Xot  without  counting  the  cost,  but  with  a  devotion 
worthy  the  cause,  and  worthy  the  hearts  of  those  who  to-day 
rank  among  the  first  in  the  nation  on  the  roll  of  honor.  To-day 
we  stand  by  the  graves  of  some  of  your  dead,  and  of  some  of 
the  nation's  dead.  Other  graves  there  are — God  only  knows 
where.  Although  bound  to  them  by  nature's  strongest  tie,  you 
sent  them  forth  to  the  gory  field,  and  watched  them  with  untold 
solicitude,  in  the  hope  and  with  the  prayer  that  they  would  re- 
turn as  they  went.  But  an  overruling  Providence  decided 

otherwise. 
• 

"  Never  more  shall  they  stand  in  the  vanguard  of  fame, 

Never  lift  the  stain'd  sword  which  they  drew, 
Never  more  shall  they  boast  of  a  glorious  name, 
Never  march  with  the  leal  and  the  true." 

They  were  driven  hither  and  thither  by  the  surges  of  fierce 
battle,  as  the  ship  in  storm  at  sea,  yet  with  their  eyes  on  the 
harbor,  they  gracefully  as  well  as  boldly  "  rounded  to,"  dropped 
their  anchors,  and  are  quietly  resting  in  their  last  sleep.  Your 
bravest  and  best,  where  are  they  ? 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GEAVES.  513 

"  Ask  not — the  lonely  hearthstone  tells 

Too  plain  the  mournful  story  ; 
Gone  in  their  beauty  and  their  pride, 
To  swell  the  nation's  glory. 

Scarce  any  house  that  has  not  now 

Some  vacant,  lonely  chair: 
Look  forward  to  the  battle  line, 

Your  bravest  deeds  are,  where  f  " 

You  have  gathered  some  of  them  to  the  land  of  their  fathers. 
You  have  committed  earth  to  earth  and  dust  to  dust.  Here 
they  lie  in  sepulchres  made  according  to  your  own  direction. 
These  graves  bring  your  affections  and  the  nation's  gratitude 
into  one  common  bond  of  sympathy  and  love.  Your  loss  is  the 
nation's  loss,  your  gain  is  the  nation's  gain.  The  nation  belongs 
to  you,  and  you  belong  to  the  nation,  and  therefore  mutual 
sympathy  binds  us  all  into  one  bond  of  union.  The  nation,  as 
well  as  individual  hearts,  is  in  sorrowful  remembrance  to-day. 
But  as  a  voluntary  expression  of  sympathy  we  walk  with  you 
in  these  paths  with  the  solemn  tread  of  those  who  march  to  the 
music  of  sorrowful  hearts,  and  the  solemn  noise  which  accom- 
panies the  sad  rites  of  burial.  In  doing  so,  we  fully  accord 
with  the  dictates  of  our  own  natures,  the  laws  of  civilization 
and  the  requirements  of  Christianity.  The  elements  of  our 
social  natures  demand  it,  the  laws  of  civilization  require  it,  and 
Christianity,  with  its  bright  galaxy  of  immortal  truths,  all 
pointing  to  the  Saviour  and  to  the  world  to  come,  teaches  this. 

With  you  we  strew  their  graves  with  flowers  that  they  may 
be  as  beautiful  and  glorious  as  the  principles  for  which  they  so 
successfully  fought.  With  you  we  plant  roses  which  will  open 
their  petals  to  sip  the  dew  of  the  morning,  and  then  fill  the  air 
with  their  fragrance.  In  this  way  nature  will  join  with  us  in 
paying  a  beautiful  tribute  to  their  noble  lives  and  heroic  deaths. 

But  we  are  sad  to  know  that  there  are  others  for  whom  it  is 
impossible  for  us  to  perform  this  kind  office.  We  have  not 
here  those  whose  bodies  were  scattered  to  the  four  winds  by 
the  angry  elements  of  war,  nor  those  who  were  wrapt  in  the 
dear  old  flag,  and  shut  up  in  the  rough  hewn  wood,  and  buried 
where  no  hands  of  human  kindness,  prompted  by  fond  affection, 
can  throw  a  wreath  of  flowers  over  the  sacred  spot  where  they 
lie.  The  wilderness,  the  ocean,  the  sunny  plain,  and  the  sandy 
shore,  are  their  resting  place.  Their  graves  are  on  those  spots 
where  the}7  last  stood,  and  last  shot  in  defense  of  their  country. 
No  wife's  fond  arms  caressed  them,  no  tender  mother  pressed 
them,  no  loving  father  stood  beside  them,  and  no  brother  or 
sister  or  son  wept  over  them.  We  cannot  point  you  to  their 
33 


514  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

graves,  bnt  we  ask  you  by  all  that  is  lonely  in  their  dying,  by 
all  that  is  sorrowful  in  the  circumstances  of  those  who  wept 
without  their  bodies  and  their  graves,  to  cherish  their  memories. 
I  cannot  point  you  to  chaplets  of  flowers  to  be  scattered  over 
their  graves,  but  I  ask  you  to  remember  their  noble  deeds  of 
daring  and  of  valor,  and  standing  here,  let  us  say  with  respect 
to  them  : — 

"  Sleep  !  soldier,  sleep  !  from  sorrow  free, 
And  sin  and  strife.     'Tis  well  with  thee  ? 
'Tis  well ;  though  in  that  far  off  land,  not  a  single  tear 
Laments  the  brave,  the  baried  volunteer." 

As  citizens  we  honor  them,  and  cherish  their  memories. 

"When  civil  war  burst  upon  us  "  with  the  suddenness  of  the 
meteor's  glare,"  they  rushed  forward,  bared  their  breasts  to  the 
enemies'  bullets  and  bayonets,  raised  their  arms  in  defense  of 
that  flag,  and  of  all  it  symbolizes  to  us  and  the  world,  and  stood 
like  a  wall  of  fire  between  us  and  death.  And  God  let  the 
brave  soldier,  living  or  dead,  have  all  the  honor  in  redeeming 
for  us  an  inheritance  nobler  in  virtue,  more  immortal  in  dura- 
tion, more  just  to  humanity,  purer  in  principle,  and  more  ele- 
vating to  all  classes  and  conditions  who  live  and  move  under 
that  emblem  of  freedom,  than  is  possible  for  all  the  allied 
powers  of  Europe  to  bestow  upon  any  of  their  subjects. 

Let  them  be  forever  entitled  to  your  honor  for  their  heroism, 
their  endurance,  their  manly  bearing,  and  above  all,  for  that 
brotherly  spirit,  that  heartfelt  sympathy  and  co-operation  with 
which  they  clasped  hands  and  marched  shoulder  to  shoulder  in 
hours  of  trial,  danger  and  death.  Approach  the  graves  of  the 
dead  with  the  feeling — Here  lie  those  who  died  for  me.  Grasp 
the  hand  of  the  living  soldier  with  the  feeling — You  are  one  of 
those  who  fought  for  me. 

Soldiers  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  visit  the  graves  of  your  brothers 
and  comrades  in  arms  with  mingled  feeling*  of  sadness  and 
thankfulness.  Sad  that  so  many  fell  by  your  side,  sad  that  so 
many  are  beyond  the  reach  of  this  your  tribute  to  their  worth, 
and  thankful  that  you  are  permitted  to  lay  to-day,  in  beautiful 
simplicity,  the  corner-stone  of  a  monument  whicn  will  continue 
in  erection  so  long  as  a  living  soldier  shall  be  permitted  to  visit 
the  grave  of  a  dead  comrade.  You  remember  the  battle  day. 
You  remember  ''how  after  the  battle,"  witli  muffled  drums 
and  silent  bugles,  you  gathered  the  mangled  dead,  and  buried 
them  on  the  bloody  field.  You  remember 

"  Where  the  wreck  of  your  legions  lay  stranded  and  lorn, 
They  stole  on  your  ranks  in  the  midst  of  the  morn  : 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        515 

Like  the  Giant  of  Gaza,  their  strength  it  was  shorn 

Ere  the  mist  had  rolled  up  to  the  sky. 
From  the  flash  of  your  steel  a  new  daybreak  seemed  born, 
.  As  you  sprung  up  to  conquer  or  die." 

"  The  tumult  is  silenced,  the  death  lots  are  cast, 
And  the  heroes  of  battle  are  slumbering  their  last. 
Do  you  dream  of  yon  pale  form  that  rode  on  the  blast  ? 

Would  ye  free  it  once  more,  O  ye  brave  ? 
Yes,  the  broad  road  to  honor  is  red  where  ye  passed, 

And  of  glory  they  asked  but — a  grave." 

They  have  got  it.  Honor  it.  Love  it.  Cherish  it.  Protect 
it.  Thus,  friends,  citizens  and  soldiers,  go  forth  and  honor  the 
dead.  Honor  them  for  their  devotion,  their  loyalty  and  their 
sacrifice.  Join  with  a  grateful  nation  in  the  token  of  love  to 
our  martyred  heroes.  Wreathe  their  buried  brows  with  nature's 
choicest  flowers,  for 

"  Here  sleep  brave  men  who,  in  the  deadly  quarrel, 

Fought  for  their  country  and  their  lite-blood  poured, 
Above  whose  dust  she  carves  the  deathless  laurel, 
Wreathing  the  victor's  sword. 

"  Peace  to  the  sleepers !     May  the  bud  and  blossom, 

Spring's  early  bloom  and  Summer's  sweet  increase, 
Fail  not,  while  Nature  on  her  tender  bosom 
Folds  them,  aud  whispers,  Peace." 

• 

The  address  was  followed  by  a  poem,  read  by  Col.  "W.  R. 
Lloyd,  in  a' clear  voice  and  impressive  manner.  The  poem  is 
the  production  of  Mrs.  Mary  Bynon  Reese. 

TO   THE   MEMORY    OF   OUR   DEAD   SOLDIERS. 

•  We  come  from  all  life's  busy  scenes, 

With  tears,  and  song,  and  flowers, 
To  give  a  passing  day  to  those 

Who  gave  their  lives  for  ours ; 
From  peaceful  homes,  whose  peace  to  keep 

With  all  their  blessings  parted — 
Friends,  happiness,  :iye,  life  itself, 

The  tried,  the  hero-hearted. 

Ye  come  who,  with  the  honored  dead, 

Went  at  your  country's  call ; 
Who  with  them  marched,  and  fought,  and  bled ; 

Who  saw  these  comrades  fall, 
Or,  watched  while  want  and  fever  drank 

Rare  lives  that  battle  spared : 
'Tis  meet  ye  share  these  sad,  sweet  rites, 

Who  all  their  suffering  shared. 

But,  oh!  the  dead  who  have  no  graves 
Within  this  hallowed  shade  ; 


516  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

No  monuments,  save  those  which  love 

In  aching  heart*  has  made. 
On  many  a  distant  field  they  sleep ; 

In  Southern  swamp  and  fen  ; 
By  singing  streams  in  suntsy  lands, 

On  mountain  and  in  glen. 

We  may  not  wander  where  they  rest, 

No  tears  above  them  shed  ; 
Yet  rarest  shrines  we  gladly  make 

Our  martyred  hero  dead  ; 
These  oft  with  fadeless  garlands  twine, 

Of  bright  immortelles  wrought, 
For  memory  in  each  loving  heart 

Finds  sweet  forget-me-not. 

And  by  their  sorrows — by  their  graves — 

By  all  who  fought  and  bled  ; 
Who  stood  between  us  and  the  foe. 

The  living  and  the  dead  ; 
By  all  the  stars  they  loved  in  life, 

Which  shrowded  these  in  death, 
We  pledge  to  deep  their  memories  bright 

Till  being's  latest  breath ; 
And  pray  that  o'er  this  blood  freed  land, 

On  near  and  distant  grave, 
The  dear  old  Flag  of  Liberty 

Forever  more  shall  wave. 

Prof.  Scott  rehearsed  "  Sheridan's  Ride."  The  procession, 
headed  by  the  Grand  Army,  then  proceeded  to  'bedeck  the 
graves  of  the  dead  soldiers  with  garlands  of  flowers,  whose 
names  and  regiments  to  which  they  belong  are  as  follows : 

Jacob  Summers,  2d  Ohio;  James  B.  Thompson,  2d  Ohio; 
John  Grimshaw,  43d  Ohio  ;  Capt.  Wm.  McMillan,  98tl*  Ohio  ; 
,Capt.  Sanders,  98th  Ohio ;  Reuben  Bartlett,  2d  Ohio ;  James 
Winters,  2d  Ohio;  Edward  Bynon,  195th  Ohio;  David  H. 
Laizure,  2d  Ohio ;  Robert  Robertson,  98th  Ohio  ;  Dr.  Jno. 
McCook,  Volunteer  Surgeon  ;  Lieut.  James  Donaldson,  52d 
Ohio;  John  Brown,. 20th  Ohio;  James  Oliver,  20th  Ohio;  B. 
Harlan,  2d  Ohio;  Jno.  Downs,  195th  Ohio;  James  Dunn,  98th 
Ohio;  James  Charlton,  8ith  Ohio;  Wm.  Carter,  30th  Ohio; 
Col.  George  Webster,  98th  Ohio  ;  L.  Eulan,  2d  Ohio  ;  H.  Parks, 
Ohio  Militia ;  Alexander  McFarland,  1st  Virginia  Cavalry ; 
Jno.  J.  Lopeman,  2d  Ohio;  Wm.  Pringle,  1st  Ohio;  David 
McCleish,  2d  Ohio  ;  Walter  Nichols,  2d  Ohio  ;  -  -  Helms,  14th 
Virginia ;  George  Standley,  2d  Ohio ;  Walter  O'Donnell,  55th 

Pennsylvania ;  J.  Cowan,  30th  Ohio ;  Cowan,  30th  Ohio ; 

Lieut.  Lafayette  Vanhorn,  2d  Ohio ;  to  which  may  be  added, 
and  probably  some  others,  Sergeant  J.  Grafton,  A.  Odbert, 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  517 

Frank  Smith,  Wm.  Gray,  M.  Plummer,  J.  Plummer,  J.  Eng- 
land, A.  Merideth,  E.  Huntsman  and  Hugh  Cochran. 

With  brief  closing  ceremonies,  ended  the  observance  of  the 
day. 

AT  BEREA,  OHIO. 

The  exercises  were  conducted  under  the  auspices  of  Post' 
No.  75,  G.  A.  R.  All  soldiers  and  friends  of  Middleburg  and 
adjoining  townships  were  invited  to  attend.  The  day  was 
ushered  in  by  a  salute  from  a  cannon.  The  soldiers,  by  arrange- 
ment, assembled  at  the  hall  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  and  from  thence 
marched,  accompanied  by  a  martial  band,  to  the1  place  arranged 
for  the  preliminary  exercises,  where  a  large  concourse  of  people 
awaited  their  coming,  entertained  in  the  meantime  by  the  Berea 
Cornet  Band.  The  following  programme  was  followed  :  The 
music  being  given  by  the  Cornet  Band;  music;  prayer;  music; 
address  by  Gen.-  G.  JVI.  Barber,  Esq.;  music;  address  by  Rev. 
Mr.  Hubbard,  of  Strongsville,  late  chaplain  in  the  103d  O.  V. 
I. ;  music.  Lieut.  N.  A.  Gray,  being  called  upon  for  a  few  re- 
marks, oifered  in  place  an  original  poem.  The  production  was 
prefaced  with  a  few  appropriate  words.  After  music,  the  pro- 
cession was  formed  in  the  following  order : 

1.  Committee  on  Decorations,  bearing  a  triumphal  arch 
wreathed  with  evergreen,  and  tastefully  decorated  with  flowers, 
(the  gilt  of  N.  A.  Gray,  Esq.,  by  whose  personal  labors  it  was 
formed  and  brought  from  Olmstead  Falls).  2.  A  war-worn  flag, 
borne  by  a  one-armed  solder.  3.  Martial  band.  4.  G.  A.  R. 
and  soldiers.  5.  Crippled  soldiers,  widows  and  orphans  in  con- 
veyances. 6.  Cornet  Band  with  flag.  7.  Citizens  marching. 
8.  Citizens  in  conveyances.  During  the  marching  of  the  pro- 
cession, the  bands  played  alternately,  and  the  cannon  was  tired 
at  intervals  of  two  minutes.  The  Village  and  Catholic  ceme- 
teries, both  of  which  contain  soldiers'  graves,  had  been  appro- 
priately decorated  by  the  committee  during  the  forenoon.  At 
each  grave  was  erected  a  card  encircled  by  a  wreath  of  flowers 
and  evergreen,  containing  the  name,  Company  and  command  of 
the  deceased.  Near  the  gate  of  each  cemetery  was  a  spot 
wreathed  in  the  form  of  a  grave,  over  which  was  erected  a  card 
with  these  words :  "  Let  us  remember  those  who  lie  in  Southern 
graves." 

The  procession,  turning  to  the  left  on  entering  the  cemetery, 
marched  around,  bringing  the  graves  on  the  right  hand,  and 
each  person  strewed  his  or  her  tribute  of  flowers  upon  each  as 
they  passed.  From  2  till  4  p.  M.,  the  stores  and  business  houses 
were  closed  in  honor  of  the  occasion. 


518  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

AT  INDIANAPOLIS,  INDIANA. 

The  procession  was  formed  under  the  command  of  Gen.  R. 
S.  Foster,  as  Chief  Marshal,  with  a  number  of  aids,  and  moved 
north  on  Illinois  street  to  North  street,  in  the  following  order: 
Band ;  Wagon  containing  the  Orphans  of  Soldiers,  appropriately 
trimmed,  bearing  the  inscription,  "  Remember  our  Fallen  Com- 
'rades  and  their  Orphans  ";  Guard  of  Honor,  under  command 
of  Col.  W.  M.  Wiles ;  Martial  Band  ;  a  Detachment  of  the  G. 
A.  R. ;  the  Arsenal  Guard  in  full  Uniform;  Independent  Order 
of  Odd  Fellows;  Ancient  and  Accepted  Scottish  Rite  of  Ma- 
sons, in  their  peculiar  Regalia ;  the  Police  Force  of  the  city, 
headed  by  Chief  Thomas  S  Wilson ;  Members  of  the  G.  A.  R., 
aiid  other  Soldiers,  in  carriages ;  Ministers  of  the  city  in  car- 
riages ;  the  Governor,  Officers  of  State,  and  Judges  of  United 
States  and  other  Courts,  in  carriages ;  County  and  City  Officers 
and  Common  Council  in  carriages  ;  Citizens  in  carriages. 

Arriving  at  North  street,  a  halt  for  the  street  cars  was  order- 
ed, and  owing  to  the  delay  in  the  first  train  returning  from  the 
cemetery,  this  rest  was  quite  tedious,  and  the  procession  did  not 
reach  Crown  Hill  until  after  3  o'clock.  As  soon  as  the  grounds 
were  reached,  the  line  marched  to  the  Soldiers'  Cemetery,  indi- 
cated by  the  staif,  from  \vhich  the  National  flag  was  flying  at 
half-mast.  The  exercises  took  place  from  the  edge  of  the  grove 
on  the  north  side  of  the  Soldiers'  Cemetery.  Mr.  Biedenmiester 
sounded  the  assembly  on  the  bugle,  following  which  Maj.  O.  M. 
Wilson,  Adjutant  General  of  the  department,  read  the  order  of 
Maj. -Gen.  iLogan  under  which  the  ceremonies  were  undertaken 
by  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic.  Rev.  C.  M.  Sims,  pastor 
of  Wesley  Chapel,  oifered  a  most  fervent  prayer.  Prof.  Black's 
class  then  sang  the  beautiful  hymn,  to  the  tune  of  "  Scotland," 
commencing : 

"  Thou  art  gone  to  the  grave,  but  we  will  not  deplore  thee, 
Though  sorrow  and  darkness  encompass  the  tomb, 
The  Saviour  has  passed  through  its  portals  bef»re  thee, 
And  the  lamp  of  His  love  is  thy  gui<Je  through  its  gloom." 

Gov.  Baker  then  delivered  the  following  address: 
GOVEBNOB'  BAKER'S  ADDBESS. 

The  humanizing  influence  of  our  modern  civilization  is 
marked  by  the  increased  interest  taken  by  the  living  in  the  last 
..  resting  places  of  the  departed.  Moved  by  this  influence,  we 
stand  to-day  in  one  of  the  beautiful,  quiet  cities  of  the  dead, 
and  in  a  ward  of  that  city  which  is  consecrated  as  the  burial- 
place  of  brave  and  true  men  who  died  in  the  military  service  of 
their  and  our  Country. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  519 

We  come  to  these  graves  with  Spring's  first  floral  offerings 
and  with  the  wreaths  of  evergreen,  not  because  we  believe  that 
such  tributes  of  grateful  appreciation  and  pious  affection  can 
benefit  the  honored  dead  who  here  sleep ;  but  because  we  would 
keep  alive  in  our  own  hearts,  and  in  the  hearts  of  those  who 
shall  come  after  us,  a  proper  love  of  their  virtues  and  patriotism, 
and  the  cause  for  which  they  died.  It  is  befitting  that  the  sur- 
viving comrades  of  these  departed  braves,  assisted  by  innocent 
children  and  lovely  women,  should  bring  these  floral  and  ever- 
green tributes  for  the  adornment  of  this  place.  These  graves 
signify  not  only  the  rr.ost  exalted  individual  fidelity  to  the  high- 
est duties  of  citizenship,  but  also  national  unity,  social  virtue 
and  human  progress.  As  we  love  these  let  us  cultivate  in  our- 
selves and  in  our  children  an  affectionate  remembrance  of  the 
patriotic  examples,  and  a  pious  veneration  for  the  sepulchres  of 
those  who  performed,  endured  and  suffered  so  much  for  us  and 
for  those  who  shall  ere  long  succeed  us  in  the  places  which  will 
soon  know  us  no  more  forever.  If  Washington  could  say  at 
tiie  close  of  his  public  life  to  the  men  of  that  generation  that 
the  unity-of  government  which  constituted  them  one  people  was 
then  dear  to  them,  in  the  presence  of  these  graves,  and  in  view 
of  all  the  precious  lives  which  the  preservation  of  that  unity  has 
cost  the  nation,  how  doubly  dear  ought  not  the  same  national 
unity  to  be  to  us?  It  has  been  saved  through  great  tribulation, 
and  we,  now  standing  in  the  last  resting-place  of  hundreds  of 
the  nii-ii  who  shared  in  the  sacrifices  necessary  to  effect  this 
great  salvation,  attest  our  appreciation  of  its  value  and  their  de- 
votion. And  in  the  performance  of  the  labor  of  love  and  duty 
of  patriotism  in  which  we  are  now  engaged,  let  us  not  forget  to 
praise  and  thank  the  Benevolent  Father  of  all  that  He  has  given 
us  a  country  productive  of  so  many  bright  examples  of  un- 
faltering devotion  to  the  duties,  trials  and  services  of  American 
citizenship.  May  we  not,  standing  by  these  graves,  and  while 
engaged  in  bedecking  them  with  flowers,  repeat  the  beautiful 
utterance  of  the  beloved  chief  of  our  fallen  ones,  himself  the 
noblest  of  the  slain,  that  ''the  mystic  cord  of  memory,  stretch- 
ing from  every  battlefield  and  patriot  grave  to  every  living 
heart  and  hearthstone,  all  over  this  broad  land  will  yet  swell 
the  chorus  of  the  Union,  when  again  touched,  as  surely  it  will 
be,  by  the  better  angels  of  our  nature."  May  we  not  hope,  too, 
that  the  services  in  which  we  and  others  all  over  the  land  are 
this  day  engaged,  may  be  instrumentalities  in  the  hands  of  those 
better  angels  of  our  nature  to  touch  this  mystic  cord  which  shall 
ere  long  swell  the  chorus  of  a  perpetuated  and  perfectly  restored 
Union.  When  the  grand  chorus  shall  again  go  forth,  sustained 


520  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

by  the  voices  of  all  the  people,  then  will  the  cherished  memories 
of  our  fallen  ones  shine  as  the  brightest  gems  in  the  crown  of 
our  country's  rejoicing,  and  no  bad  angels  of  our  nature  will  be 
permitted  to  mar,  by  a  single  note  of  discord,  the  hallelujahs  of  a 
regenerated  nation.  And  in  concluding  these  brief  remarks 
catching  the  inspiration  which  swelled  the  same  lofty  and  pa- 
triotic soul  on  a  subsequent  occasion,  may  we  not  repeat  that 
other  sublime  utterance  in  which  he  said  "With  malice  towards 
none,  with  charity  for  all,  with  firmness  in  the  right  as  God  gives 
us  to  see  the  right,  let  us  strive  on  to  finish  the  work  we  are  in ; 
to  bind  up  the  Nation's  wounds,  to  care  for  him  who  has  borne 
the  brunt  of  the  battle,  and  for  his  widow  and  orphans,  and  to  do 
all  which  may  achieve  and  cherish  a  just  and  lasting  peace 
among  ourselves  and  all  nations."  So  teach  us  our  duty,  O  Lord, 
Amen.  So  let  it  be. 

Granville  M.  Ballard  read  the  following  poem,  prepared  by 
him  for  the  occasion : 

Not  as  we  met  by  the  camp- fire, 

When  raid  or  skirmish  was  done; 
Not  as  we  met  at  roll-call, 

Before  the  battle  was  won  ; 
But  with  mourning  npon  our  banners, 

And  with  muffled  drums  we  meet, 
To  deck  the  graves  of  comrades 

That  slumber  at  our  feet. 
These  are  oar  sleeping  heroes, 

These  are  our  Union  dead, 
Fearlessly,  nobly,  they  followed 

Wherever  the  old  flag  led. 
They  came  from  country  and  village, 

From  crowded  city  and  plain ; 
They  marched  in  the  sultry  sunshine, 

And  pillowed  their  heads  in  rain ; 
They  heard  the  blast  of  the  bugle, 
•     That  spread  o'er  the  land  a  pall, 
They  fought  in  a  score  of  battles, 

And  gave  to  our  country  their  all. 

Over  many  and  many  a  household 

There  rests  a  shadow  to-day,  • 

Because  of  t'-e  loved  ones  sleeping 

From  kindred  far  away ; 
With  many  a  maiden's  musings 

There  mingles,  the  sad  refrain, 
He  said  when  last  he  left  me 

He'd  come  to  me  soon  a<rain ; 
With  many  a  mother's  trinkets 

Is  treasured  a  lock  of  hair, 
And  her  thoughts  are  about  her  absent  boy 

When  she  looks  on  the  vacant  chair. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  v 

Some  of  these  dropped  by  the  wayside, 

Some  while  on  picket  were  shot ; 
Some  of  them  fell  in  the  skirmish, 

Some  where  the  battle  raged  hot ; 
Some  of  them  died  in  the  hospital, 

Nor  father  nor  mother  were  there 
To  lift  up  the  fainting  spirit 

With  blessing  and  with  prayer. 
But,  alas  1  for  the  youthful  soldier, 

Alas !  for  the  veteran  gray, 
"Who  languished  in  Southern  prison, 

Wearing  his  life  away, 
Dying  in  captivity, 

Hoping,  yet  all  in  vain — 
Hoping  to  break  his  prison  bars 

And  breath  free  air  again ; 
Yearning  for  wife  and  children, 

Yearning  to  be  caressed, 
.   Or  longing  with  broken  spirit, 

Longing  to  be  at  rest. 

Over  these  dead  nine  hundred 

Let  the  flag  of  the  Freemen  wave^ 
And  the  sentinel  stars  keep  vigils 

Through  the  night-time  over  each  grave. 
Violet  pink  and  daisy, 

Rosebud  and  myrtle  leaf  bring, 
And  our  Union  dead  remember 

With  each  returning  spring. 

This  concluded  the  exercises  preparatory  to  the  decoration, 
and  the  word  was  given  to  pass  to  the  adjacent  cemetery — the 
people  forming  about  the  four  sides,  with  the  orphan  girls  and 
young  ladies  on  the  inside  of  the  square.  At  a  given  signal, 
Mr.  T.  L.  Rhodes  and  the  class  sang  the  dirge,  "  Peace  to  the 
Memory  of  the  Brave,"  by  William  Vincent  Wallace,  as  fol- 
lows : 

Peace  to  the  memory  of  the  brave, 
Tranquil  may  their  slumbers  be, 

Who  died  a  nation's  life  to  save  : 
Soldier,  peace  to  thee. 

Here  in  the  boi*om  of  the  earth, 

In  quiet,  soldier,  shalt  thou  be. 

Ever  remembered.  Heroes  immortal — 

Now  all  who  e'er  breathed  holy  prayer,  . 

Or  sank  on  bended  knee,  they  pray, 

They  pray  for  thee ;  brave  heart,  for  thee. 

While  this  was  being  sung,  the  girls,  with  flower-baskets, 
passed  through  the  cemetery,  bedecking  each  grave,  followed  by 
the  young  ladies,  who  hung  upon  each  headstone  an  evergreen 
wreath.  When  the  last  wreath  had  been  hung,  the  artillery 


522  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

commenced  a  salute  of  thirteen  guns,  and  the  vocal  class  sang 
with  fine  effect  the  national  anthem  "  The  Star-Spangled  Ban- 
ner, "  Mr.  Khodes  taking  the  solo,  the  chorus  rendered  by  all 
the  voices.  To  complete  the  ceremony,  the  Scottish  Masons 
filed  down  the  center  aisle  of  the  graves,  and  under  the  lead  of 
Hon.  John  Caven  they  paid  the  honors  of  their  peculiar  rite, 
end  fug  with  the  deposit  of  a  bouquet  upon  each  grave.  The 
exercises  were  closed  with  "  Hail  Columbia  "  by  the  band,  and 
the  Benediction  by  Rev.  H.  A.  Edson,  Pastor  of  the  Second 
Presbyterian  Church. 

AT  COLUMBUS,  INDIANA. 

The  members  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  assisted  by  the  citizens  of 
Columbus,  performed  the  ceremony  on  the  30th  of  May.  The 
graves  in  the  City  Cemetery,  as  well  as  those  in  the  Catholic 
Cemetery,  were  profusely  decorated.  At  the  latter  cemetery, 
Father  Orem,  of  the  Catholic  Church,  delivered  the  following 
discourse : 

•       FATHER  OBEM'S  ADDEESS. 

It  was  a  grand  idea  that  prompted  the  veteran  warriors  of 
the  Republic  to  set  apart  one  of  the  closing  days  of  this  beau- 
tiful month — "  Spring's  fairest  child  " — for  the  sublime,  thrilling, 
soul- elevating  ceremonies  which  we  have  met  in  one  "  cities  of 
the  dead"  to  perform.  A  scene  like  this,  inspired  as  it  is  by 
motives  of  the  purest  patriotism,  utterly  void  of  partisan  strife, 
rancor,  and  bitterness,  is  one  in  which  no  good  citizen  can  refuse 
to  participate,  inasmuch  as  it  is  a  scene  consecrated  by  the 
most  hallowed  instincts,  and  made  sacred  by  the  balmiest  memo- 
ries. An  occasion  like  this,  dedicated  to  valor  and  liberty,  and 
in  honor  of  a  cause  made  thrice  holy  by  the  life-blood  of  its 
undaunted  champions,  is  one  which  the  white-robed  inhabitants 
above  must  view  with  admiration  and  delight,  and  upon  which 
we  can,  without  irreverence,  invoke  our  Heavenly  Father's  rich- 
est blessing. 

Just  think  of  it !  a  nation  like  ours,  of  almost  boundless  do- 
main, Hushed  with  victory,  pausing  in  her  onward  career,  sus- 
pending the  all-engrossing  affairs  of  her  daily  life,  and  marching 
with  jneasured  tread,  sorrowing  heart,  and  tearful  eye,  to  the 
graves  of  those  who  died  that  she  might  live.  Is  there,  can 
there  be  anything  more  touching,  more  thrilling,  more  sublime  ? 
Where,  in  the  annals  of  the  oft-vaunted  ages  of  chivalry,  can 
we  find  anything  worthier  of  being  sung  by  the  muse,  or  im- 
mortalized by  the  painter  or  the  sculptor's  art  ?  And  what  a 
triumphant  vindication  of  our  character  as  a  people  I  What 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        523 

an  irrefutable  answer  to  the  stale  charges  so  often  and  so  flip- 
pantly brought  against  us,  by  cynical  writers,  that  the  only 
progress  we  have  made  is  of  a  purely  materialistic  order,  and 
that,  in  our  pursuit  after  wealth,  we  have  forgotten  the  softer 


of  our  nature.     To-day  does  Columbia 
weep  for  her  fallen  sons,  her  darling  braves,  who  sleep  the  sleep 

T.hAr.    k'lin\Vi  Jin   nrolnnM  or,-.r^>  ,^l*n_    /~i  _  t_ ._•    1 1      .  .    •*,,  ,    f 


attractive.  They  are  gone,  and  with  them  has  gone  the  sun- 
shine oi  many  a  household,  the  joy  of  many  a  heart.  And  why 
did  they  die?  Tell  us,  thou  flag— thou  ark  of  our  hopes,  thou 
emblem  of  glory,  thou  star  of  the  oppressed,  thou  terror  of  ty- 
•ants,  tell  us  to-day  why  these  soldiers  died?  Listen  to  the  an- 
swer that  is  borne  on  the  breeze  from  yon  torn  and  tattered 
folds,  waving  as  it  were  in  sorrow  above  us—''  they  died  to  save 
me  from  pollution."  They  died  for  their  country  and  for  ours. 
At  her  cry  of  distress  did  they  rush  to  the  rescue.  They  bade 
farewell  to  the  comforts  of  home ;  they  tore  themselves  away 
from  the  embrace  of  affection,  and  hurried  away  to  the  front. 
j»m  in  arm  did  they  go,  from  field  to  field,  resolved  to  return 
<;  with  their  shields  or  on  them."  They  stood  where  shot  and 
shell  flew  thick  and  fast,  but  these  fearless  heroes  quailed  not. 
Like  the  knights  of  old— "without  fear  and  without  reproach" 
—they  laughed  danger  to  scorn,  their  only  care  being  for  their 
country's  weal.  They  fell,  nor  lived  to  hear  the  loud  huzzas 
that  rent  the  air  and  made  the  welkin  ring,  when  the  eagles  of 
victory  perched  upon  the  banners  of  the  Union,  and  the  clouds 
of  grim  war  passed  away  from  the  horizon,  let  us  trust,  forever. 
The  grandest  spectacle  it  ever  was  my  lot  to  witness,  was  the 
triumphant  procession  of  the  armies  of  the  Potomac  and  the 
Cumberland,  passing  through  the  streets  of  the  National  Capi- 
tal. It  was  a  sight  never  to  be  forgotten  by  the  fortunate  wit- 
nesses of  it,  that  of  this  almost  countless  host  of  battle-scarred 
veterans,  the  heroes  of  many  a  hard-fought  field  returning  in  the 
noontide  of  triumph  to  receive  the  well-earned  plaudits  of  the 
country  they  had  saved.  The  occasion  was  one  giving  rapture 
to  those  who  had  stood  by  "the  boys  in  blue"  through  every 
phase  of  the  war  that  for  so  long  reddened  our  fields  with  blood, 
and  choked  our  rivers  with  slaughter.  It  was  an  occasion  in- 
vested with  an  interest  in  which  pleasure  and  sadness  struggled 
for  the  mastery  ;  in  which  there  was  a  mingling  of  joy  and  sor- 
row, for  with  the  transports  awakened  by  the  peans  of  victory, 
there  came  the  harrowing  reflection  that  many  had  hoped  to 
swell  the  loud  chorus,  whose  hearts  were  pulseless  in  death. 


524  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

14  The  war  is  o'er,  and  but  one  thought 

Brings  alloy  to  our  bliss, 
It  is  that  many  for  us  fought 

Whom  broken  hearts  now  miss." 

Dear  braves !  Their  lot  it  was  to  go  down  in  the  red  tide 
of  battle,  without  seeing  the  laurels  bedecking  the  cause  they 
loved  and  for  which  they  fought  so  well.  They  are  dead — no, 
they  are  not  dead— for  they  are  of  "the  few,  the  immortal  few, 
that  were  not  born  to  die."  Dead  !  no,  no,  they  are  not  dead. 
They  sleep  the  sleep  of  the  martyrs,  while  their  country  keeps 
loving  vigils  over  their  silent  tombs.  She  grieves  that  they  are 
gone,  she  invites  to  mingle  our  tears  with  hers,  and  to  show  our 
veneration  for  those  valiant  heroes,  by  covering  their  graves  with 
flowers  so  beautifully  typical  of  the  never-dying  affection  with 
which  generations  unborn  will  cling  to  their  names  and  memo- 
ries. 

AT  PORTLAND,  IND. 

The  Post  met  at  9  o'clock  A.  M.,  pursuant  to  the  resolution 
heretofore  adopted,  which  is  as  follows :  "  Resolved,  that  this 
Post  will  meet  for  the  purpose  of  decorating  the  graves  of  de- 
ceased comrades,  on  the  30th  day  of  May,  1868,  in  accordance 
with  General  Order  No.  — ,  from  Headquarters  of  the  Army, 
and  that  Commanding  General  John  P.  0.  Shanks  be  invited  to 
address  the  Comrades  on  that  occasion." 

At  9£  o'clock  the  assembly  was  sounded,  and  a  grand  pro- 
cession was  formed  on  Main  street,  under  the  direction  of  the 
Post  Commander,  in  the  following  order :  Band  and  colors ;  Post 
Commander  and  Chaplain ;  Comrades  of  Post  58 ;  Comrades  of 
other  Posts. 

The  procession  was  then  conducted  to  the  cemetery  at  Liber, 
where  rest  the  remains  of  many  of  our  brave  comrades  in  arms. 

The  Comrades  were  bountifully  supplied  with  flowers,  etc., 
by  the  ladies  present,  and  on  arrival  at  the  Cemetery  the  column 
moved  slowly  by  the  tomb  of  each  of  the  brave  ones,  and  liter- 
ally covered  them  with  the  flowers  furnished  by  the  fair  hands. 
After  each  grave  in  turn  had  been  visited,the  procession  was 
conducted  to  the  Chapel,  and  General  Shanks  came  from  the 
ranks  to  the  rostrum,  and  addressed  the  comrades  as  follows : — 

SPEECH   OF   GENERAL   JOHN   0.    P.    SHANKS. 

COMRADES  :  It  is  with  much  pleasure  that  I  meet  and  extend 
a  warm  greeting  to  you,  who,  with  so  much  honor  to  yourselves, 
in  defense  of  our  liberties,  voluntarily  entered  that  greatest  of 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  525 

human  straggles,  and  passed  through  its  fiery  ordeals,  to  save 
our  common  country  and  institutions  of  freedom  from  destruc- 
tion at  the  hands  of  the  combined  oppressors  of  mankind a 

war  in  which  crowned  heads  of  Europe  were  the  prime  movers 
the  slaveholders  of  America  the  tools,  the  perpetuation  of  sla- 
very in  America  the  excuse,  and  prejudice  based  upon  the  igno- 
rance of  the  masses  of  the  white  people  in  the  Slave  States,  the 
rallying-ground,  for  forces  to  carry  out  the  nefarious  work  of 
destroying  the  only  Government  that  opened  the  way  to  liberty 
and  equal  rights— an  attempt  to  utterly  overthrow 'the  Govern- 
ment of  our  fathers,  and  the  liberties  of  the  poor  and  laboring 
classes.  But  the  pleasure  of  this  meeting  is  marred  by  that 
feeling  of  deep  sorrow  that  I  see  reflected  from  your  faces,  as, 
gathered  here  on  this  occasion,  you  remember  that  we  meet  at 
this  spot  sacred  to  the  dead  to  pay  a  tribute  of  respect  to  the 
memory  of  those  who  fell  lighting  with  us  for  the  great  prize 
of  civil  and  religious  liberty. 

Comrades,  at  this  place,  made  holy  to  us  as  the  resting-place 
of  our  late  brothers-in-arms,  let  me  ask  that,  while  we  look  on 
the  graves  of  these  our  late  companions,  remembering  them  and 
the  cause  in  which  they  fell,  that  you  forget  not  the  crimes  that 
provoked  the  revolution,  nor  the  criminals  who  prosecuted  the 
war  in  which  they  died. 

We  are  taught,  in  God's  Holy  Word,  to  forgive  our  enemies ; 
but  it  has  been  reserved  for  a  future  revelation — if,  indeed,  it 
can  ever  be  given  from  so  high  authority — that  we  should  forget 
either  those  who  injured  us,  or  the  wrongs  which  they  inflicted. 
Indeed,  to  forget  these  our  late  friends,  or  those  at  whose  hands 
they  died,  would  be  to  bury  with  the  dead  the  memories  of  our 
sacrifice  and  the  wisdom  of  all  experience.  If  the  crimes  by 
which  we  were  wronged  so  much  should  be  forgotten,  the  past 
sufferings  of  the  living  and  the  dead  were  worse  than  wasted, 
and  revolutions  and  war  become  but  a  contest  between  life  and 
death  for  the  mastery,  in  which  death  comes  off  more  than  vic- 
tor ;  patriotism  would  be  valueless,  and  the  defenders  of  justice 
die  without  reward. 

If  it  was  not  for  principles  we  fought,  and  if  those  principles, 
and  their  friends  and  enemies,  be  not  remembered,  our  struggle 
has  been  useless,  both  as  a  defender  of  good  and  an  exponent  of 
evil.  How  dismal  and  drear  would  be  our  thoughts,  as  we  cast 
these  emblems  of  past  memories  on  the  graves  of  our  friends, _if 
they  had  died  in  an  unjust  cause,  fighting  against  justice,  lib- 
erty, and  law,  with  the  unholy  desire  of  fastening  the  chains  of 
slavery  upon  the  unoffending  limbs  of  millions  of  defenceless 
human  beings,  and  to  know  that  their  generations  yet  unborn 


526  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

would  rise  up  to  drink  slavery's  bitter  draught — to  feel  its  iron 
enter  their  souls — to  live  and  die,  as  their  parents  have  done, 
the  wretched  victims  of  the  caprice,  passions,  and  fortunes  of  a 
profligate  and  irresponsible  society,  and  to  invoke  the  God  of 
justice  to  bring  to  naught  the  unholy  mockery  that  seeks  to 
make  sacred  that  which  is  vile. 

Comrades,  a  cause,  lost,  as  it  must  eventually  be  in  such  a 
contest,  would  be  hated  of  God  and  of  all  just  men.  But  ours 
is  a  higher  and  better  cause,  nobly  fought  for  and  grandly  main- 
tained, and  more  glorious  results  awaited  it.  Adhering  to  the 
principles  of  justice,  you  were  triumphant ;  your  free  Govern- 
ment was  maintained,  and  Christian  civilization  vindicated  and 
extended. 

Comrades,  when  first  we  met  as  soldiers,  it  was  to  go  out  to 
battle  against  traitors,  who  had,  with  force  and  arms,  assailed 
our  national  inheritance,  and  demanded  the  nation's  life.  Be- 
lieving that  our  first  duty  was  to  defend  the  country,  and  that, 
when  we  had  given  our  time,  labor,  and  lives,  if  necessary,  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  national  life  and  honor,  we  had  only  dis- 
charged a  duty  that  we  owed  to  mankind,  we  could  not  return 
from  that  defense  until  our  national  emblem  was  acknowledged, 
or  had  been  carried  in  triumph  over  all  the  public  domain,  and 
the  national  security,  with  our  continued  independence,  well 
assured. 

All  this,  at  great  sacrifice,  and  by  the  bravery  of  you  and 
these  we  mourn,  was  done ;  and  you  who  survived  have  wit- 
nessed with  honest  pride  the  expanding  genius  and  growing 
honors  of  our  great  commonwealth  of  States,  with  the  recog- 
nized character  of  both  our  people  and  Government  rising 
higher  and  higher,  since  they  emerged  from  the  contaminations 
of  that  oppression  to  which  they  had  too  long  and  tamely  sub-, 
mitted.  And  when  purged  of  the  stains  of  our  past  follies  and 
crimes,  this  nation,  redeemed  by  you,  will  become  fully  recog- 
nized throughout  the  civilized  world  as  a  political  lighthouse,  to 
guide  the  oppressed  of  all  lands  to  the  harbor  of  peace  and  jus- 
tice, in  the  establishment  of  republican  governments  every- 
where, the  march  of  civilization  in  what  are  now  uncivilized 
countries,  and  the  triumph  of  equal  justice  among  mankind. 
And,  my  comrades,  then,  if  not  till  then,  these  graves  will  be 
decorated,  not  with  these  fading  flowers  and  twigs  that  we  now 
strew  here,  but  in  the  pages  of  that  history  which  shall  record 
them  as  the  resting-places  of  the  real  benefactors  of  mankind  ; 
and  the  world,  in  its  better  civilization,  will  bless  the  memory 
of  those  who  fell  in  so  great  and  holy  a  cause.  Comrades,  that 
history  will  be  written  of  you  also ;  your  graves,  too,  will  be 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  527 

green  as  these  are,  ere  these  things  come  to  pass.  Mankind  are 
yet  asleep,  and  slow  to  wake ;  the  long  conflict  of  ideas  the 
waste  of  property,  the  clash  of  the  sabre,  the  rattle  of  'mus- 
ketry, the  roar  of  artillery,  and  the  wasted  blood  of  their  chil- 
dren, has  not  fully  aroused  the  people  of  America ;  but,  dis- 
turbed in  their  lethargy  and  slumbers  by  the  storms  of  revolu- 
tion in  this  country,  that  of  1776,  when  freemen  attacked  and 
fenght  tyrants,  and  that  of  1861,  when  tyrants  attacked  and 
fought  freemen,  in  both  of  which  justice  triumphed  and  liberty 
prevailed.  Civilization  has  gained  on  the  darkness  that  sur- 
rounded her.  Right  met  wrong  in  open  conflict,  fought  for  the 
mastery,  and  conquered.  Retributive  justice  spoke  with  the 
power  of  God,  and  man  yielded  to  a  will  he  could  not  deceive 
or  control.  Our  people  nave  seen  the  grand  manifestation  of 
God's  will,  and  His  certain  vindication  of  His  laws  of  equal  jus- 
tice to  all  men,  and  may  yet  profit  by  it.  Civilization  lias 
caught  up  the  lesson,  and  now  studies 'it  well.  Let  us  look  to 
our  laurels.  We  may  yet  be  distanced  by  the  Old  World  in  the 
very  protection  and  enjoyment  of  that  liberty  which  we  have 
taught  them  to  know  and  appreciate.  Already  the  oppressive 
governments  of  Europe  and  Asia  tremble  under  the  shock  that 
the  triumph  of  free  government  in  America  has  given  them. 
The  laboring  people  are  awakening  slowly,  but  surely,  to  a 
knowledge  of  the  truths  taught  in  our  free  institutions  ;  and  in 
the  world's  conflict,  known  to  us  by  the  more  modest  title  of 
"  our  recent  Rebellion,"  you  have  maintained  the  triumph  of 
these  truths,  and  supported  the  just  claims  of  the  millions  of  the 
East,  as  well  as  at  home,  to  the  protection  of  their  liberties 
under  the  law ;  and,  ere  long,  crowns  will  fall  like  autumn 
leaves  at  the  bidding  of  the  people,  who,  when  aroused  by  a 
sense  of  their  wrongs  and  a  knowledge  of  the  remedy,  are  more 
terrible  to  the  wrong-doer  than  are  the  frosts  or  the  storms  of 
winter  to  the  forests.  To-day,  Spain  is  trembling  to  her  centre 
with  her  dependencies.  Moving  for  a  separate  independence; 
her  ruling  Queen,  the  last  of  the  Bourbons,  will  soon  be  as 
helpless  as  one  of  her  subjects.  The  islands  of  ancient  and  glo- 
rious old  Greece  are  again  moving  for  liberty  from  European 
dictation  and  Turkish  oppression ;  Mexico  has  redeemed  itself 
from  and  executed  its  oppressor ;  France  has  fallen  back  from 
her  aggressions  on  our  sister  Republic ;  China  and  Japan  are 
convulsed  from  centre  to  circumference  ;  Italy  is  free  from  Aus- 
trian oppression,  and  the  temporal  power  of  a  spiritual  ruler  is 
waning  in  Rome  ;  Prussia  is  triumphant  in  her  march  to  a  bet- 
ter rule  ;  the  Emperor  of  Russia  saw  the  necessity  of  liberating 
the  serfs  of  his  empire,  and  acted  upon  the  teaching  of  the 


528  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

times,  and  with  jealous  eye  now  watches  the  waning  power  of 
Turkey's  last  SuJtan.  The  Levant  must  soon  become  the  garden 
of  the  East,  and  the  Mediterranean  the  lap  of  her  commercial 
wealth,  as  of  old ;  even  England  makes  a  feeble  and  fruitless 
opposition  to  the  payment  of  damages  occasioned  to  our  nation 
and  people  during  the  Rebellion,  from  the  aid  and  comfort  given 
the  Confederates  by  that  Government. 

In.  the  light  of  these  teachings,  the  people  of  this  great  Gov- 
ernment will  move  on  with  renewed  energies.  Like  the  rock 
detached  from  the  mountain  side,  gathering  strength  and  force 
with  our  progress,  we  will,  both  by  example  and  our  good  strong 
arm,  give  light  and  life  and  protection  to  the  East  and  West, 
the  North  and  the  South. 

Comrades,  civilization  hinged  upon  the  American  problem. 
Tour  bravery  gave  victory  to  the  right,  and  justice  triumphed 
over  oppression,  and  the  land  was  made  free  indeed.  But  not 
without  cost — great  and  terrible  cost — of  treasure  and  of  blood. 
These  were  our  atonements  for  a  violated  law — a  law  of  God,  a 
law  that  cannot  be  broken  with  impunity,  and  that  remains  in 
force  forever — a  law  that  has  vindicated  itself  for  the  blood  of 
the  helpless  slave,  in  that  of  our  fathers,  brothers,  and  sons. 
The  Angel  of  Death  has,  in  vindication  of  that  law  of  justice, 
visited  our  doors,  and,  their  lintels  not  being  well  authenticated, 
touched  our  houses  with  mourning.  None  throughout  the  land 
have  escaped  this  great  sorrow  ;  for  who  of  all  our  people  were 
not  guilty  of  our  great  national  crime  of  human  slavery  ?  and 
who  has  not  answered  for  it  ?  Not  one.  In  the  blood  of  our 
people  we  have  answered  for  it.  All,  all  have  answered  that 
fearful  summons  and  demand,  and  we  here  to-day  mourn  over 
the  fallen  sons  of  the  nation,  victims  to  our  support  of  this  great 
wrong. 

In  the  conflict  consequent  upon  the  disobedience  of  the  laws 
of  justice,  many  were  doomed  to  fall.  These  our  late  comrades, 
whose  graves  we  this  day  decorate,  who  were  no  more  guilty 
than  we  were,  died  for  their  country — died  in  maintenance  of 
the  free  institutions  under  which  we  live — died  to  secure  liberty 
to  us,  and  to  transmit  it  unimpaired  to  those  who  are  to  follow 
us — died  to  insure  that  very  liberty  we  now  enjoy  here,  of  mani- 
festing our  sorrow  over  their  graves.  For  be  assured,  had  we 
not  succeeded,  through  their  valor  and  sacrifices,  in  upholding 
the. liberties  and  power  of  the  people  and  their  Government,  we 
could  not  now  meet  and  speak  of  our  sorrows  or  triumphs,  or 
scatter  emblems  on  the  graves  of  these  martyrs  to  liberty  and 
progress. 

Tyranny,  upheld  by  that  criminality  which  alone  sustains  it, 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS  GRAVES.  529 

once  secure  in  power,  permits  of  no  liberties  of  the  people  in- 
consistent with  its  oppressions  and  maintenance.  This  truth 
made  this  sacrifice  necessary,  and  the  triumphs  of  the  sacrifice 
valuable  to  mankind.  2,335,951  men  voluntarily  entered  the 
Union  Army  and  Navy,  and  of  these,  78,231  were  killed  in  the 
battle-fields,  or  died  from  wounds  received  there;  while  216,185 
died  in  hospital,  and  in  highways  and  bj^ways  of  the  South,  vic- 
tims of  the  hardships  incident  to  camp  and  field.  Our  own 
'noble  State  sent  over  152,000  of  her  sons  to  do  battle  for  man- 
kind. Of  these,  over  9,000  were  killed  hi  battle,  or  died  of 
wounds  received  there  ;  and  over  16,000  died  of  disease  in  hos- 
pital, and  elsewhere,  in  the  service.  One  out  of  every  eight  of 
tho^e  who  were  mustered  into  'the  service  were  never  mustered 
out  again,  only  as  their  names  were  stricken  from  the  rolls  of 
the  living  and  entered  on  the  lists  of  the  armies  of  the  dead. 
Many  have  died  since  the  war,  the  result  of  exposures  in  field 
and  camp ;  many  maimed  ones  bear  evidence  of  the  severity  of 
the  struggle,  and  their  valor  in  the  conflicts.  And  while  we, 
their  comrades  and  survivors,  are  symbolically  marching  about 
and  encamped  around  their  last  earthly  resting-place,  to  do 
honor  to  and  perpetuate  their  memories  here,  let  us  indulge  the 
fond  hope  that  their  disembodied  spirits  have  crossed  the  Jordan 
of  their  sorrows,  and,  to  tunes  from  heavenly  choirs,  are  march- 
ing and  camping  in  that  better  clime,  where  the  severe  duties, 
hardships,  privations,  and  dangers  of  the  soldier's  service  here 
are  felt  and  feared  no  more ;  where  storms  and  wars  and  want 
are  unknown ;  where  the  battle-field  has  no  dangers,  and  the 
prison  no  terrors ;  where  the  shattered  limbs  of  the  wounded, 
or  the  gaunt,  spectred  forms  of  the  starved  and  emaciated  pris- 
oners of  war  are  not  seen,  nor  their  cries  ever  heard ;  but  where 
God  is,  and  where  evil  cannot  come— in  that  safe  government 
and  abode,  from  whence  the  only  traitor  who  dared  insult  Jus- 
tice with  his  godless  presence  was  by  the  strong  arm  of  Michael  s 
power  expelled,  never  to  be  pardoned  or  return  ;  where  equal 
and  exact  justice  is  done  to  all ;  where  Nature's  fair  plans  are 
not  defeated  by  man's  wicked  designs ;  where  there  is  no  proba- 
tion or  need  of  hope  ;  where  inspections  are  not  necessary,  but 
where  their  armor  is  always  bright ;  where  all  is  mushed,  per- 
feet  liffht.  and  life,  and  truth,  and  certainty. 

And  let  us,  who  deem  ourselves  more  fortunate  than  those 
who  have  perished  from  this  life,  not  forget  the  lessons  that  all 
this  teaches  us— that,  though,  we  died  not,  yet  we,  too,  must 
fall ;  though  we  escaped  death  in  the  hospital,  prison  and 
tie-field-though  we  have  passed  through  the  multiplied  dangers 
of  war,  and  have  lived  to  aid,  in  time  of  peace,  to  rebuild  and 
34 


530  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

to  guide  the  Government  we  helped  to  save  in  war,  and  have 
outlived  our  comrades  in  this  transitory  existence,  let  us  look 
well  to  it  that  we,  too,  may  die  as  honorably  as  they.  He  who 
lives  for  mankind,  does  well ;  but  lie  who  dies  in  that  cause,  dies 
nobly.  We  fought,  but  lived  ;  these  died,  that  the  people 
should  be  free.  Let  us  so  live  on  through  the  brief  period 
allotted  to  us,  that  there  may  be  no  blemish  on  that  proud 
record  of  the  army  of  freemen  of  America  ;  but  let  it  be  truth- 
fully written  of  us,  as  it  is  of  those  whom  we  mourn:  "They4 
died  as  tliey  lived,  having  lived  as  they  died,  the  faithful  friends 
and  defenders  of  justice  and  equal  rights  among  mankind." 

This  is  a  proud  record.  Let  us  emulate — we  cannot  excel  it. 
While  gathered  around  these  graves,  let  us  pray  to  the  ever-liv- 
ing God  that  He  will  direct  the  minds  of  the  people  in  the 
right  way ;  that  He  will  teach  them  to  not  forget  the  wrong- 
doer ;  that  He  will  teach  them,  though  it  is  good  to  be  merciful, 
yet  justice  stands  above  mercy,  and  that  mercy  to  bad  men  may 
be  injustice  to  true  and  worthy  ones ;  that  this  earthly  life  of 
our  race  is  wholly  unlike  the  life  to  follow  ;  that  here  man.  left 
free  to  act,  may  wrong  his  fellow,  and  therefore  justice  to  all 
demands  protection  to  each  one ;  while,  in  the  future,  God's 
own  presence  controls  them,  evil  cannot  be  done,  and  mercy  for 
past  offences  will  work  no*wrong  to  the  present.  But  he  who 
in  this  life  forgives  the  murderer  of  his  people,  may  provoke 
new  murders.  The  history  of  our  country  since  the  close  of  the 
Rebellion  places  this  beyond  doubt  or  cavil.  By  forgiving  the 
murderers  of  these  our  late  comrades-in-arms,  you  may  become 
yourselves  the  murderers  of  other  good  people.  It  is  virtuous 
to  be  merciful  to  your  enemies,  but  it  is  holy  to  love  your 
friends.  It  is  patriotic  to  love  your  comrades,  and  it  will  be 
base  to  forget  them,  or  the  cause  in  which  or  at  whose  hands 
they  fell.  God  has  impressed  on  every  heart  a  love  of  home 
and  country.  He  who  has  forgotten  it,  has  forgotten  Him  who 
impressed  it,  and  has  already  passed  the  line  between  loyalty 
and  treason.  No  dishonest  man  was  ever  a  true  patriot.  He 
who  is  without  honor  in  one  thing,  will  be  so  in  another  when 
it  is  his  interest  so  to  be. 

Comrades,  it  is  a  great  privilege  to  die  in  the  line  of  duty, 
battling  for  human  rights.  It  is  a  greater  privilege  to  live 
through  such  a  war,  and  to  take  part  in  protecting  the  liberties 
in  peace  that  your  valor  won  in  war ;  but  Nature-  has  deter- 
mined that  duties  follow  privileges  with  a  quick  and  certain 
step.  Life  itself  is  but  a  probation,  and  life  honored  by  so 
many  dangers  is  doubly  so  ;  but  when  hallowed  by  the  faithful 
discharge  of  our  duties  to  God  and  men,  it  becomes  incompar- 
ably grand. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS  GRAVES.  531 

Comrades,  while  we  look  upon  these  graves,  and  upon  the 
scars  that  traitors  gave,  we  cannot  forget  the  past,  or  fail  to  ap- 
preciate its  lessons  for  the  future  of  our  country  and  kind. 

To  theee  citizens  who  are  our  neighbors  and  friends,  many 
of  whom  are  the  relatives  of  those  for  whom  we  mourn,  and  who 
have,  sorrowing,  gathered  with  us  around  this  sacred  spot,  let 
me  say  that  the  ties  which  bind  you  to  us,  warmed  and 
strengthened  as  they  are  by  time,  acquaintance,  and  that  noble 
"friendship,  which  a  free,  brave  people  only  can  comprehend,  are 
close  and  lasting.  Yet  the  ties  that  bind  those  who  have  served 
and  suffered  together  in  the  field,  are  stronger  still,  warmed, 
welded,  and  strengthened  in  the  fire  and  strife  of  battles  where 
we  leaned  on  each  other  for  life  and  success,  it  does  not,  cannot 
yield,  but  grows  green  and  fresh  with  time.  The  ties  that 
attract  us  to  home  and  the  friends  of  our  youth  are  binding,  and 
grow  into  our  nature  as  part  of  the  structure  ;  but  it  is  in  the 
field,  in  battle,  when  death  rides  victorious  over  the  lives  of  men 
who  are  struggling  in  a  common  cause,  that  true  manhood 
stands  majestically  above  every  misfortune  and  sacrifices  all  for 
success,  vieing  with  powers  above  in  the  grandeur  of  its  bear- 
ing, stamps  a  halo  of  glory  on  the  soldier's  brow,  and  marks  him 
with  a  titled  honor  among  men,  and  more  than  brotherly  affec- 
tion for  each  other.  You  respect  your  neighbor,  but  a  true 
soldier  loves  his  comrade.  You  will  do  a  kindness  for  your 
friend,  but  the  soldier  will  die  for  his  companion.  Convenience 
may  stand  as  the  condition  of  your  favors,  but  time,  distance, 
danger,  or  death  can  make  no  condition  to  a  true  soldier's  de- 
fence of  his  country  and  friends.  Then  let  us  cherish  these  fond 
memories  now,  that  they  may  cluster  around  us  in  our  declining 
years  and  cheer  us  in  the  future  as  they  sustained  us  in  the  past. 
Comrades,  the  epitaphs  of  our  dead  cannot  be  truthfully  written 
until  the  people  with  one  accord  shall  proclaim  and  practice 
equal  justice  to  all  the  sons  and  daughters  of  men.  In  that 
great  day  let  the  emblems  of  a  faithful  remembrance  be  again 
strewn  upon  the  resting-places  of  the  defenders  of  truth  and 
justice,  while  their  departed  spirits  enjoy  that  full  blessing 
prepared  for  the  faithful,  at  the  right  hand  of  the  Most  High 
God. 

AT  WABSAW,  MINNESOTA. 

ADDRESS   OF    OAPT.    MILES    HOLLISTEB. 

COMRADES  :  The  unceasing  tide  of  time  is  bearing  us  rapidly 
on  and  on,  farther  and  farther  from  the  eventful  scenes  and 
memories  of  the  past,  and  in  the  change  and  succession  of  sea- 
sons, when  nature  has  laid  aside  her  winter  robes  of  white  and 


532  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

spread  again  her  carpet  of  green,  variegated,  beautified  by 
a  thousand  flowers,  and  attired  herself  in  all  the  gaiety  and 
loveliness  of  spring,  and  a  thousand  songsters  are  warbling  their 
songs  of  praise  to  the  great  Creator,  and  everything  is  gay  and 
joyous,  it  is  but  proper  that  we  should  pause  in  the  midst  of  all 
this  animation  and  life  and  enjoyment,  to  drop  a  "tear  to  the 
memory  of  those  heroic  martyrs  to  freedom's  cause,  who  died 
that  liberty  might  live,  and  perished  upon  the  altar  of  their 
country,  that  their  country  might  live,  those  fallen  soldiers  of 
the  Republic,  our  former  companions-in-arms,  who  are  not  borne 
on  our  rolls  to-day,  but  whose  names  have  been  transferred  to 
the  rolls  of  honor,  and  who  have  been  mustered  into  that 
glorious  army  of  martyrs  to  the  cause  of  justice  and  humanity, 
that  so  adorn  the  pages  of  the  history  of  man  in  order  that  their 
memories  may  not  die  out,  so  long  as  there  is  left  a  surviving 
comrade,  and  by  their  memories  to  pledge  ourselves  anew  to 
the  glorious  cause  for  which  they  so  nobly  gave  their  lives. 

Of  the  two  million  brave  and  loyal  men  that  went  forth  in 
defence  of  our  common  country,  hundreds  of  thousands  returned 
not  with  us.  A  hundred  thousand  or  more  bravely  met  their 
fate,  while  in  mortal  combat  on  the  field  of  battle,  nearly  as 
many  more  wasted  away  their  lives  in  hospital,  away  from  the 
care  and  love  of  home,  while  tens  of  thousands  suffered  more 
than  a  thousand  deaths  by  exposure,  cruelty  and  starvation  in 
some  rebel  prison  pen,  until  the  gaunt  spectre  of  death  was 
welcomed  as  a  relief  from  their  untold  suffering,  while  others, 
though  shattered  and  destroyed,  were  granted  the  sweet  boon  of 
life  until  they  returned,  to  die  surrounded  by  their  friends  at 
home.  Glorious  martyrs  all,  and  worthy  the  everlasting  grati- 
tude of  the  nation.  May  the  nation  be  blessed  with  abundant 
prosperity  so  long  as  she  holds  their  memories  sacred,  and 
stands  true  to  the  rights  of  man  ;  when  she  proves  false  to  the 
one  and  is  forgetful  of  the  other  she  will  not  deserve  to  prosper. 
It  is  proper  at  such  a  time  as  this,  because  the  spring-time  with 
its  growth  and  joy  and  gladness  is  a  representation  of  the  growth 
and  happiness  and  prosperity  which  our  country,  saved  by  their 
valor,  is  just  springing  into  after  the  winter  of  desolation  she 
has  so  lately  passed  through,  though  much  of  our  growth  and 
prosperity  has  been  chilled  and  retarded  by  a  Tennessee  frost, 
though,  thanks  to  the  warm,  sunshine  of  American  patriotism 
and  love  of  liberty  and  the  fidelity  of  the  people's  representa- 
tives, it  is  not  destroyed,  but  is  constantly  taking  root  through- 
out the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  from  the'Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific,  from  the  great  lakes  to  the  gulf,  amidst  the  hills  of  the 
north,  and  all  over  the  plains  of  the  south,  and  when  the  pesti- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  533 

lential  breath  that  curses  our  land  shall  be  swept  away  by  the 
ides  of  next  November,  it  will  burst  forth  into  such  a  career  of 
prosperity  and  happiness  as  the  world  has  never  seen  before  in 
the  history  of  any  nation  under  the  sun.  The  spring-time  is 
also  emblematical  of  that  new  life  beyond  the  tomb  which  every 
soldier  in  the  warfare  of  this  life  who  has  done  his  duty  well 
here  will  enter  upon  when  relieved  'from  duty  here  by  the'Great 
Commander  above.  It  is  proper  at  such  a  time  tor  us,  their 
surviving  comrades,  to  strew  their  graves  with  flowers,  and  drop 
a  tear  to  their  memory ;  but  although  we  mourn  the  loss  of  this 
vast  army  of  patriotic  and*  heroic  dead,  words  of  sorrow  are  of 
no  avail  to  them  ;  they  have  passed  beyond  the  reach  of  any 
act  of  ours.  And  having  performed  the  last  sad  and  solemn 
duty  to  them  let  us  turn  to  the  living.  Our  duty  is  to  them. 
There  are  fields  for  our  efforts  and  labor  all  through  our  land. 
The  aged  parent  bereft  of  son,  the  stay  and  support  of  his  de- 
clining years  ;  the  fond  wife  bereft  of  her  husband,  the  light  of 
her  life,  and  the  helpless  orphan  robbed  of  the  means  of  sup- 
port and  education  ;  these  are  subjects  that  claim  our  attention, 
as  well  as  the  wounded  and  disabled  of  our  comrades.  To 
speak  words  of  hope  and  cheer  to  the  disconsolate,  and  to  ex- 
tend a  helping  hand  to  our  disabled  comrades  and  the  widows 
and  orphans  of  those  that  have  fallen  is  our  sacred  duty,  and 
should  be  our  greatest  pleasure.  It  is  a  duty  the  nation  owes  to 
care  for  them.  It  is  the  duty  which  we,  who,  under  the  protec- 
tion of  the  Great  Commander,  were  fortunate  enough  to  return 
with  life  and  limb  unimpaired  to  see  that  the  nation,  to  see  that 
society  does  them  justice.  No  acts  within  the  powrer  of  man 
can  ever  repair  the  loss  and  ruin,  the  sorrow  and  grief  conse- 
quent upon  the  fall  of  such  a  vast  army.  Think  of  it !-— Three 
hundred  thousand  brave  and  strong  men  laid  low.  Their  bones 
lie  mouldering  in  the  cemetery  of  every  town  and  hamlet  in  the 
land,  and  all  over  the  thousand  battle-fields  of  the  South,  and 
just  so  many  places  have  been  left  vacant  in  the  family  circle  at 
home. 

And  why  all  this  sacrifice  of  precious  life,  and  why  all  this 
desolation  and  mourning  2  We  of  the  United  States  had  boast- 
ed that  we  had  the  best  and  most  liberal  government  that  had 
ever  existed,  and  no  self-praise,  no  self-glorification,  was  too  ex- 
travagant for  Fourth  of  July  orations  to  tickle  the  vanity  of  the 
American  people.  We  had  been  taught  to  venerate  the  fathers 
and  founders  of  this  Eepublic  as  something  almost  superhuman, 
as  having  accomplished  the  grand  and  crowning  achievement 
for  man  as  a  nation  to  perform— the  establishment  ol  the  prin- 
ciple which  had  now  become  a  fact  that  man  was  capable  o± 


534  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

self-government,  as  having  established  a  "  Government  of  the 

Sjople,  by  the  people,/"*?/*  the  people."  The  enunciations  of  the 
eclaration  of  Independence  were  our  national  religion.  That 
instrument  was  our  national  bible,  and  the  doctrine  that  "All 
men  are  created  free  and  equal ;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their 
Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights ;  that  among  these  are 
life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,"  was  a  very  beautiful 
doctrine  to  preach,  but  alas !  in  practice  we  came  as  far  short 
of  it  as  men  in  general  do  of.  the  teachings  of  Christ.  •  Our 
fathers  took  a  mighty  stride  forward  in  the  march  of  progressive 
civil  government,  but  they  stopped  *  at  halfway  and  left  their 
work  but  half  done.  They  threw  off  the  oppressive  tyranny  of 
Great  Britain,  but  left  a  more  galling  yoke  upon  the  necks  of  a 
portion  of  our  own  people.  They  cured  a  cutaneous  disease 
upon  the  surface  of  the  body  politic,  but  left  a  canker  gnawing 
at  the  very  vitals  of  the  nation,  which  they  did  not  remove. 
And  this  is  the  cause  of  all  our  woe.  In  time,  its  baneful  influ- 
ence was  felt  in  every  fiber  and  tissue  of  the  system,  and  the 
whole  body  politic  became  a  mass  of  rottenness  and  corruption, 
and  then  came  the  struggle  between  freedom  any  tyranny  anew. 
A  struggle  for  life  or  death  of  the  nation.  Loyal  men  through- 
out the  land  were  anxious  observers  of  the  momentous  events 
transpiring,  awaiting  the  first  blow  from  the  hands  of  the  trai- 
tors. That  blow  was  struck,  Fort  Sumter  had  fallen,  and  the 
glorious  emblem  of  American  liberty  was  trailing  in  the  dust. 
At  the  first  quick  and  feverish  pulsation  through  the  electric 
nerves  of  the  country,  how  the  loyal  masses  sprang  to  arms  ;  the 
President  called  them,  and  nobly  did  they  respond  to  his  call. 
None  stopped  to  weigh  the  chances  of  life  or  death ;  none  stop- 
ped to  count  the  cost.  One  thought,  one  wish,  one  motive  ac- 
tuated all  loyal  hearts — to  save  the  nation.  It  was  easier  by 
far  to  get  men  than  arms,  for  arms  must  be  brought  from  Europe 
or  manufactured,  but  we  had  men,  brave  and  patriotic,  ready- 
made,  ready  at  the  call.  Then  followed  the  long,  dreary,  weary, 
anxious  four  years  of  the  most  gigantic  war  the  world  ever  be- 
held ;  the  long,  toilsome  and  weary  marches  through  rain  and 
mud,  the  dark  nights  of  lonely  watching  and  guarding,  and  the 
tumult  of  battle,  followed  each  other  in  such  unceasing  succes- 
sion, that  there  was  scarcely  any  rest  for  the  weary  soldier. 
How  fast  he  grew  old  ;  how  he  wasted  with  sickness ;  how  that 
grand  army  wasted  away ;  but  with  what  alacrity  was  it  replen- 
ished.  Scarcely  had  a  fallen  comrade's  place  become  vacant 
when  it  would  be  filled  by  a  new  recruit,  and  then  they  came 
"  six  hundred  thousand  more,"  and  still  they  came,  "  a  grand 
majestic  throng  "  from  every  quarter  of  the  loyal  North,  deter- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS  GRAVES.  535 

mined  to  save  their  country  or  die  in  the  noble  attempt.  'Twas 
well  that  we  knew  not  who  "of  our  "brave  boys  must  fall;" 
'twas  well  that  we  could  not  look  into  the  then  future  and  see 
the  army  of  our  maimed  and  wounded  comrades  disabled  for 
life;  'twas  well  that  we  could  not  see  the  waste  and  desolation 
of  war  in  all  its  horrors ;  'twas  well  that  we  could  not  then  com- 
pute the  load  of  national  debt  to  be  incurred,  to  save  the  na- 
tion's life.  We  saw  only  our  duty;  and  how  well  we  performed 
that  duty,  let  the  world,  let  posterity,  judge. 

Had  the  soldier  and  sailor  been  less  brave  and  patriotic 
where  would  have  been  the  nation  to-day  ?  Among  the  nations 
of  the  past.  The  right  of  secession  once  established,  and  this 
glorious  fabric  of  free  government  would  have  been  broken  into 
a  hundred  fragments,  and  anarchy  and  confusion,  eternal  war 
and  hate  would  have  been  the  result.  I  cannot,  I  will  not  at- 
tempt to  picture  what  would  have  been  had  the  citizen  soldier 
of  the  Republic  disappointed  the  hopes  of  the  nation.  I  gladly 
turn  from  such  thoughts  to  the  contemplation  of  the  results  of 
their  achievements.  A  nation  saved,  a  race  emancipated  and 
enfranchised.  The  world  moved  forward  a  half  a  century  in 
the  march  of  human  progress,  and  inspired  with  a  wholesome 
awe  of  the  young  giant  Republic  of  the  western  world,  and 
this  lias  been  accomplished  by  the  prowess  of  the  soldiers  and 
sailors  of  the  Republic.  The  brave  and  loyal  men  who  have 
fallen  in  this  struggle  are  placed  side  by  side  with  the  heroes  of 
the  revolution  in  the  affections  and  memories  of  the  American 
people,  and  ure  entitled  to  and  will  receive  from  posterity  the 
eame  veneration  and  love.  The  memory  of  our  fallen  Lyon 
and  Baker  and  Sedgwick,  Phil.  Kearney  and  Wadsworth, 
McPherson,  Reynolds,  Sumner,  Mitchell  and  Lander  is  as  sacred 
in  the  hearts  of  the  American  people  to-day,  as  the  me- 
mory of  the  fallen  heroes  of  the  Revolution.  And  just  as 
sacred  and  just  as  dear  as  those  illustrious  names  I  have  men- 
tinnpd  is  the  memory  of  hundreds  of  thousands  of  others  who 


tioned  is  the  memory  of 

did  their  duty  just  as  well,  though  not  called  to  nil  so  high  and 
responsible  'positions.  And  among  that  vast  army  are  the 
names  of  our  own  Wilkin,  and  Cook,  and  Mclvune,  and  Messick, 
and  Turner,  and  Pence,  and  Pierce,  and  Youells,and  Tope  and 
Davis,  Hagstrom,  Schrouth,  Reblee,  Randall  and  Reed.  May 
the  memory  of  the  heroic  dead  inspire  us  anew  with  the  spirit 
of  freedom  and  equal  rights  to  all  mankind  Had  they  lived 
and  came  not  to  the  rescue,  our  country  would  have  been  lost ; 
had  they  lived,  liberty  would  have  been  dead  ;  had  they  lived 
the  tyranny  of  caste  would  have  lorded  it  over  the  land  But 
they  died,  and  our  country  is  saved;  they  died,  and  liberty 


536  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

lives,  yes,  universal  liberty  for  all  within  this  vast  domain  of 
ours ;  they  died  and  slavery  is  dead,  and  we  can  now  say  as 
proudly  as  England  can,  that  "slaves  cannot  breathe  our  air." 
We  have  the  proud  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  this  vast  host 
of  onr  comrades  died  not  in  vain.  It  was  a  great  and  heroic 
sacrifice  that  they  made,  but  great  as  it  was,  the  grand  results 
accomplished  will  more  than  repay  it  all,  if  we,  their  survivors 
and  the  generations  which  shall  succeed  us  shall  stand  true  to 
the  cause  of  liberty  and  the  rights  of  man,  for  which  they  per- 
ished. Should  we  or  our  posterity  fail  to  do  that,  then  all  this 
war,  carnage  and  bloodshed  will  be  repeated  with  redoubled 
fury  and  will  exceed  in  magnitude  our  last  struggle  as  far  as 
that  did  the  struggle  of  onr  Revolutionary  fathers,  for  the  march 
of  the  world  is  forward  and  not  backward,  and  any  obstruction 
thrown  in  its  way  only  retards,  but  does  not  stop  its  progress 
arid  the  obstruction  is  sure  to  be  crushed  in  time  beneath  its 
steady  tread.  There  are  many  good  results  that  have  been 
brought  about  by  the  late  war.  To-day  you  and  I  can  go  into 
any  part  of  the  South  and  express  our  sentiments  freely  and 
safely,  which  was  not  the  case  before  the  war.  We  hear  no 
more  the  boast  that  one  Southern  man  can  whip  five  Yankees. 
They  learned  to  appreciate  northern  valor,  and  we  learned  to 
appreciate  their  valor  too.  Their  valor  was  worthy  a  better 
cause,  for  they  fought  bravely  and  well,  as  the  bloody  fields  of 
Pittsburg  Landing,  of  Chickamauga,  of  Gettysburg,  of  Antie- 
tam,  of  Malvern  Hill,  of  Spottsylvania  and  of  the  Wilderness, 
and  many  others  will  amply  testify.  But  our  brave  men  "  armed 
with  the  holy  cause  of  liberty,  were  invincible,"  and  the  victory 
was  ours.  The  country  was  saved  and  our  enemies  vanquished, 
beaten  and  humbled.  Throwing  down  their  arms  they  only 
expected  to  be  allowed  to  live,  willing  to  accept  any  terms  the 
government  might  see  fit  to  impose,  and  with  no  expectation 
of  dictating  terms  of  reconstruction.  The  victory  of  arms  was 
never  more  complete  and  thorough,  and  it  is  not  the  fault  of 
the  army  that  there  has  been  so  much  of  a  rebellious  spirit 
cropping  out  here  and  there.  No  nation  under  the  sun  ever 
gave  to  the  world  such  an  example  of  forgiveness  and  magna- 
nimity towards  its  conquered  enemies.  Instead  of  trying  and 
punishing  these  rebel  traitors  for  the  crimes  of  which  they 
stood  confessedly  guilty,  we  gave  them  their  life,  liberty  and 
property,  all  of  which  had  been  forfeited  by  the  laws  of  the 
land,  and  to  nearly  all  their  franchise  ;  in  fact,  the  government 
has  been  more  generous  than  just  towards  them.  The  result  of 
all  this  is,  that  we  see  State  governments  springing  into  exis' 
ence  all  through  the  South,  and  in  the  hands  of  loyal  men  ;  a1 


AT   THE    SOLDIERS     GRAVES.  537 

in  ten  years  I  confidently  hope  and  expect  that  there  will  be 
greater  sympathy  and  unity  of  feeling  between  the  people  of 
tin-  North  and  the  people  of  the  South  than  ever  existed  before 
the  war.  Each  having  learned  to  respect  the  valor  of  the  other, 
we  shall  hear  much  less  insulting  language  between  the  two 
sections.  Let  all  act  upon  the  maxim  enunciated  by  the  im- 
mortal Lincoln — "with  charity  to  all  men  and  malice  toward 
none,"  then  will  a  more  kindly  feeling  prevail.  But  while  the 
citizen  soldiers  of  the  Republic  would  act  generously  and  mag- 
nanimously toward  their  fallen  foes,  and  bid  them  live  and 
stand  erect  and  be  men  and  citizens  again,  they  demand  some 
guarantee  of  security  from  like  attacks  upon  the  nation's  life  in 
the  future.  The  toil,  fatigue,  hardship  and  exposure,  and  the 
fields  of  carnage,  and  their  dead  and  dying  comrades,  are  still 
too  fresh  in  their  memory  to  wish  that  it  may  be  repeated.  It 
was  duty  arid  not  pleasure  that  called  them  to  the  rescue.  As 
it  is  our  duty  to  cherish  the  memories  of  our  heroic  dead,  it  is 
no  less  our  duty  to  do  honor  to  the  living  heroes.  And  even 
now  the  names  of  Grant  and  Sherman,  and  Thomas  and  Sheri- 
dan, should  be,  and  I  believe  are,  in  all  loyal  hearts  as  sacred 
and  as  dear  as  the  names  of  Washington  and  his  compatriots. 
And  as  the  people  called  the  great  military  chieftain  of  the 
revolution  to  till  the  highest  office  within  their  gift,  so  the  people 
to-day  call  onr  great  chieftain  to  fill  the  same  position  once 
adorned  by  the  immortal  Washington,  and  the  sainted  martyr, 
Abraham  Lincoln.  Our  chieftain,  the  great  defender  of  his 
country,  like  the  father  of  his  country,  is  "First  in  war,  first  in 
pe.-ire/and  first  in  the  hearts  of  his  countrymen."  The  country 
will  be  safe  in  the  hands  of  its  defenders.  I  am  proud  to  have 
lived  in  the  19th  century.  I  am  now  proud  to  be  an  American 
citizen.  1  am  glad  to  have  lived  to  witness  the  struggle  between 
freedom  and  tyranny.  I  am  proud  of  the  grand  army  of  citi- 
zen soldiers  who  stood  between  their  country  and  ruin.  I  am 
1  .roiul  to  have  borne  some  humble  part  in  the  achievement  of 
such  jrrand  results.  And  let  me  see  the  country  placed  in  the 
hands  of  its  defenders,  and  peace,  quiet  and  harmony,  and 
brotherly  love  and  friendship,  order  and  law  prevailing  through- 
out the  land,  in  all  sections;  then,  when  these  results  shall  have 
been  fully  accomplished,  and  the  nation  is  in  the  full  enjoyment 
of  the  fruits  thereof,  and  the  great  reveille  is  sounded  tor  me, 
axvakino-  me  to  the  new  life  beyond,  I  will  willingly  go  down  to 
my  gi-Hve,  though  I  may  go  down  unwept,  unhonored  and  un- 
sung. 


538  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 


AT  OWATONNA,  MINNESOTA. 

Post  No.  5,  G.  A.  R.,  formed  in  line,  front  of  Masonic  Hall, 
and  inarched  from  thence  to  Forest  Hill  Cemetery,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  strewing  flowers  over  the  graves  of  their  fallen  com- 
rades. The  procession  was  headed  by  a  band  of  martial  music, 
followed  by  the  members  of  the  G.  A.  R.  and  a  large  concourse 
of  citizens  on  foot  and  in  carriages.  Arriving  at  the  cemetery, 
they  proceeded  to  decorate  the  grave  of  John  Wilcox,  after 
which  they  marched  to  the  resting-places  of  Messrs  Richardson, 
Morford,  and  Lieut.  Goodwin,  upon  whose  grave  a  beautiful 
bouquet  was  placed,  presented  by  Mrs.  M.  A.  Dailey.  After 
decoration,  the  company  assembled  under  the  "  flag  of  the  free," 
when  prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  L.  S.  Griggs,  after  which  a 
beautiful  dirge  was  sung  by  the  choir,  entitled  "  There  is  rest  in 
the  grave."  Hon.  M.  H.  Dunnell  then  delivered  the  following 
oration : 


MB.  Di^srxELi/s  ADDEESS. 


COMRADES  :  In  obedience  to  order,  and  in  harmony  with  the 
dictates  of  dearly  cherished  memories,  we  come,  this  beautiful 
morning,  to  decorate  the  graves  of  our  fallen,  heroic  dead.  "We 
bring  vernal  fh/wers,  we  decorate.  Our  deeds  cannot  affect  the 
dead,  and  yet  the  dead  may  justly  claim  these  acts  of  remem- 
brance from  us.  The  country  s  weal  pointed  to  them  the  grave ; 
they  entered  it,  and  that  weal  demands  of  us  to-day  a  recollec- 
tion of  their  deeds,  and  nothing  less  than  this  can  we  do  upon 
this  occasion.  Life  is  noble,  as  it  answers  some  noble  end,  and 
that  life  is  noble  which  is  least  unselfish,  and  which  is  given 
away  in  accordance  with  some  high  demand.  The  country  de- 
manded the  sacrifices  which  we  this  day  recollect,  and  we  come 
here  to  honor  those  who  fill  these  graves,  and  to  honor  the  lives 
of  those  who  have  thus  been  sacrificed.  They  were  not  sacri- 
ficed in  the  pathway  of  gain  or  personal  ambition,  but  in  the 
pathway  of  their  country — where  it  called  them,  they  went  and 
fell.  These  mounds  which  we  this  day  decorate,  comrades,  are 
not  indeed  monuments  of  brass,  or  marble,  or  stone.  They  have 
not  been  reared  by  wealth,  and  yet  every  particle  of  dust  which 
goes  to  make  up  these  mounds,  if  we  but  rightly  listen,  are  vo- 
cal with  the  praise  of  those  whose  bodies  lie  mouldering  within. 
From  what  place  can  the  fragrance  of  these  vernal  flowers  more 
appropriately  ascend  to  Heaven  than  from  the  dust  that  covers 
the  fallen  braves.  If  God  gladly  receives  the  fragrance  of  the 
flowers,  He  will  receive  it  as  it  comes  from  the  grave  of  a  fallen 
comrade.  This  day  will  open  up  afresh  many  a  heart,  and  while 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  539 

we  here  to-day  gathered  around  these  mounds,  and  while  mant 
ot  us  perform  mere  acts  of  remembrance,  there  are  fathers 
mothers,  sisters  and  brothers,  to  whom  this  act  of  ours  will  ™ 


a  sad  remembrance  of  those  who  have  fallen  in  defense  of  their 
beloved  country.      A  mother  will  be  left  alone,  a  son    a  father 
gone,  gone  !    A  sister  will  remember  the  manly  form  of  a  loved 
brother.     A  brother  will  remember  to-day  the  body  of  him  who 
died  for  his  country's  defense.      This  scene  will  brino-  back  the 
many  scenes  of  the  war.     There  are  thousands  and  tens  of  thou- 
sands^ of  these  mounds,  these  monuments  to  patriotism,  to  self- 
sacrificing  devotion,  to-day  far  away  where  on  this  beautiful 
day  no  friendly  hand  will  strew  with  flowers.    They  rest  to-day 
in  southern  climes,  where  no  friendly  feet  will  tread,  nor  will 
friendly  hands  scatter  fragrant  flowers  in  memory  of  their  brave 
deeds.     May  God  hasten  the  day  when  not  a  grave  shall  hold 
•idier  of  the  Union,  but  there  shall  be  around  the  graves 
in  every  community  hearts  so  full  of  patriotism,  so  full  of  loy- 
alty, that  every  grave  from  one  end  of  the  land  to  the  other 
shall  on  its  annual  occasion  be  strewn  with  those  wild  flowers, 
emblems  of  the  fresh  remembrances.     (Amen  )     This  is  a  day 
for  the  exercise  of  sympathy.    "We  to-day  mingle  our  tears  with 
those  who  indeed  come  here  to  weep,  and  the  exercise  of  this 
sympathy  is  calculated  to  ennoble  us.      We  can  exercise  this 
sympathy  for  those  who  stand  around  the  graves  of  friends.   As 
we  stand  here  by  the  graves  of  these  soldier  boys  we  have  higher 
conceptions  of  duty.     We  understand  better  the  relations  we 
sustain  to  the  Government.     We  cherish  its  institutions  and  we 
love  it  all  the  more.     And  when  we  have  performed  this  simple 
act  we  will  go  away  from  this  place  better  men  and  better  wo- 
men, loving  our  country  more,  and  loving  each  other  more,  and 
loving  Heaven  more.     We  are  more  patriotic  as  we  approach 
the.-e  graves.    We  go  away  feeling  that  the  country  may  yet  de- 
mand of  us  sacrifices,  and  when  the  sacrifice  is  made,  as  the  of- 
ferers of  that  sacrifice  we  are  made  the  nobler  and  the  better, 
and  here  to-day,  as  though  upon  the  altars  of  our  country,  we 
renew  our  pledges  of  devotion  to  it.     The  soldiers,  representing 
those  who  in  the  camp  and  field,  and  amid  the  carnage  of  war 
stood  fast  and  firm  and  unflinchingly  to  the  demands  of  their 
country,  and  defended  it  against  the  combined  assaults  of  the 
enemy*  come  here  to-day  to  garland  the  graves  of  their  com- 
rades.    As  we  go  away  "from  this  place,  we  go  feeling  that  our 
hearts  have  been  made  better  ;  that  the  remembrances  of  noble, 
daring  deeds,  which  make  us  all  the  more  willing  in  the  future 
to  sacrifice  in  the  country  weal,  and  I  hope  the  time  may  never 
come  when  these  graves,  that  are  sublime  records  of  our  coun- 


540  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

try's  patriotism,  shall  ever  be  forgotten ;  that  the  approach  to 
them  maybe  made  pleasant  and  inviting;  that  they  shall  be 
annually  visited,  and  upon  them  the  tears  of  affection  and  pat- 
riotism be  dropped,  and  that  in  our  own  hearts  may  be  nou- 
rished and  cherished,  and  be  made  to  abound  with  earnest,  un- 
faltering patriotism  upon  which  the  nation  relied  in  its  late 
struggle,  and  upon  which  it  may  rely  in  the  future.  Relying 
upon 'this,  what  shall  retard  us?  "With  virtue,  intelligence,  and 
patriotism  to  guide  us,  our  nation  will  be  as  prosperous  in  the 
future  as  it  has  been  in  the  past,  and  we  ourselves  constantly 
cherishing  the  remembrance  of  those  who  so  bravely  fought  and 
defended  the  country  in  its  hour  of  peril  and  danger.  And  as 
we  separate,  let  us  call  to  mind  those  who,  with  us,  fought  and 
fell.  Remembering  their  virtues,  their  sacrifices,  may  we  sepa- 
rate, and,  with  measured  tread,  and  with  hearts  swelling  with 
emotion  toward  those  who  have  thus  fallen  and  have  so  worthily 
honored  themselves  and  the  country,  and  so  securely  preserved 
it  for  us ;  and  may  we  in  turn  preserve  it  and  hand  it  down  to 
those  who  shall  come  after  them.  Peace  to  the  noble  dead. 
We  leave  these  graves,  and  as  we  leave  them  we  promise  to 
keep  in  our  minds  their  memories  fresh  and  green,  and  as  per- 
fumed as  these  vernal  flowers  with  which  we  have  this  day  deco- 
rated their  graves. 

At  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Dunnell's  remarks  the  song  "O, 
wrap  the  flag  around  me,  boys,"  was  beautifully  rendered,  at  the 
close  of  which  Mr.  Russell  pronounced  the  benediction,  and  the 
assemblage  took  their  homeward  march,  feeling  that  they  had 
done  "  honor  to  the  brave." 

AT  FRANKFORT,  KENTUCKY. 

Ample  preparations  had  been  made  to  render  the  occasion 
one  of  suitable  character  with  the  laudable  purpose  in  view. 
iThe  ladies  of  the  town  and  county  prepared  and  supplied  an 
'abundance  of  flowers,  with  wreaths,  festoons,  evergreens,  and 
floral  designs  of  exquisite  grace  and  beauty.  These  were  sent 
to  the  Court  House  by  2  o'clock  P.  M.,  where  the  procession  was 
to  assemble.  And  not  only  was  this  just  interest  manifested  by 
the  friends  of  the  dead  soldiers  in  our  immediate  vicinity,  but 
other  places  claimed  a  share  in  the  patriotic  contributions. 
From  four  Federal  officers  at  Cynthiana,  Ky.  (Col.  W.  P.  Roper, 
of  6th  Ky.  Cav.,  Capts.  R.  F.  Long,  4th  Ky.  Infy.,  W.  C.  Mus- 
selman,  20th  Ky.  Inty.,  and  Lieut.  H.  M.  McGee,  7th  Ky.  Cav.), 
an  elaborate  and  handsome  floral  arch,  decorated  with  ribbons 
representing  the  national  colors,  was  received,  with  the  request 
that  it  be  placed  over  the  graves  of  their  dead  comrades  in 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  541 

arras.  From  Paris  and  from  Danville  were  contributions  of 
choice  and  fragrant  flowers,  donated  by  sympathizing  hearts 
illed  with  loving  respect  for  the  fallen  brave.  At  2  o'clock  p  M  ' 
the  procession  began  assembling  at  the  Court  House.  Arms' 
and  a  uniform  consisting  of  blouses  of  blue  with  caps,  had  been 
provided  for  the  late  Federal  soldiers,  who  organized  under  the 
command  of  Col.  Jno.  Mason  Brown.  Dark-colored  pants  were 
worn  to  o-ive  uniformity  to  the  array.  Saxton's  Brass  Band, 
from  Lexington,  headed  the  procession,  which  formed  with  its 
right  toward  Wappipg  street.  The  following  order,  agreed 
upon  by  the  Committee  of  Arrangements,  was  observed : 

Saxton's  Brass  Band ;  platoons  of  late  Federal  soldiers ;  floral 
arch  from  Cynthiana;  platoons  of  late  Federal  soldiers ;  tattered 
regimental  flags  of  Kentucky  troops ;  platoons  of  late  Federal 
soldiers ;  wagon  containing  eight  young  ladies  ;  citizens. 

The  flags  borne  in  the  procession  were  those  of  the  22d  In- 
fantry, 45th  Mounted  Infantry,  loth  Infantry  (orphan  regiment), 
and  the  6th  Ky.  Cavalry.  A  beautiful  flag,  embleming  in  its ' 
folds  the  stars  and  stripes,  was  borne  in  the  wagon  with  the 
young  ladies.  These  young  ladies,  eight  in  number,  represented 
the  States  and  localities  whose  dead  reposed  in  the  cemetery. 
The  representatives  were  as  follows  : 

United  States,  represented  by  Miss  Lottie  Todd ;  Kentucky, 
Miss  Annie  McClure  ;  Indiana,  Miss  Mattie  Settle;  Ohio,  Miss 
Ada  Mclvee;  Illinois,  Miss  Laura  Hatchitt ;  Maryland,  Miss 
Jennie  Todd ;  Michigan,  Miss  Lou  "Watson ;  Capitol  Guards, 
Miss  Annie  Gray. 

The  Capital  Guards  were  a  battalion  of  troops  stationed  at 
the  Capital  of  the  State.  The  entire  procession  was  under  the 
charge  of  Dr.  J.  M.  Mills  as  Chief  Marshal. 

On  arriving  at  the  Cemetery,  the  first  step  in  the  order  of 
arrangements  was  the  successive  decoration  of  the  graves  of 
those  who  lay  apart  from  the  general  circle  of  the  federal  dead, 
interred  in  family  plats.  The  column,  moving  to  an  appropriate 
dirge  along  the  winding  road  under  the  shadows  of  the  pines 
and  evergreens,  successfully  halted  as  each  separate  grave  was 
reached,  and  while  standing  at  a  "  present  arms,"  a  squad  deco- 
rated the  graves  with  flowers.  The  lamented  dead  who  thus 
received  the  tribute  of  their  comrades'  honors  are  comprised  in 
the  following  list — gallant  spirits  who  gave  their  dearest,  best 
treasure,  their  lives,  for  their  country,  or  have  followed  those 
•who  have  gone  before :  Cols.  Kobt.  H.  King,  James  "W.  Crad- 
dock,  Surgeon  Jno.  O.  Keenon,  Captains  Albert  Bacon,  Dan. 
Garrard,  W.  T.  McClure,  Lieutenants  Dennis  Haly,  Frank 
Todd,  Joseph  McClure,  Sergeants  .Richard  Davenport,  Lucien 


542  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

McKee,  Fleming  Meek,  Wm.  "Walls,  Privates  Burns,   W. 

Pifer,  Jno.  Henderson,  Geo.  Berry.  Wm.  Riter,  Jno.  Sullivan, 
and  Two  Unknowns. 

These  tributes  having  been  rendered,  the  procession  marched 
to  the  circle  of  graves  where  lay  the  greater  number  of  the 
federal  dead,  decently  interred  by  the  United  States  authorities, 
and  formed  in  line  on  the  east  side  of  the  many  little  mounds 
under  which  repose  the  dust  of  those  who  once  marched  at  the 
call  of  their  country,  but  never  again  returned  to  those  who 
watched  and  waited  at  home.  The  exercises  were  opened  with 
prayer  by  Rev.  Wm.  Todd  Egbert,  of  the  Episcopal  Church. 
This  was  followed  by  the  address  of  Col.  Jno.  Mason  Brown, 
as  follows : 

MY  COMRADES  :  If  it  were  not  for  one  consideration,  I 
should  have  felt  in  duty  bound  to  have  declined  the  honor  of 
addressing  you  at  this  time  and  place.  That  consideration  is 
that  the  reasons  for  this  demonstration  and  the  feelings  that 
prompt  it,  are  plain  to  the  appreciation  of  the  plainest  among  us 
and  not  liable  to  misinterpretation  even  in  the  most  unprepared 
remarks.  It  is  impossible  for  the  most  elaborate  preparation  to 
overdraw  the  grand  suggestions  that  arise  from  such  an  occasion. 
The  most  gifted  orator  might  find  in  it  a  theme  worthy  of  all 
his  powers,  and  might  vainly  attempt  the  portrayal  of  the  sym- 
pathies and  associations  springing  from  the  scene  and  its  sur- 
roundings. He  might  advert  most  glowingly  to  the  patriotic 
self-sacrifice  of  those  who  sleep  around  us,  to  the  glorious  cause 
for  which  they  deliberately  died,  to  the  weight  of  gratitude  and 
reverence  which  the  free  people  of  a  great  nation  will  increas- 
ingly feel  for  their  memories  and  their  deeds.  And  he  might 
carry  you,  in  a  noble  enthusiasm,  to  the  height  whence  might 
be  seen  a  long  train  of  great  events,  pregnant  with  blessings  to 
mankind,  multiplying  in  number  and  power  from  year  to  year, 
and  from  generation  to  generation,  springing,  all  of  them,  from 
the  germ  of  patriot  principle;  and  nourished  with  the  blood  of 
those  true  heroes  who  knew  their  duty  and  did  it  in  despite  of 
death.  But,  for  all  the  capabilities  of  such  an  occasion,  and 
the  grandeur  of  its  suggestions,  it  needs  no  philosopher  to  dis- 
cover the  motives  of  this  demonstration,  nor  culture  or  learning, 
to  feel  its  causes  and  its  sympathies.  The  thoughts  of  this  hour 
are  plain  and  simple.  They  are  clear  to  the  understanding  of 
the  plainest  of  us,  and  the  most  unpracticed  among  us  can,  in 
some  fashion,  give  form  to  the  common  feeling  of  us  all.  I  feel 
sure  that  I  cannot  far  mis-state  your  sentiments,  even  though 
not  prepared  as  the  occasion  deseaves,  and  unequal  to  the  full 
measure  of  the  duty,  as  I  feel  myself  to  be.  We  are  here,  Com- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  543 

rades,  to  publicly  demonstrate  our  veneration  for  the  memories 
of  our  fellow  soldiers  who  have  gone  before  us,  and  to  bear 
witness  that  the  truths  which  they  asserted  even  to  the  death  are, 
with  us,  fresh  and  vital  and  as  fall  of  power  as  when  we  stood 
shoulder  to  shoulder,  in  the  leaden  storm,  with  those  whose 
graves  we  this  day  decorate.  The  bloody  years  are  past,  God 
grant  forever,  the  days  of  battle  and  the  nights  of  toilsome 
inarching  are^gone;  the  armed  combatant  is  nowhere  seen  in 
the  land.  We,  who  not  many  months  since  followed  the  drum 
and  bugle  far  from  our  homes,  have  resumed  the  peaceful  pur- 
suits of  the  civilian.  We  have  returned,  one  to  his  farm, 
another  to  his  bench,  another  to  his  office,  and  another  to  his 
shop.  The  trappings  of  war  have  been  discarded — save  when 
some  commemorative  day  like  this  brings  forth  to  the  light  the 
worn  uniforms  and  rusted  blades  of  our  soldier  life.  We  live 
peacefully  and  pursue  in  tranquility  the  honest  avocations  of 
the  citizen's  life.  Why  is  this,  and  why  can  we  lay  aside  the 
bayonet,  and  trust,  with  an  unfailing  confidence,  in  the  civil  power 
of  the  land  ?  It  is  because  the  Cause,  for  which  you  fought,  and 
for  which  thase  died,  has  triumphed.  It  is  because  that  glorious 
banner,  rent  though  it  be  with  bullet  and  shell,  burned  with  the 
flames  of  a  hundred  fights,  and  stained  with  the  tempests  of  a 
score  of  campaigns,  yet  floats,  the  unhumbled  ensign  of  a  Great 
Nation,  saved  from  the  jaws  of  death  by  the  unselfish  valor  of 
her  sons.  It  is  because  these  braves  and  those  like  them,  were 
willing  to  die  that  the  Nation  might  live.  It  is  because  the 
blood  of  true  men  quenched  the  flames  that  wrapped  the  temple 
of  Freedom.  It  is  because  the  stones  of  the  fabric  of  our  lib- 
erties and  our  safety,  have  been  cemented  anew  by  the  blood  of 
the  dead  of  the  Grand  Army.  Can  we,  fellow  soldiers,  forget 
them  \  Can  their  memory  perish  from  the  earth  ?  Will  a  great 
people  forget  its  defenders  ?  Will  the  lovers  of  liberty  around 
the  globe  let  their  fame  cease  who  saved  the  citadel  of  Freedom 
in  the  darkest  hour  ?  No  !  the  glory  of  their  fame  is  undying  ! 
The  little  mound  of  Marathon,  where  slumber  the  Greeks,  who 
saved  the  world  from  Asiatic  barbarism,  is  a  holier  spot  than 
the  site  of  City  or  pyramid  or  palace ;  and  while  civilization 
endures,  the  glory  of  "that  little  band  will  outshine  the  pomp  of 
kings  and  the  pride  of  luxury  and  power.  Time  will  come 
when  the  common  consent  of  humanity  will  number  our  dead 
comrades  among  the  heroes  and  benefactors  of  mankind  ;  when 
the  o;reen  mounds  above  them  will  be  known  as  true  altars  of 
patrotism  and  liberty  ;  when  patriots  of  all  nations  and  climes 
sh*ll  gather  new  inspiration  at  their  graves— and  recognize  how 
endunno-  is  the  fame  of  those  who  bravely  die  in  the  cause  of 


544  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Right  and  Justice  and  their  country.  Time  will  destroy  the 
marble  of  our  tombs.  No  chiseled  epitaph  can  survive  his  at- 
tack. The  steel  of  our  bayonets  must  perish.  The  names  we 
bear  will  be  unknown  to  those  who  succeed  us  an  hundred 
years.  But  there  is  a  shrine  in  the  temple  of  the  ages,  where 
lie  forever  embalmed  the  memories  of  such  as  have  deserved 
well  of  their  country  and  their  race.  There  will  be  treasured 
alike  the  time  glory  of  him  who  passed  in  the  storm  of  battle 
and  the  none  less  heroic  martyr  of  the  hospital.  The  patriots 
of  future  generations  may  not  identity  the  occupants  of  these 
graves  by  name  or  private  history.  To  them  it  may  be  un- 
known, whether  the  dust  be  that  of  King,  of  dashing  sabre  and 
sounding  spur,  or  of  Garrard,  who,  while  yet  a  boy,  died  like  a 
man,  at  the  head  of  the  stormers,  or  of  McClure,  who  with  un- 
faltering and  Christian  courage  calmly  faced  the  unpi tying  and 
slow  advance  of  death,  and  died,  the  truest  of  heroes,  at  his  post 
of  honor  and  of  duty.  The  name  for  each  of  them  in  the  after- 
time  will  be  that  of  "  United  States  Soldier"  That  term  will 
epitomize  the  fire  and  storm  of  war,  and  the  unselfish  devotion 
of  those  who  sleep  around  us.  It  will  picture  to  men's  minds 
the  awful  time  when  fratricidal  conflict  prevailed  throughout  our 
borders  ;  when  the  best  blood  flowed  freely  for  what  men  judged 
the  Right ;  when  these  dead  heroes  surrendered  their  lives  that 
their  country  might  live.  Around  us  lie  many  whom  we  have 
known  and  loved  in  former  days.  Companions  of  our  marches, 
sharers  of  our  toils,  comrades  in  battle  and  danger,  brothers  in 
the  service  of  our  country,  are  this  day  the  recipients  of  our 
marks  of  affection  and  respect. 

How  many  memories  of  the  camp  and  the  field  this  day  crowd 
upon  us.  How  many  regrets  for  the  days  gone  by  when  our  com- 
rades were  stalwart  men-at-arms,  prompt  to  their  country's 
help !  These,  comrades,  are  but  our  advanced  guard.  Their 
tour  of  duty  done,  their  labors  accomplished,  they  have  passed 
the  dark  river,  to  encamp  forever  on  those  green  and  happy 
plains  where  is  the  eternal  reward  of  those  who  know  their  duty 
and  do  it.  Daily  is  the  number  of  us  their  survivors  decreasing. 
Another  and  another  veteran  marches  to  join  those  who  have 
gone  before.  Let  us  cherish  their  memories,  let  us  honor  their 
graves.  And,  persistent  in  duty  and  right,  let  us  endeavor  to 
look  forward  undismayed  to  the  last  and  general  reveille  when 
we  and  our  comrades  shall  appear  to  await  the  solemn  and  final 
inspection. 

The  graves  of  the  dead  soldiers  were  then  decorated,  after 
which  a  salute  of  three  rounds  was  fired  over  the  graves,  and 
the  benediction  was  pronounced  by  Rev.  Mr.  Egbert.  There 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  545 

were  about  one  thousand  persons  present  at  these  ceremonies 
As  the  column  moved  from  the  grounds,  it  halted  for  a  few 
moments  while  the  members  of  Saxton's  band  played  a  dime 
over  and  decorated  the  grave  of  Dennis  Haly,  formerly  a  mem- 
their  organization.     It  then  resumed  its  march  to  the 
Court  House,  and  on  its  arrival  there  dismissed. 
A   T1!?  f -aVeS  f^oratedv  comprising  every  one,  were  those  of 
the  following  soldiers :     J.  N.  Griffee,  Co.  H,  19  Kv.  Yols    Lt 
DO.  Moren  Co^A  24  Ky.  Vols.,  Sergt.  Alfred  Ramey,  Co.-, 

To  JX    ^  Vi  KT 6Ay'  C°-  J>  n  K^  ™s"  E-  &  <W 
Co  A,  30  Ky.  Yols.,  C.  Gunn,  Co.  H,  10  Ky.  Yols.,  G    E 

Kelly  Co.  D,  30  Ky.  Yols.,  W.  Hopkins,  Co.  C,  30  Kv   Yols  ' 
H.  a  Hardin,  Co  J,  30  Ky.  Yols,  J.  T.  S.  Hardy,  Co.  A,  30 

v  Jon  £S>'£  F'SI|4BS  C°-  A'  3°  K^  Yok'  W-  Clifton,  Co. 
E,  30  Ky  Yols.,  W  P  Bryant,  Co.  K,  7  Ky.  Cav,  J.  Graham, 
Co.—  7  Ky.  Cav.,  E.  Luntsford,  Co.—,  7  Ky.  Cav,  B.  Armi- 
tage,  Co.—,  7  Ky.  Cav,  Alex.  Wines,  Co.  F,  7  Ky.  Cav,  J 
Kirkwood,  Co.  H,  45  M't'dlnft,  Jos.  Montgomery,  Co.  F  22 
Ky.  Yois,  J.  B.  Farson,  Co.  F,  22  Ky.  Yols,  J.  R.  Stephens, 
Co.  B,  30  Ky.  Yols,  J.  Edwards,  Co.  B,  30  Ky.  Yols,  J  J 
Powell,  Co.  A.  30  Ky.  Yols,  A.  Schnaeffer,  Co.E,30Kv.  Yols. 
G.  Sleet,  Co.  B,  32  Ky.  Yols,  J.  B.  Marshall,  Co.  B/32  Kv. 
Yols,E.  Stewart,  Co.  B,  32  Ky.  Yols,  S.  Osbom,  Co.  A,  32 
Ky.  Yols,  W.  Hubbard,  Co.  I,  7  Ky.  Yols,  2  Ky.  soldiers, 
names  unknown  ;  Joe  Matthews,  Co.  H,  103  Ohio,  H.'l.  Os<>-ood> 
Co.  H,  103  Ohio,  J.  Colbers,  Co.  E,  103  Ohio,  J.  Hudson!"  Co. 
C,  103  Ohio,  H.  Martin,  Co.  K,  103  Ohio,  J.  King^  Co.  G,  103 
Ohio,  J.  Long,  Co.  G,  100  Ohio,  L.  Abbott,  Co.  F,  100  Ohio, 
C.  O.  Black,  Co.  C,  100  Ohio,  Jo.  Keens,  Co.  C,  100  Ohio,  A. 

Morgan,  Co.  B,  100  Ohio,  Jno.  C ,  Co.   F,  100   Ohio,  E. 

Hope,  Co.  H,  104  Ohio,  T.  W.  Taylor,  Co.  F,  104  Ohio,  J. 
Minier,  Co.  B,  104  Ohio,  L.  M,  Co.—,  44  Ohio,  W.  Black,  Co. 
B,  79  Ohio,  J.  Feinthal,  Co.—,  106  Ohio,  J.  W.  Sly,  Co.  A,  98 
Ills,  August  Hoge,  Co.  C,  98  Ills,  Jno.  Cox,  Co.—,  104  Ills, 
J.  McFarland,  Co.  E,  105  Ills,  C.  H.  Rogers,  Co.  A,  102  Ills., 
W.  D,  Co.—,  102  Ills,  R.  Watson,  Co.—,  102  Ills,  J.  P.  B. 
Brown,  Co.  K,  120  Ills,  J.  C.  P.  Smith,  Co.—,  72  Ind,  C. 
Moritz,  Co.  I,  75  Ind,  J.  R  Wood,  Co.  I,  75  Ind,  Wes.  An- 
drews, Co.  H,  75  Ind,  H.  Hunter,  Co.  B,  55  Ind,  J.  W.  Pul~ 
lian,  Co.  A,  6  Ind.  Cav,  J.  B.  Welber,  Co.—  23  Mich,  J. 
Becker,  Co.  B,  23  Mich,  G.  W.  Alger,  Co.  B,  23  Mich.,  D. 
Thurston,  Co.  G,  23  Mich,  H.  H.  Shurtliff,  Co.  H,  23  Mich, 
Wm.  P.  Jones,  Co.  C,  2  Md.  Vol.,  Capt.  J.  O.  French,  Co.—, 
116  U.  S.  C.  Infy,  R.  A.  Simons,  Co.  A,  Capital  Guards,  Geo. 
Howell,  Co.  K,  Capital  Guards,  L.  C.  Ramey,  Co.  G,  Capital 


546  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Guards,  R.  B.  Docking,  Co.  A,  Capital  Guards,  L.  "Wellman, 
Co.  E,  Capital  Guards,  J.  R.  Warnock,  Co.  B,  Capital  Guards, 
Harry  Davis,  Co.  L,  Capital  Guards,  Richard  Glore,  Co.  — , 
Capital  Guards,  Robt.  Prow,  Co.  B,  Capital  Guards,  J.  R. 
AVilks,  Co.  D,  Capital  Guards,  J.  J.  Kennady,  Co.  — ,  Capital 
Guards,  J.  Johnson,  Co.  G,  Capital  Guards,  Herm  Worth,  tf.  S. 

Soldier,  W.  Houk,  W.  C.  Cheyney,  T.  Curtis,  Hardin ; 

Eighteen  U.  S.  Soldiers,  names  unknown. 

AT  LEXINGTON,  KENTUCKY. 

The  procession  formed  at  Odd  Fellows'  Hall  soon  after  two 
o'clock.  On  the  right  was  the  Newport  United  States  band, 
next  a  company  of  the  Second  United  States  Infantry  under 
Captain  Falk  and  Lieutenant  Danforth,  and  on  the  left  an  escort 
of  one  hundred  discharged  Federal  soldiers,  under  General  H. 
K.  Milward.  General  S.  W.  Price,  Colonel  R.  E.  Johnston, 
United  States  Army,  in  full  uniform,  Colonel  P.  B.  Hunt, 
Colonel  Schofield  and  Colonel  Scott,  marshals  of  the  day,  start- 
ed the  procession  for  the  ground  shortly  before  three  o'clock 
Thirty-seven  little  girls,  representing  the  States  of  the  Union, 
preceded  the  procession,  drawn  in  omnibuses.  On  reaching  the 
grounds,  the  soldiers  were  formed  near  the  stand,  and  Gen. 
Price  commanded  silence,  while  the  Rev.  Dr.  R.  S.  Hitchcock, 
offered  up  an  impressive  prayer.  The  little  girls  dressed  in 
white,  and  wearing  red,  white,  and  blue  sashes  inscribed  with 
the  names  of  the  States,  and  bearing  wreaths  and  bouquets, 
then  proceeded  to  decorate  the  thirty-seven  reserved  graves. 
After  music  by  the  baud,  the  following  poem,  by  Capt.  R.  C. 
Marsh,  of  Lexington,  Ky.,  was  read  by  Col.  Pollard : 

THE  UNION  DEAD. 

We've  gather d  comrades,  true  and  brave, 

In  garlanded,  bright  May, 
On  many  a  fellow-soldier's  grave 

An  offering  fair  to  lay  ; 
And,  with  us  are  sparkling  faces 

And  f'>rms  of  gentlest  mold, 
But  we  think  of  other  places 

And  the  forms  these  sods  enfold. 

While  we  scatter  these  tender  May  blooms, 

Where  peacefully  they  rest, 
And  catch  the  roseate  perfumes, 

Exhaled  o'er  each  still  breast, 
We  may  think  of  camp-fires  gleaming 

Where,  in  their  griefs  and  joys, 
They  oft  were  waked,  by  shouts  from  dreaming, 

To  arms!  to  arms !  again  brave  boys ! 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        547 

And  "  rally  round  the  flag  "  would  fly 

The  bristling  lines  alon<r, 
Wliile  with  firm  step  and  dauntless  eye 

The  anthem  they'd  prolong ; 
And  still,  as  flew  the  shot  and  shell 

In  hissing  flames  around, 
On  !  pressing  onward  'till  the  fall, 

They  plowed  the  bloody  ground. 

In  dashing  manhood's  flush  and  pride, 

Their  noble  heads  were  bowed — 
They  fearless  fought  and  bravely  died 

To  gain  an  honored  shroud. 
And  some  died  victory  claiming 

As  their  sad  work  was  done, 
And  some  recked  not,  in  their  maiming, 

Of  proud  fields  lost  or  won. 

Brave  comrades,  while  we  are  giving 

Their  graves  these  flowers  rare, 
We  may  think  of  them  as  living 

In  realms  more  sweetly  fair, 
"Where,  in  bloodless  fields  we'll  meet  them — 

Fields  of  eternal  bloom, 
Where,  as  brothers,  we  may  greet  them, 

Nor  know  a  cloud  of  gloom. 

"When  the  reading  of  the  poem  was  concluded,  Prof.  Bobert 
Graham  was  introduced  to  the  audience,  and  delivered  the  open- 
ing oration : 

LADIKS  AND  GENTLEMEN  :  When  invited  by  your  Committee 
of  Arrangements  to  take  part  in  the  touching  ceremonies  of  this 
day,  I  consented,  on  condition  that  I  should  not  be  required  to 
prepare  a  formal  address.  My  tastes,  my  duties  and  my  abilities 
alike  forbid  that  I  should  attempt  anything  of  that  kind ;  but  if 
my  small  tribute  shall  add  anything  to  the  honor  of  the  dead,  or 
the  satisfaction  of  the  living,  then  it  is  freely  given,  for  were  I 
to  refuse  to  say  a  few  words  to-day,  methinks  two  hundred 
thousand  attenuated  forms  would  rise  from  their  lowly  beds,  and, 
pointing  their  shadowy  fingers  at  me,  would  cry  "  For  shame ! " 
Cold,  indeed,  must  be  the  heart  that  is  not  moved  by  what  we 
have  just  witnessed.  This  solemn  music,  the  fervent  prayer, 
the  stirring  poem,  the  festooned  bowers,  the  young  and  beautiful 
who  adorn  these  quiet  graves,  this  bright  day;  this  lovely  ceme- 
tery, where  art  vies  with  nature  to  rob  death  of  half  its  terrors, 
and  above  all,  the  memories — the  sad,  solemn  memories — that 
cluster  to  our  hearts  while  we  think  of  the  suffering,  the  agony, 
and  sacrifice  through  which,  under  God,  the  dreadful  conflict 
was  brought  to  an  end — all,  all  conspire  to  move  us  to  tender- 
ness and  tears.  When  the  war  that  brought  these  brave  men 


548  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

to  their  untimely  end  began,  our  country  enjoyed  unexampled 
prosperity.  A  long  peace,  broken  only  by  a  few  short,  sharp 
conflicts  with  the  sons  of  the  glade  and  the  forest,  and  with  the 
half-civilized  nation  on  our  southern  border,  had  fostered  our 
industry,  extended  our  commerce,  cultivated  the  arts,  and  made 
our  prosperity  and  our  free  institutions  the  wonder  of  the  world. 
In  a  fatal  hour  a  spark  was  struck  in  Charleston  harbor  that  set 
our  whole  country  in  a  blaze.  The  conflagration  spread  on 
every  side  ;  the  inflammable  material,  collected  during  years  of 
political  animosity,  was  drawn  in  by  the  great  arms  of  the  lam- 
bent flame,  and  added  fury  to  the  devouring  element.  The 
glare  mounted  up  to  heaven,  and  the  cry.  The  great  Republic, 
the  hope  of  Freedom's  children  in  all  lands,  is  on  tire  !  was  heard 
over  the  civilized  globe.  The  woodsman  who  plied  his  vocation 
in  the  forests  of  Maine,  as  he  stood  on  the  fallen  pine,  i.is  ax 
poised  in  air,  paused  as  his  ear  caught  again  and  ajrain  the  wild 
alarm  of  war ;  the  ax  lies  at  the  root  of  the  tree,  the  woodsman 
is  gone  to  join  his  comrades  on  the  tented-field.  The  cry  is 
caught  on  the  summit  of  Bunker  Hill,  and  the  plains  of  Con- 
cord and  Lexington  are  again  swarming  with  armed  men.  The 
marts  of  commerce,  the  emporiums  of  trade,  sensible  to  the 
least  disturbance  in  social  life,  are  now  excited  as  never  before. 
The  peaceable  and  busy  artisan,  the  man  of  gain,  the  student  at 
his  task,  the  judge  in  his  ermine,  and  the  bishop  in  his  lawn, 
men  of  all  grades,  classes  and  pursuits,  stand  amazed,  and  leave 
their  accustomed  callings.  The  blast  mounts  to  the  summits  of 
the  Alleghanies,  and  along  the  quiet  rivers  and  over  the  prairies 
of  the  West,  swells  the  summons  to  arms.  The  pilot  muses  in 
sadness  as  the  solemn  quiet  of  his  midnight  toil  is  broken  by  the 
cry;  the  plow  is  left  in  the  furrow,  the  unyoked  oxen  in  the  half- 
plowed  field.  The  ravines  and  gorges  of  the  liocky  Mountains 
reverberate,  and  the  snowy  crests  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  re-echo 
the  sound,  as  it  passes  on  to  the  land  where  roll  the  Sacramento 
and  the  turbid  Oregon.  Then,  well  do  1  remember  with  what 
grief  some  of  us  went  to  our  closets  of  prayer,  and  asked  the 
Merciful  Father  to  let  this  cup  pass  from  us;  what  fervor  moved 
our  petitions  that  He,  the  God  of  peace  and  love,  would  speak 
to  the  risen  storm,  and  say,  "  Peace,  be  still."  Oh !  my  coun- 
trymen, it  is  sad  for  a  people  to  pass  from  the  dominion  of  rea- 
son to  the  dominion  of  force.  The  patriots  of  former  years 
prayed  that  they  might  not  see  the  day  when  States  should  be 
drenched  in  fraternal  blood,  and  their  desire  was  granted ;  how 
gladly  would  some  of  us  have  gone  to  lie  down  beside  them  rather 
than  see  what  we  thought  would  be  the  ruin  of  our  Country ! 
How  weak  was  our  faith  ! 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  549 

It  is  a  remark  of  the  Father  of  history,  in  his  book  inscribed 
to  Clio,  that  in  peace  children  bury  their  parents ;  but  that  in 
war  parents  bury  their  children.  The  sentiment  is  not  less  just 
than  is  the  Greek  pers  icuous,  in  which  Herodotus  told  it.  It 
is  a  wise  provision  of  Divine  Providence  that  we  can,  in  pensive 
sorrow,  lay  to  rest  onr  aged  parents  crowned  with  years  and 
honors;  the  burst  of  anguish  soon  dies  away  into  tender  recol- 
lection, but  when  age  brings  its  treasures  to  the  early  tomb,  then 
the  heart  is  inconsolable,  it  is  "  Rachel  weeping  for  her  children, 
and  refusing  to  be  comforted,  because  they  are  not."  Thank 
God,  our  land,  that  was  one  vast  camping-ground  from  ocean  to 
ocean,  arid  from  the  lakes  to  the  Gulf,  is  once  more  at  peace ; 
and  though  we  mourn  over  those  graves,  and  grieve  to  think  of 
the  price  this  sweet  peace  has  cost  us,  let  devout  thankfulness 
ascend  with  the  aroma  of  these  sweet  flowers  that  exhales  to 
heaven,  for  the  mournful  pleasure  we  to-day  enjoy.  Such,  I 
trust,  is  the  spirit  in  which  we  have  to  come  to  this  sacred  spot. 
No  tender  token  of  regret,  no  sorrow  we  can  cherish  over  the 
remains  of  these  martyred  heroes  will  avail  anything  to  them. 

"  Can  storied  nrn  or  animated  bust 

Ba<-k  to  its  mansion  call  the  fleeting  breath? 
Can  Honor's  \vice  provoke  the  silent  du?t, 

Or  flattery  soothe  the  dull,  cold  ear  of  Death  ?  " 

It  is  becoming  to  strew  the  beauties  of  the  early  summer  on 
these  green  graves,  but  we  honor  the  dead  to  cherish  the  virtues 
of  the  living.  Th  ?se  flowers  are  fragile,  and,  separated  from 
their  parent  "stems,  will  soon  fade,  even  as  we  shall  soon  fade 
awsiy  from  earth  :  still,  as  they  now  bloom  in  freshness,  they  are 
the  emblems  of  onr  affection ;"  the  evergreens  among  them  shall 
be  the  symbols  of  our  undying  faith  in  immortality.  The  genius 
of  Christianity  would  teach  us,  through  these  tender  assiduities, 
that  there  is  a  land  beyond,  where  the  soul  shall  live  forever ; 
where  it  shall  know  no  decay  of  its  powers,  where  no  dread 
alarms  of  war  shall  be  heard,  but.  where  all  is  peace  and  love. 
Our  minion,  then,  fellow-citizens,  is  to  go  forth  from  this  place 
in  the  spirit  of  kindness,  free  from  hatred  and  all  unchantable- 
nes*  but  with  the  love  of  country  and  humanity  invigorated, 
resolving  to  do  all  in  the  fear  of  God  for  the  best  interests  ot 
the  whole  country  as  we  conscientiously  understand  it.  1  mis 
coin"  forth,  we  shall  diffuse  around  us,  in  word  and  action  char 
ity  and  <nx>d  will.  Nor  does  this  imply  a  weak  adherence  to  the 
principles  we  avow.  A  calm  and  inflexible  determination ,  to  do 
rio-ht,  and  to  do  it  in  love,  is  an  evidence  of  real  power  rather 
;han  of  weakness.  The  babbling  brook  that  ripples  along,  and 


550  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

frets  against  the  pebbles  iu  its  course,  vapors  out  its  unavailing 
complaints  to  bird  and  flower  that  smile  in  cairn  security  on  its 
noisy  marge,  but  who  will  say  to  the  quiet  and  solemn  flow  of 
the  ocean  that  begirts  the  majestic  earth,  "  Thus  far,  but  no  fur- 
ther." Iu  this  spirit  of  resistless  might  and  calm  patriotism 
went  forth  those  now  lying  around  us  here.  Many  of  them  for 
weary  months  pined  away  in  pain  and  anguish  of  spirit  in  the 
crowded  hospital ;  and  many  fell  by  a  shorter  and  sharper  agony 
on  the  ensanguined  field,  in  the  din  of  battle,  and  the  terrible 
onsets  of  warlike  men.  They  fell,  they  died,  whether  by  the  slow 
consuming  pestilence,  the  festering  wound,  or  the  murderous  shot 
or  shell  or  ball,  in  the  cause  they  loved,  and  for  which  they  of- 
fered their  lives  in  sacrifice.  Those  who  have  crossed  the  fron- 
tiers of  this  narrow  life  are  removed  far  beyond  our  censure  or 
our  praise.  We  that  are  following  on,  shall  soon  be  as  free  as 
they  ;  but  as  we  would  like  to  be  remembered  by  those  for  whom 
we  have  suffered,  and  whom  our  lives  have  blessed,  so  shall  not 
these  be  forgotten.  Then  weave  your  chaplets  of  flowers,  scat- 
ter year  by  year  on  their  lowly  beds  the  lily,  the  rose,  and  the 
amaranth,  and  let  coming  generations  know  your  faith  in  the 
immortality  of  the  good  and  true. 

I  cannot  close  these  remarks  without  allusion  to  one  who  fell 
early  in  this  conflict.  That  noble  spirit,  the  idol  of  all  who 
knew  him,  the  soul  of  honor,  the  rich  man's  peer,  the  poor 
man's  friend,  wearing  a  name  that  is  linked  to  all  that  is  praise- 
worthy in  the  settlement  of  Lexington,  and  the  growth  of  Ken- 
tucky. How  could  I  omit  to  mention  the  name  of  Dr.  Ethelbert 
L.  Dudley.  Was  that  not  a  prophecy  of  good  that  gave  this 
generous  man  his  Christian  name  ?  As  if  it  were  not  enough  to 
wear  one  of  the  most  honored  names  in  Kentucky,  some  happy 
inspiration  called  him  Ethelbert — the  bright  noble  of  our  Anglo- 
Saxon  forefathers.  Was  ever  mortal  more  truly  named  ?  The 
erudite  scholar,  the  humane  physician,  the  generous  friend,  the 
dauntless  leader  of  his  men  in  the  hour  of  danger,  the  prince  of 
his  tribe,  and  object  of  deepest  love  in  the  large  circle  of  his 
relatives  and  friends,  he  lies  here,  and  his  grave  is  bedewed  to- 
day with  tears  of  deepest  sorrow. 

Could  he — could  the  youthful  and  patriotic  Gratz,  lying  not 
far  away — could  all  these  whose  graves  are  redolent  with  the 
perfume  of  flowers,  speak  from  their  narrow  cells,  would  they 
not  approve  what,  in  conclusion,  I  say  to  each,  to  all :  Go  forth 
on  errands  of  reconciliation,  and,  with  the  love  of  country  and 
of  humanity  on  your  hearts,  address  yourselves  to  the  great 
work  of  restoring  the  reign  of  peace  and  good  will  from  one 
end  to  the  other  of  our  once  imperiled  but  now  preserved  and 
beloved  country. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  551 

At  the  close  of  Professor  Graham's  oration,  Col.  John  A. 
Prall  spoke.  After  Mr.  Prall's  speech,  the  benediction  was  pro- 
nounced by  the  Rev.  W.  M.  Pratt.  Captain  Falck's  company 
then  inarched  to  the  graves,  and  tired  a  salute  of  three  rounds, 
when  it  was  announced  that  the  ceremonies  of  the  day  were 
concluded,  and  the  thousands  silently  and  slowly  dispersed  and 
went  to  their  homes. 

Extensive  preparations  were  made  by  the  colored  people  to 
decorate  the  graves  of  their  soldiers.  At  1  o'clock  a  martial 
band  struck  up  the  national  airs,  and  the  blacks  began  to  assem- 
ble at  Asbury  church.  The  black  men  composing  Post  ISTo.  5, 
Grand  x\rmy  of  the  Republic,  marched  out  and  took  their  place 
at  the  head  of  the  procession.  Each  man  wore  a  scarf  of  red, 
white,  and  blue,  set  with  stars,  and  carried  wrreaths  of  flowers. 
Some  of  the  officers  were  in  full  uniform  of  the  United  States, 
and  wore  the  straps  of  Captains.  The  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public, when  drawn  up,  formed  ten  large  platoons,  each  under 
command  of  an  officer  wearing  a  sabre.  Next  in  order,  behind 
the  Army  of  the  Republic,  followed  a  body  of  discharged  col- 
ored soldiers,  marching  by  twos,  and  singing  the  national  airs. 
All  these  men  had  served  in  the  Federal  army,  and  sixteen  regi- 
ments were  represented,  most  of  them  having  belonged  to  Gen- 
eral Brisbin's  old  division.  Behind  the  soldiers  came  a  body  of 
colored  women,  carrying  garlands  of  flowers,  and  joining  in  the 
singing.  In  rear  of  these  were  a  mass  of  people  on  horseback, 
in  carriages,  and  on  foot.  Carriages  containing  the  speakers 
and  leading  colored  men  of  the  place  preceded  the  procession. 
Soon  after  1  o'clock  the  procession  moved  to  the  Presbyterian 
burying-ground,  and  the  ceremonies  began.  A  two-horse  wagon, 
loaded  with  flowers,  had  been  drawn  into  the  ground,  and  after 
a  solemn  prayer  over  the  graves  by  the  Chaplain  of  the  Army 
of  the  Republc,  the  women  took  the  wreaths  and  bouquets  from 
the  wagon,  and  handed  them  to  the  soldiers,  who  tiled  among 
the  crraves,  knelt,  and  deposited  the  flowers.  Girls  and  women 
next  advanced  with  baskets  and  aprons  of  loose  flowers,  and 
strewed  them  on  the  graves,  singing : 

"  Soldier,  rest  in  peace,"  &c. 

At  times  the  whole  congregation  joined  in  the  singing,  and  we 
saw  many  men  and  women  weeping  convulsively.  As  soon  as 
the  flowers  had  all  been  strewed  on  the  graves,  the  Kev.  W.  L. 
Muir  (colored)  rose,  and  said  : 

BROTHERS  AND  SISTERS:  I  truly  thank  God  for  coming  here 
to-day,  to  do  honor  to  our  dead  soldiers.  I  have  come  a  good 
long  way ;  and  when  I  came,  I  did  not  expect  to  see  such  a 


552  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

great  crowd  of  people  ;  but  I  am  glad,  by  your  presence,  to  see 
you  show  an  appreciation  of  the  services  rendered  by  these  dead 
soldiers  of  our  people.  These  men  fought  for  your  freedom, 
and  not  only  you,  but  your  children  after  you,  should  come  here 
to  do  them  honor.  We  are  now  a  free  people,  and  should  try 
to  advance  ourselves,  and  show  to  the  world  that  we  are  worthy 
of  the  great  boon  that  has  been  given  us.  Kindness  of  heart 
and  affection  for  the  dead  is  a  mark  of  refinement  and  civiliza- 
tion, and  your  tears  and  flowers  here  to-day  is  another  rebuke 
to  the  barbarity  of  slavery.  Thank  God,  we  are  all  under  our 
own  vine  and  tig-tree  at  last,  free  men,  and  free  women,  who  can 
worship  God,  no  man  daring  to  molest  or  make  us  afraid.  I  see 
present  with  us  our  General ;  God  bless  him,  and  prolong  his 
days  !  He  will  speak  to  you  presently,  and  you  must  now  not 
only  pardon  my  disjointed  remarks,  but  excuse  me  from  saying 
any  tiling  more. 

After  music  by  the  band,  a  committee  of  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic  escorted  General  Brisbin  to  the  stand. 

GENERAL   BRISBIN'S    SPEECH. 

COMRADES  AND  COLORED  CITIZENS  OF  KENTUCKY  :  I  need  not 
tell  you  I  am  glad  to  be  here  to-day.  You  all  know  it  is  my 
pleasure  as  well  as  my  duty  to  assist  you  in  all  your  good 
works.  No  nobler  or  more  worthy  deed  could  engage  your  at- 
tention than  that  which  brings  you  together  on  this  occasion. 
If  the  dead  are  permitted  to  revisit  the  earth,  these  men  are 
here  to-day  in  the  air  above  us,  and  smiling  their  approval  upon 
us.  When  the  pale,  sheeted  forms  that  now  sleep  in  these 
graves  were  alive  and  upon  the  earth,  it  was  my  good  fortune 
to  command  them  in  battle  ;  and,  standing  here  by  their  graves, 
I  lift  up  my  voice  to  say,  before  God  and  man,  that  no  better, 
no  braver  men  ever  lived.  They  died  in  the  service  of  their 
country,  for  the  freedom  of  their  people,  and  the  Union  of  these 
States.  What  a  noble  death  to  die !  God  grant,  when  dead 
and  gone,  we  may  be  as  worthy  of  remembrance  as  they.  The 
battle,  for  these  men,  is  over ;  they  will  answer  to  the  bugle-call 
no  more  ;  but  we  of  the  living,  who  are  still  in  the  flesh,  have  a 
solemn  duty  to  perform,  and  I  trust  you  are  all  ready  to  bear 
your  pail.  We  must  preserve  the  Union  and  the  freedom  these 
men  laid  down  their  lives  to  give  us.  We  must  show  to  the 
world  that  they  died  not  in  vain,  and  that  we  are  worthy  to  suc- 
ceed them.  With  their  dying  breath  they  melted  the  chains  of 
slavery,  that  for  two  hundred  years  had  been  forging  upon  your 
limbs,  and  you  stood  forth  redeemed,  regenerated,  disenthralled 
by  the  genius  of  emancipation.  You  owe  these  dead  me 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  553 

much  ;  and  on  each  recurring  anniversary  of  this,  or  some  other 
day,  come  here  and  strew  flowers  upon  the  graves  of  your  he- 
roes. And  on  other  days  of  the  year,  bring  your  children  to 
this  quiet  graveyard;  point  them  to  these  graves,  and  say 
Here  sleep  the  patriots  who  died  for  your  freedom."  Tell 
them  the  story  of  the  war ;  how  black  men  fought,  and  rebels 
fell  before  them  ;  and  as  your  children  climb  your  knee,  or  lean 
upon  your  bosom,  teach  them  to  love  that  dear  old  flag,  to  be 
true  to  the  Union  of  these  States,  and  never  to  give  up  the  free- 
dom they  now  enjoy.  Mothers,  brothers,  sisters,  and  wives, 
weep  not  for  the  dead.  Happy  is  he  who  dies  for  his  race  and 
country.  Look  at  this  vast  multitude  who  come  to  do  them 
honor.  Could  you  wish  they  had  stayed  from  the  battle,  and 
lived  on  ?  No  !  no  !  Dry  your  tears  ;  they  died  in  a  righteous 
cause ;  they  are  well  dead !  Peace  to  their  ashes.  The  day, 
the  scene,  the  occasion,  all  conspire  to  urge  us  here,  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  dead,  to  renew  our  devotion  to  the  immutable  doc- 
trines of  truth,  justice,  religion,  and  right  reason,  and  to  declare 
again  that  we  will  pause  not,  and  tarry  not,  and  rest  not,  until  the 
principles  of  equal  and  exact  justice  are  known  and  acknowl- 
edged by  all  men. 

The  next  speaker  was  Rev.  Dr.  Miller  (colored).  He  said 
he  had  come  all  the  way  from  old  Virginia,  and  was  right  glad 
to  meet  here  in  his  native  State,  on  an  occasion  like  the  present, 
so  many  thousands  of  his  people.  He  had  been  a  colored  sol- 
dier, and  knew  what  service  in  the  army  meant.  They  were 
gathered  together  to  honor  the  dead  who  died  for  union  and 
freedom  ;  and  while  it  was  well  to  meet  in  such  great  numbers 
on  an  appointed  day  and  strew  flowers  on  their  dead  comrades' 
graves,  they  should  not  forget  to  come  to  the  graveyard  with 
their  garlands  on  other  days.  The  graves  should  be  kept  green, 
and  a  spot  warm  in  the  hearts  of  the  black  people  for  their  fallen 
heroes.  He  praised  God  that  they  were  all  free,  and  that  the 
effect  of  education  and  refinement  were  already  visible  among 
their  people.  He  encouraged  them  to  persevere,  and  to  do  all 
in  their  power  to  secure  the  respect  and  aid  of  the  white  man. 
Loud  calls  were  made  for  Grandfather  Perry  ;  and,  in  response, 
a  venerable  colored  man  was  brought  forward  and  presented  to 
the  people.  He  had  a  pleasant  lace  and  commanding  figure. 
Waving  his  hands  to  the  multitude  to  be  quiet,  he  spoke  to  them 
as  his  children,  and  gave  them  much  good  advice.  After  speak- 
ing some  minutes  in  a  clear,  forcible  mariner,  he  seemed  sudden- 
ly to  remember  he  was  making  a  speech,  and,  excusing  himself 
in  some  handsomely  turned  sentences,  sat  down. 

The  next  person  introduced  to  the  audience  was  a  yellow 


554  MEMORIAL   CEREMONIES 

man  by  the  name  of  King.     He  spoke  in  an  easy,  fluent  man- 
ner, and,  among  other  things,  said  : 

I  am  one  of  those  black  men  who  belong  to  the  Army  of 
the  Republic,  and  whom  the  rebels  call  armed  Radicals.  "We 
mean  nobody  any  harm  ;  we  are  not  armed,  but  we  are  loyal — 
will  stand  by  the  old  flag,  as  our  dead  comrades  stood  by  it 
•svliL'ii  alive.  We  desire  only  to  keep  alive  among  our  people 
the  feelings  of  patriotism,  and  preserve  our  old  associations  in 
the  field.  We  nave  had  enough  of  war,  death  on  battle-fields, 
suffering  in  hospitals,  tears,  groans,  and  widows  and  orphans 
with  broken  and  bereaved  families.  We  want  peace  and  justice, 
and  for  this  we  choose  to  plead  rather  than  fight ;  yet  we  are  not 
cowards,  and  will  not  be  spit  upon.  As  our  General  says,  we 
will  be  men,  if  we  are  black.  I  call  him  our  General ;  for  he 
has  not  only  led  many  of  us  in  the  field,  but  stood  between  us 
and  the  enemy  in  the  forum.  Many  of  you  remember  the 
bloody  days  of  Saltville  and  Marion — how  he  gathered  up  our 
shattered  battalions,  and  led  them  on  in  the  charge  of  snatching 
victory  from  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  There  are  two  names 
that  will  live  among  our  people  in  Kentucky  to  the  latest  poster- 
ity— James  S.  Brisbin  and  Stephen  G.  Burbridge.  When  we 
come  here  to  strew  the  choicest  flowers  of  the  land  on  the  graves 
of  our  fallen  comrades,  and  when  you  and  I  are  old  men,  and 
we  tell  our  children  of  the  deeds  of  the  black  soldiers,  let  us  not 
forget  to  speak  kindly  and  gratefully  of  their  white  leaders.  In 
the  future,  as  in  the  past,  while  the  spirit  that  moved  our  com- 
rades animates  us,  with  such  brave  commanders,  the  folds  of 
that  dear  old  flag  can  never  be  trailed  in  the  dust. 

SPEECH  OP  COL.   JOHN  A.   PRALL. 

FELLOW-CITIZENS,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  :  It  is  a  high 
mark  of  true  civilization,  when  the  living  cherish,  with  fitting 
reverence,  the  memory  of  the  dead.  And  death  ceases  to  be 
terrible  when  the  soft  light  of  affection  kindles  over  the  path- 
way to  the  tomb,  and  the  gentle  hand  of  love  wreathes  its  por- 
tals. But  to  the  patriot  soldier  who  yields  up  his  life  for  a 
grateful  country,  whether  it  be  his  lot  to  perish  by  the  hand  of 
disease,  or  to  fall  amid  the  shock  of  battle  and  the  clash  of  arms 
upon  the  ensanguined  field,  the  swift  summons  of  the  grim 
messenger,  the  voice  of  death  sounding  in  his  ear, 

"  Comes  like  a  prophet's  word, 
And  in  its  hollow  notes  are  heard 
The  thanks  of  millions  yet  to  be." 

To  such,  the  silent  sleep  of  death  but  precedes  the  resurrection 
to  an  immortality  of  fame.     Their  fame  is  their  country's — its 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        555 

most  precious  heritage ;  and  the  record  of  their  heroic  deeds 
mingles  with  its  most  glorious  annals,  and 

"  They  read  their  history  in  a  nation's  eyes." 

It  is  meet  and  appropriate  that  to  the  fair  daughters  of  the 
land,  whose  homes  and  hearthstones  have  been  defended  and 
shielded  from  desolation,  and  who  are  alive  to  every  noble  im- 
pulse and  high  inspiration,  it  should  be  committed  to  express, 
by  ceremonies  and  through  the  significance  of  emblems  appro- 

Eriate  to  their  gentle  natures,  the  gratitude  of  the  nation  to  its 
eroic  defenders.  And  thus  it  is  we  have  come  to  this  beautiful 
spot — "  the  bivouac  of  the  dead  " — and  with  these  battle  flags, 
torn  and  beaten  by  the  storms  of  war,  waving  here  over  the 
slumbering' ashes  of  those  who  bore  them  in  triumph  upon  the 
red  field  of  conflict — we  have  come  to  join  with  their  comrades 
who  survive  them,  in  paying  this  tribute  of  our  grateful  hearts 
to  the  memory  of  those  who  died  that  their  country  might  live. 
It  was  theirs  to  illustrate  by  their  lives,  and  vindicate  and  seal 
with  their  blood,  the  unity,  the  prosperity,  and  the  glory  of  their 
country.  And  while  that  national  unity  shall  be  maintained, 
and  the  country  shall  remain  bound  together  by  indissoluble 
link>,  their  memory  shall  live,  imperishable  and  enduring,  in 
immortal  freshness  in  every  patriot's  heart.  And  in  each  re- 
turning year,  when  the  rosy  Spring-time  comes,  let  our  country- 
women bring  hither  their  floral  offering,  and  from  this  sacred 
altar  of  gratitude  and  patriotism,  let  its  incense  ascend  to 
heaven.  Let  flowers,  strewn  by  the  lovely  and  the  beautiful, 
over  the  spot  where  our  heroes  sleep,  "  deck  the  turf  that  wraps 
their  clay,"  and  cast  a  fagrance  over  their  tombs  forever.  And 
thus  their  memories  shall  remain  enshrined  in  unchanging  fresh- 
ness in  our  hearts  ;  and  again  and  again,  amid  these  sad  memo- 
rials of  the  loved  and  honored  dead,  we  will  renew  our  vows  of 
devotion  to  freedom  and  fidelity  to  our  country.  I  will  not, 
fellow-citizens,  longer  protract,  with  any  words  of  mine,  the 
patriotic  ceremonies  we  have  assembled  to  perform. 

Two  other  colored  men — Henry  Mam  and  Sergt.  Geo.  B. 
Thomas— made  speeches  ;  after  which  the  procession  re-formeM 
and  marched  back  to  the  city,  where  it  disbanded. 

AT  LOUISVILLE,  KENTUCKY. 

The  formation  of  the  procession  commenced  about  nine 
o'clock  The  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  arriving  first,  at 
intervale  and  different  other  bodies,  and  at  last  the  old  soldiers 
with  their  tattered  battle-flags,  made  the  procession  complete. 
The  following  were  the  Marshals  of  the  day:— 


556  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Dr.  J.  J.  Griffiths,  Chief  Marshal.  Aids :  General  W.  E. 
Woodruff,  Colonel  M.  C.  Taylor,  Captain  E.  W.  Jhhnston, 
General  "W.  C.  Whittaker,  Colonel  Selby  Harney,  Colonel 
Antone  Kutzlieb,  Captain  C.  C.  Adams,  Col.  A.  J.  Alexander, 
Governor  T.  E.  Bramlette. 

The  procession  was  formed  at  the  Court  House  at  ten 
o'clock,  and  as  the  bells  of  the  city  tolled  a  mournful  requiem, 
the  imposing  cavalcade  took  up  its  solemn  line  of  march  to- 
ward the  City  of  the  Dead.  The  procession  moved  in  the 
following  order :  Goddess  of  Liberty  in  carriage ;  Chariot 
containing  thirty-eight  young  ladies,  presenting  the  different 
States  of  the  Union  ;  Louisville  Silver  Band ;  General  Thomas 
and  Staff;  Turners'  Association  ;  Soldiers'  and  Sailors'  Union  ; 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic ;  Great  Western  Star  Band  ; 
Governor  Bramlette  and  Staff;  Old  Soldiers  with  flags;  Dra- 
goons in  civil  dress;  Citizens  in  carriages,  &c.  Leading  the 
procession  was  the  carriage  of  S.  G.  Henry,  Esq.,  containing 
Miss  Ida  Hewson,  as  the  Goddess  of  Liberty,  accompanied  by 
Masters  Henry  and  Edward  Hopkins,  representing,  respectively, 
the  Army  and  Navy.  A  chariot  followed,  containing  thirty- 
eight  young  ladies,  representing  the  States  of  the  whole  Union. 
The  following  are  the  names  of  the  young  ladies  representing 
the  States : 

Misses  Flora  Sam,  California ;  Hattie  Woodward,  South 
Carolina ;  Rebecca  Hardy,  North  Carolina ;  Cecib'a  Peterson, 
Arkansas  ;  Ella  Tracy,  Mississippi ;  Emma  Burkhardt.  Nevada  ; 
Edmonia  Post,  Illinois  ;  Gertrude  Hull,  Vermont ;  Delia  Pool, 
Connecticut:  Jennie  Moxly,  Rhode  Island;  Josephine  Pool, 
Alabama;  Ollie  Tucker,  New  York ;  Katie  Dennis,  Virginia  ; 
Ella  Delph,  Texas ;  Florence  Jerne,  Florida ;  Sarah  Daniel, 
Missouri ;  -Caroline  Bachlet,  Wisconsin ;  Amelia  Hartman, 
Louisiana;  Annie  Glazebrook,  Ohio;  Blanche  Clemerne,  Geor- 
gia; Maude  Taylor,  Minnesota:  Sallie  Maurie,  Delaware; 
Helen  Daniel,  Maine;  Ida  Crawford.  Indiana;  Phebe  W->- 
mac,  Oregon;  Lilly  Goddard,  Massachusetts;  Sallie  Riley, 
Michigan  ;  Mollie  Woolfblk,  Tennessee  ;  Ida  Griffiths,  Pennsyl- 
vania ;  Annie  Kelley,  Kansas ;  Eugene  Hull,  Nebraska ;  Jennie 
Daniel,  Kentucky  ;  Laura  Reeves.  New  Jersey;  Mildred  Mat- 
lack,  New  Hampshire;  Clara  Hull,  Iowa;  Florence  Hull, 
Maryland  ;  Mary  Alexander,  West  Virginia. 

Arriving  at  the  Cemetery  we  found  a  vast  concourse  of 
people  already  assembled  with  wreaths  and  flowers.  The  young 
ladies  alighted  from  the  chariot,  and  proceeded  on  foot  with  the 
procession  to  the  vicinity  of  the  graves.  Here  we  found  a  large 
stand  beautifully  decorated  with  mottoes  and  garlands.  The 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        557 

young  ladies  representing  the  States,  together  with  the  speakers 
marshals  and  distinguished  visitors,  were  seated  on  the  stand' 
among  whom  we  noticed  General  McDowell,  who  fought  the 
first  battle  at  Bull  Run,  General  Geo.  H.  Thomas,  General 
backett,  and  Captain  Custer,  Aid  to  General  McDowell ;  Judges 
IJallard,  Pirtle  and  officers  of  the  courts  also  occupied  seats 
on  the  stand. 

A  prayer  was  offered  by  the  "Rev.  Mr.  Hayes,  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church.  The  ladies  proceeded  to  decorate  the  graves. 
The  ceremony  was  marked  by  an  exceeding  sublimity  through- 
out. Kind-hearted  women  knelt  and  strewed  flowers  over  the 
graves  of  those  they  knew  not,  but  loved  for  their  services  and 
heroic  valor. 

"  Bring  pole  flowers  o'er  the  bier  to  shed, 
A  crown  tor  the  brow  of  the  noble  dead, 
For  tliis  thro'  its  leaves  has  the  white  rose  burst, 
For  this  in  the  woods  was  the  violet  nursed ; 
Though  they  smile  in  vain  for  what  once  was  ours, 
They  are  Love's  last  gift ;  bring  ye  fiowers,  pale  flowers." 

The  following  are  the  number  of  soldiers  from  each  State 
buried  at  Cave  Hill :  Pennsylvania.  159  ;  Indiana,  493  ;  Iowa, 
55 ;  Ohio,  120 ;  Kansas,  9  ;  Massachusetts,  21  ;  Alabama,  3 ; 
New  Hampshire,  11  ;  Michigan,  254  ;  Illinois,  193  ;  Wisconsin, 
140. 

"When  the  ladies  had  finished  the  decorations,  the  concourse 
assembled  around  the  speakers'  stand,  when  Colonel  Gill  was 
introduced. 


SPEECH   OF   COLONEL   CHARLES   A.    GILL. 


COMRADES,  LADIICS  AND  GENTLEMEN:  I  believe  I  speak  a 
sentiment  common  to  all  when  I  say  that  there  is  sometlmig 
more  than  ordinarily  solemn  on  the  occasion  of  our  assembling 
here  to-day.  We  meet  not,  my  comrades,  as  we  were  wont  to 
do,  clad  in  the  panoply  of  the  soldier,  or  amidst  flashes  of  con-' 
tending  steel,  the  rattle  of  musketry,  the  roar  of  artillery,  or 
the  stirring  airs  of  martial  music,  but  as  survivors  of  the  terrible 
conflict  through  which  we  have  recently  passed,  to  pay  the  last 
sad  tribute  of  respect  to  our  brothers,  who  fell  in  the  cause  of 
risrht  and  truth.  AVe  have  come  to  gather  around  their  sacred 
remains  and  garland  the  hallowed  mounds  above  them  with  the 
freshest  and  'choicest  flowers  of  spring-time,  that  their  sweet 
fragrance  may  ascend  to  heaven  like  incense  from  the  altar  of 
libertv,  to  mingle  with  our  prayers  and  the  prayers  of  a  grate- 
ful nation,  that" these  heroic  dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain. 
About  three  years  ago  the  grand  armies  of  the  Republic  were 


558  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

assembled  together  at  the  capital  of  the  nation,  and  there  had 
their  last  review.  The  nation  had  just  merged  from  the  most 
terrible  rebellion  the  world  had  ever  seen — peace  had  come 
again  to  bless  us,  and  our  armies  had  returned — their  banners 
wreathed  witli  the  laurels  of  victory  to  receive  their  iinal  orders. 
To-day  the  members  of  those  great  armies  and  the  friends  of 
their  gallant  dead,  all  over  the  nation,  are  assembled  around 
their  sacred  tombs  to  shed  the  tear  of  sorrow  over  their  remains, 
and  to  renew  their  pledges  to  their  country's  God.  They  died 
in  the  holiest  cause  in  which  men  ever  offered  up  their  lives, 
and  though  dead,  they  still  live,  and  will  forever  live  in  the 
grateful  hearts  of  their  countrymen.  For  a  period  of  over 
eighty  years  we  had  enjoyed  a  peace,  a  happiness  and  a  pros- 
perity such  as  no.  people  had  ever  before  been  blessed  with.  It 
seemed  as  if  the  bird  of  liberty,  after  soaring  over  all  the  lati- 
tudes of  earth,  searching  in  vain,  had  at  last  alighted  to  take 
up  a  permanent  home  and  an  abiding  resting-place  among  the 
unwalled  cities  and  the  bright  green  forests  of  our  own  beloved 
country.  But  at  an  evil  hour  the  spirit  of  dissension  and  re- 
bellion arose,  and  our  peaceful,  happy  nation  became  engulfed 
in  a  most  terrible  civil  strife.  For  four  long  years  the  people 
of  the  two  sections  of  our  country  were  engaged  in  fraternal 
war,  waged  with  such  awful  vigor  and  determination  that  it 
seemed  that  the  star  of  freedom  was  about  to  go  down  and  set 
forever  even  in  our  own  liberty-blessed,  liberty-loving  land. 
But  at  last,  through  the  efforts  of  a  loyal  people  and  a  loyal 
soldiery,  fear  gave  way  to  hope,  defeat  became  victory,  and  on 
the  9th  day  of  April,  1865,  at  Appomatox  Court  House,  when 
Robert  E.  Lee  yielded  the  laurel  crown  to  General  Ulysses  S. 
Grant, — rebellion  surrendered  to  government,  treason  to  patriot- 
ism ;  the  bright  star  of  freedom,  rising  over  that  thrice  glorious 
field  shone  forth  with  renewed  splendor  and  brilliancy,  and 
that  great  political  problem  became,  and  thanks  be  to  God 
remains,  a  fixed,  living,  glorious  reality.  The  war  for  the 
'  Union  was  not  a  failure. 

Not  only  was  it  not  a  failure,  but  a  victory,  glorious,  grand 
and  brilliant  for  the  Union,  liberty  and  equality.  The  Union 
was  restored,  the  shackles  were  broken  from  the  hands,  the 
manacles  removed  from  the  feet,  and  the  brand  of  the  slave 
obliterated  from  the  brows  of  four  million  bondmen,  and  he 
who  yesterday  answered  the  "roll  call"  of  slaves,  to  day  stands 
in  the  sight  of  heaven  and  before  God,  a  man  and  a  freeman. 
The  principle  was  established  that  no  flag  alien  to  the  sources 
of  the  Mississippi  river,  should  ever  float  permanently  over  its 
mouth  until  its  waters  were  crimsoned  in  human  gore,  and  not 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  559 

one  inch  of  American  soil  should  be  wrenched  from  the  juris- 
diction of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  until  it  had 
been  baptized  in  fire  and  blood.  These,  my  friends,  are  some 
of  the  fruits  of  the  great  victory  in  the  achievement  of  which 
these  brave  men  so  freely  offered  up  their  lives.  And  whilst 
we  must  all  grieve  and  mourn  the  loss  of  such  noble  spirits,  and 
moisten  their  graves  with  our  tears,  let  us,  as  we  live  in  liberty, 
rejoice  that  they  made  their  deaths  glorious  in  its  just  defense. 
They  have  passed  from  earth,  ano!  been  mustered  into  the 
service  of  their  Lord  and  Master.  Their  duty  is  performed, 
ours  remains  to  be  done.  It  remains  for  us  to  preserve  in  all 
its  purity  and  glory  and  majesty  the  Government  for  which 
they  died,  and  to  which  you  and  I  owe  the  freedom  of  the  very 
air  we  breathe.  Let  us,  then,  ere  we  leave  this  sacred  spot, 
swear  by  these  four  thousand  martyrs  and  their  widows  and 
orphans,  by  all  the  hallowed  memories  of  the  past,  by  all  the 
glorious  hopes  of  the  future,  by  our  maimed  and  crippled  com- 
rades, that  the  four  hundred  thousand  heroes  that  lie  buried  on 
every  battle-field,  in  every  village,  hamlet  and  churchyard  in 
the  land  shall  not  have  died  in  vain — that  Government  for 
which  they  died,  the  Government  of  the  people,  by  the  people, 
for  the  people,  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth  ;  that  their 
widows  and  orphans  shall  not  be  forgotten,  but  shall  be  fostered 
and  cared  for  by  us  until  they  and  we  join  them  in  a  better  and 
happier  world. "  They  died—four  hundred  thousand— for  you. 
Yes, 

Four  hundred  thousand  men — 

The  brave,  the  good,  the  true — 
In  tangled  wood,  in  mountain  glen, 

Lie  dead  for  me  and  you, 
Four  hundred  thousand  of  the  brave 
Have  made  our  ransomed  soil  their  grave — 
For  me  and  you, 
Good  friend,  for  me  and  you. 

In  many  a  fearful  swamp, 
By  many  a  black  bayou, 
In  many  a  cold  and  fearful  camp 
The  weary  sentinel  ceased  his  tramp 

And  died  for  me  and  you. 
From  western  plain  to  ocean  tide 
Are  stretched  the  graves  of  those  who  died 
For  me  and  you 
Good  friend,  for  me  and  you. 

On  many  a  bloody  plain 

Their  ready  swords  they  drew, 
And  poured  their  blood  like  the  rain, 
A  home,  a  heritage  to  gain— 


560  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

To  gain  for  me  and  you. 
Our  brothers  mustered  by  onr  side, 
They  marched  and  fought  and  bravely  died, 

For  me  and  you, 

Good  friend,  for  me  and  you. 

Up  many  a  fortress  wall 

They  charged — those  boys  in  bine  ; 
'Mid  surging  smoke  and  volleyed  ball, 
The  bravest  were  the  first  to  fall, 

To  fall  for  me  and  you. 
These  noble  men — the  Nation's  pride, 
Four  hundred  thousand  men  have  died, 
For  me  and  you — 
Good  friend,  for  me  and  you. 

In  treason's  prison-hold 

Their  martyr-spirits  grew, 
To  stature  like  the  saints  of  old, 
While  amid  agonies  untold, 

They  starved  for  me  and  you. 
The  good,  the  patient  and  the  tried — 
Four  hundred  thousand  men  have  died 
For  me  and  you — 
Good  friend,  for  me  and  you. 

A  debt  we  ne'er  can  pay, 
To  them  is  justly  due ; 
And  to  the  Nation's  latest  day 
Our  children's  children  still  shall  say — 

"  They  died  for  me  and  you." 
Four  hundred  thousand  of  the  brave 
Made  our  ransomed  soil  their  grave, 
For  me  and  you, 
Good  friend,  for  me  and  you. 

Colonel  W.  E.  Riley  followed  in  a  very  eloquent  address, 
adverting  to  the  many  deeds  of  valor  which  crowned  the  Union 
soldiers  with  glory.  Mr.  Gnstav  Fernitz,  editor  of  the  Louis- 
ville Volksblatt,  then  addressed  the  assemblage  in  German, 
when  the  procession  again  formed,  and  returned  to  the  city  at 
three  o'clock. 

AT  CATLETTSBDKG,  KENTUCKY. 

Pursuant  to  an  order  and  invitation  issued  from  Catlettsburg 
Post,  Grand  Army  of  the  Kepublic,  May  27th,  1868,  by  D.  H. 
McGhee,  Post  Commander,  and  E.  C.  Wise,  Post  Adjt.  G.  A. 
R.,  this  Post,  composed  of  150  members,  headed  by  a  band  of 
music,  colors  at  half  mast,  and  each  member  wearing  crape, 
followed  by  a  large  concourse  of  citizens  and  ladies  of  this 
place  and  vicinity,  marched  to  a  dirge  played  by  the  -band,  to 
the  Hampton  City  Cemetery.  A  national  salute  was  fired 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        561 

the  meantime.  Arrived  at  the  cemetery  and  formed  in  appro- 
priate square,  after  an  affecting  prayer  by  Eev  T  1ST  Leslie 
of  First  Methodist  E.  Church,  an  eloquent  address  was  de- 
livered by  Col.  R.  M.  Thomas,  late  of  U.  S.  A.,  after  which,  the 
comrades,  assisted  by  the  ladies,  strewed  the  graves  of  the  fallen 
comrades  with  flowers  and  neat  bouquets,  wreaths,  etc.  In 
this  cemetery  lie  the  remains  of  the  lamented  Mai  Ralph 
Ormstead,  late  of  the  5th  West  Virginia  Volunteers,  who  was 
illed  whilst  leading  his  regiment  through  the  wilds  of  West 
Virginia,  by  a  notorious  rebel  guerrilla  band,  whilst  little  sus- 
pecting his  danger.  A  more  gallant,  kind-hearted  and  generous 
officer  never  drew  sword  in  defense  of  his  country.  Beside 
Maj.  Ormstead  lies  the  patriotic  Maj.  Ben  Burk,-of  this  place, 
and  near  him  the  much-lamented  Capt.  Hollingsworth,  and  near 
them  lie  50  fallen  braves,  who  fell  in  defense  of  the  flag.— Of- 
ficial Report. 

Ceremonies  were  also  held  at  Tompkinsville,  Ky.,  on  the 
Fourth  of  July,  in  which  the  surviving  members  of  the  Fifth 
Cavalry  of  Kentucky  were  assisted  by  the  citizens  generally. 
Rev.  Mr.  Childers  made  an  impressive  appeal  to  his  hearers, 
after  which  the  graves  of  the  soldiers  were  thickly  strewn  with 
flowers. 

AT  NEWPORT,  KY. 

At  Linden  Grove  Cemetery,  about  three  thousand  persons 
assembled  early  in  the  afternoon,  and  this  number  was  swelled 
to  fully  seven  thousand  by  the  arrival  of  the  procession  and 
those  who  accompanied  it.  A  stand  had  been  erected  for  the 
speakers,  directly  south  of  the  square  where  the  soldier  graves 
are  located,  and  it  was  tastefully  decorated  with  flags  and  ever- 
greens. Over  the  front  was  inscribed  "  Our  Honored  Dead" 
in  the  centre  of  the  burial-lot  a  large  wooden  monument  had 
been  built.  This,  too,  was  decorated  with  taste.  .  A  large 
national  flag  floated  at  half-mast  over  the  graves,  from  the  centre 
spire  of  the  monument,  beneath  which  was  placed  two  large 
pictures  of  Washington  and  Lincoln.  The  exercises  commenced 
at  a  quarter  past  3  o'clock,  by  the  performance  of  a  dirge  by 
the  band,  after  which  Dr.  E.  P.  Buckner  offered  up  a  fervent 
prayer.  The  prayer  having  been  concluded,  Col.  Oscar  H. 
Burbridge  introduced  Col.  John  P.  Jackson,  the  orator  of  the 
day,  who  spoke  as  follows : 

ORATION    OF   OOL.   JOHK    P.    JAOKSOJT. 

COMRADES  AND  FELLOW-CITIZENS,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  :     On 
this  bright  Sabbath-day,  with  nature  harmonizing  in  quiet  beauty, 
36 


562  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

we  meet  to  honor  the  memory  of  our  dead — to  testify  our  grati- 
tude for  their  triumphs — to  tender  our  substantial  sympathy  to 
their  bereaved  relatives,  and  to  receive  ourselves,  from  the  com- 
munion of  this  hour,  fresh  incentives  to  effort  and  to  duty. 
With  no  jealousies  to  indulge  and  no  envy  to  gratify,  we  seek 
to  draw  a  lesson  from  the  past  that  shall  be  to  our  future  a 
beacon  and  a  guide.  To  the  sleeping  martyrs,  whose  graves 
billow  every  battle-field  from  Gettysburg  to  New  Orleans  and 
Carolina,  it  matters  little  what  we  may  now  do  or  say.  Our 
tender  offerings  of  affection  will  be  lost  upon  their  mounds, 
and  the  sweet  aroma  of  our  scented  flowers  be  uselessly  exhaled 
to  air,  save  as  we  revive  our  faith  in  the  doctrines  which  they 
defended,  and  our  zeal  in  the  cause  for  which  they  died.  Our 
tribute  to  the  departed  is  to  insure  the  continuing  sympathy  of 
the  living — to  confirm  their  hopes,  strengthen  their  arms,  and 
energize  their  efforts.  The  hallowed  mould  that  ridges  the 
ground  about  us  was  but  yesterday  the  embodiment  of  an  idea 
whose  successful  realization  gives  us  to-day  a  nation  peaceful 
and  powerful,  instead  of  provinces  petty  and  belligerent.  They 
•who  bared  their  bosoms  to  the  brunt  of  battle,  and  went  out  in 
the  "  red  and  reeling  fray,"  forgetting  self  or  profit — eschewing 
ease  and  daring  death — were  the  representatives  of  that  public 
virtue  which  is  the  corner-stone  and  mainstay  of  our  temporal 
existence.  It  was  this  sentiment  that  Montesquieu  called  a  sen- 
sation, and  not  a  mere  consequence  of  acquired  knowledge — 
common  alike  to  the  lowliest  and  loftiest  member  of  the  State. 
It  was  the  same  sentiment  that  Leonidas  felt  when  he  fell  at 
Thermopylae — which  solaced  Aristides  when  exiled  from  Greece 
— ivhich  the  soldier  of  the  Revolution  felt  when  he  tracked 
with  his  blood  the  snows  of  Valley  Forge — which  Patrick 
Henry  illustrated  when  he  invoked  u  liberty  or  death" — which 
actuated  Adams  when  declaring  that  "  sink  or  swim,  live  or 
die,  survive  or  perish,  I  am  for  the  Declaration,"  and  which 
these  our  soldiers  felt  when,  leaving  home  and  friends  and  com- 
fort and  safety,  they  invoked  hunger  and  captivity,  disease  and 
death.  More  speedy  than  argument  and  more  powerful  than 
cannon,  it  bore  our  impulsive  legions  over  fields  so  sanguinary 
and  through  conflicts  so  vast,  that  the  archangel  of  war  there- 
upon made  new  record  of  human  prowess.  The  integrity  of 
the  nation  had  been  assailed,  and  from  the  fountain  of  love 
of  country  came  the  inspiration  for  its  defense.  The  sentiment 
was  not  of  party.  It  rebelled  at  the  mention  of  a  divided 
land,  and  threw  all  of  existence  into  the  idea  of  unity.  Not 
so  powerful  was  the  flaming  cross  of  Constantine  or  the 
victorious  eagle  of  Napoleon. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        563 

When  treason  had  raised  its  "  horrid  front,"  the  underlying 
sentiment  of  an  eternal  union  evoked  from  our  people,  all  m> 
used  to  war,  the  grandest  army  of  all  time.  Their  enthusiasm 
"itted  the  nation  from  the  depths'  of  despondency  to  new  and 
serene  heights  of  hope  and  duty.  Strangers  to  war,  they  were 
veterans  by  stern  resolve ;  and  from  the  wreck  of  the  world's 
mightiest  rebellion,  they  compelled  peace,  and  order,  and  vic- 
tory. We  can  never  forget  to  commemorate  the  deeds  of  those 
who  perished  to  achieve  this  sublime  result.  Their  memories 
are  sacred,  and  the  holiest  benedictions  of  their  favored  coun- 
trymen will  ever  follow  a  mention  of  their  virtues.  For  the 
monument  of  Thermopylae,  where  fell  the  brave  three  hundred, 
Leonidas  wrote  this  epitaph  :  "Stranger,  go  and  tell  in  Lacedas- 
mon  that  we  fell  here  in  defence  of  her  laws."  With  greater 
cause  for  greater  gratitude,  let  us  tell  to  future  time  the  story 
of  our  comrades'  deeds  with  a  monument  that  shall  say,  "  Pil- 
grim or  citizen,  go  and  proclaim  through  the  limits  of  the  na- 
tion, that  we,  soldiers  of  the  Republic,  fell  in  defence  of  its  laws, 
its  liberties,  and  its  life."  As  the  statue  of  Themistocles,  from 
a  promontory  in  Greece,  long  greeted  the  returning  voyager, 
and  tired  anew  his  love  for  Attica  and  Athens,  so  let  our  far- 
reaching  columns  of  storied  marble  and  animated  bronze  bear 
vitalizing  testimony  to  the  glory  of  our  soldiery  from  the  para- 
pets of  the  Pacific  to  the  green  hills  of  New  England.  Make 
of  wood  the  arches  of  triumph  which  mark  our  fields  of  battle, 
if  it  must  be,  that  the  memory  of  a  civil  strife  may  not  be  con- 
tinued to  another  generation  ;  but  for  the  soldier  who  knew  no 
sentiment  but  love  for  his  whole  country,  and  who  gave  his  life 
to  duty  in  its  defence,  the  eternal  granite  should  bear  to  posterity 
the  hallowed  record.  And.  as  we  engrave  thereon  the  virtues  of 
the  dead,  let  us  add,  in  characters  of  bold  relief,  that  universal 
freedom  to  man  came  as  the  corollary  of  devotion  to  our  land ; 
they  died  that  all  men  might  be  free.  Of  all  the  results  of  war, 
no  richer  boon  ever  graced  the  trophies  of  the  victor. 

"  Where  freedom  is,  no  man  is  poor ; 
For  nature's  air  is  affluence  to  all.1' 

When  our  martyr  President,  in  the  fall-tide  hour  of  our  vic- 
tory, ascended  on  high,  "  purpling  the  air  with  the  glory  of  his 
name,"  he  bore  to  heaven  the  broken  shackles  of  four  millions 
of  slaves,  and  laid  them  at  the  foot  of  the  throne,  a  peace  offer- 
ino-  for  the  patriot  blood  shed  in  our  unnatural  strife.  Would 
it  be  profane  to  suppose  that  heaven's  music  grew  sweeter,  and 
angels  quickened  their  chorus,  as  the  joyous  chimes  from  earthly 
tower  and  dome  chanted  the  peans  of  a  race  redeemed,  and  our 


564  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

glorified  dead  mingled  their  voices  in  the  choir  above  ?  The 
lesson  of  the  hour  conjures  us  to  renewed  effort.  We  must  live 
and  not  die.  Leaders  may  be  cut  down,  but  the  philosophy 
they  represent  still  survives.  '  Men  may  die,  but  principles  are 
immortal.  An  army  of  earnest  and- truthful  exponents  of  our 
cause  has  passed  to  death,  but  the  Government  they  sustained  is 
for  eternity.  The  recuperative  powers  of  our  laud  will  correct 
all  irregularities  incident  to  our  civil  strife ;  and  in  our  experi- 
ment of  a  self-governing  people,  we  will  not  disappoint  the  high 
hopes  of  humanity.  That  blood  has  been  shed  in  defence  of 
our  laws,  is  but  a  natural  result  of  all  thorough  reforms.  The 
blood  of  Yirginius  overthrew  the  triumvirs.  The  blood  spilled 
upon  the  altar-places  destroyed  the  penates  and  idols  of  Rome ; 
and  the  blood  of  martyrs  became  the  seed  of  the  Church,  while 
feeding  the  fires  of  heathenish  persecution.  As 

we  stand  here,  to-day,  gratified  at  the  grand  advances  to  uni- 
versal freedom  made  for  our  country  by  our  lamented  comrades, 
we  must  feel  our  hearts  nerved  to  an  earnest  resolve  to  carry 
out  their  work  to  its  legitimate  conclusions.  Let  us  here  and 
now  determine  that,  come  what  may,  we  will  never  tire  in  urg- 
ing forward  the  great  measures  of  freedom  for  which  they  gave 
their  lives,  until  all  our  broad  acres  shall  rejoice  in  answering  to 
the  demands  of  freemen.  Then  may  we  in  confidence  challenge 
the  world  to  a  race  of  prosperity  ;  then  will  we  be  enabled 
properly  to  educe  the  illimitable  resources  of  our  land ;  and  then 
will  be  our  hour  of  rejoicing  that,  in  spirit  and  truth  as  well  as 
in  name,  ours  is  the  "  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the 
brave."  To  do  this,  let  there  be  no  idlers  in  our  ranks.  The 
aged  must  think  for  it ;  the  younger  must  strike  and  act  for  it ; 
mothers  and  daughters  must  pray  for  it;  and  every  heart, 
whether  of  old  or  young,  male  or  female,  join  in  unanimous  and 
earnest  resolve  that  the  great  national  sin  which  was  the  primal 
cause  of  all  our  public  woe  is  thoroughly  eradicated,  and  that  the 
Plutonian  heresy  of  secession  shall  never  again  shadow  our  shrines. 
It  would  be  improper  to  suffer  this  occasion  to  pass  without 
bearing  testimony  to  the  fidelity  of  our  ladies,  who,  to-day,  are 
here  so  fully  represented. 

"  Warriors  and  statesmen  have  their  raced  of  praise, 

And  what  they  do  or  suffer  men  record ; 
But  the  long  sacrifice  of  woman's  days, 
Passes  without  a  thought,  without  a  word." 

The  crowning  glory  of  our  Christian  civilization  is,  that  we 
have  unfolded  the  intellect  of  woman,  and  by  elevating  her  to 
her  proper  dignity,  have  purified  social  intercourse,  and  added 
a  new  element  to  the  motive  power  of  our  progress.  To  no 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        505 

point  can  we  turn'  but  her  influence  meets  us.  Our  fleets  and 
armies  swell  the  seas  with  martial  spirit  and  successful  enter- 
prise, while  a  mother's  blessing  or  a  sister's  prayer  hallows  the 
project  that  prompted  their  embarking.  Stately  edifices  beau- 
tify our  public  highways,  but  a  wife's  discriminating  taste  pre- 
scribes the  adornments  that  give  them  character.  Works  of  art 
which  have  brought  honor  and  credit  to  us  as  a  people,  and  have 

rfined  our  national  taste,  had  first  to  be  accepted  by  our  dauo-h- 
ters,  who  aree  ndowed  by  nature  with  the  inspiration  of  sestlTet- 

» ;  and  the  undertaking,  of  whatever  nature,  that  would  bring 
numbers  _to  its  assistance,  or  earnestness  to  its  work,  must  be 
characterized  and  honored  by  the  cooperation  of  our  females. 
Feeble  would  be  the  onset,  and  easily  repulsed  the  attack,  of 
that  Genera^  or  those  troops  whose  arms  were  palsied  by  the 
curse  of  a  wife  or  a  mother  upon  the  cause  they  fought  in.  '  Sad, 
indeed,  is  the  reflection  that  woman  has  much  to  do  in  the  con' 
tentions  of  armies  and  the  clangor  of  war.  And  now,  when 

"  The  sons  of  those  who,  side  by  side, 
Struck  down  the  lion  banner's  pride, 
Were  arming  for  fraternal  strife — 
For  blow  for  blow,  and  life  for  life," 

we  have  seen  our  women  claiming  as  their  prerogatives  the  du- 
ties of  benevolence  and  philanthropy.  In  the  Christian  hero- 
ism that  has  characterized  their  visitations  of  mercy  and  of  love 
to  the  asylum,  the  hospital,  and  the  prison-house,  we  see  in  re- 
ality a  quality  of  heaven.  No  groveling  desire  for  distinction, 
no  selfish  pride  of  place  or  power,  no  considerations  of  personal 
convenience,  nerve  the  arms  or  impress  the  hearts  of  our  self- 
denying  and  noble,  daring  ladies.  There  is  certainly  a  spirit 
akin  to  the  celestial  in  the  breast  that  finds  a  pleasant  service 
amid  the  vagaries  of  the  delirious,  the  frenzies  of  the  deranged, 
or  the  piteous  wail  and  dissonant  groan  of  the  hospital  and  the 
prison-ship.  The  religion  of  the  soul  is  set  to  holy  music,  when 
it  finds  in  the  ailments  of  our  soldiers  its  chosen  sphere  of  duty. 
When  our  army  had  retired  from  the  conflict  of  war,  and, 
having  successfully  vindicated  our  national  integrity,  had  assem- 
bled to  receive  its  well-earned  reward  of  thanks  and  of  gratitude, 
the  Admiral  of  the  fleet  and  the  knighted  General  of  the  land 
had  combined  their  victorious  standards,  and  drawn  around 
them  the  epauletted  staff,  the  paraphernalia  of  office,  the  en- 
signs of  rank,  and  brilliant  mementoes  of  bravery,  yet  the  group 
\vas  all  incomplete,  the  crown  without  its  richest  jewels,  until 
there  were  present  those  embodiments  of  unaffected  heroism, 
noble,  daring,  heaven-inspired  spirit  grandeur,  that  have  proven 
our  loyal  women  a  nation  of  Florence  Nightingales.  The  re- 


56G  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

turns  are  not  of  earth  that  can  requite  their  services ;  and  not 
till  the  Book  of  Life  shall  be  opened,  will  it  be  fully  known  how 
much  of  sacrifice  and  virtuous  suffering  have  been  endured  by 
the  noble,  loyal  women  of  our  land.  The  throbbing  of  the  na- 
tion's heart  in  gratitude  will  forever  commemorate  their  well- 
deing.  And  now,  mothers,  if  you  would  maintain  the  para- 
mount influence  that  in  this  land  you  enjoy — if  you  would  not 
see  banished  from  your  fireside  all  that  is  lovely,  and  innocent, 
and  pure — if  you  would  preserve  the  seats  of  prayer,  and  the 
altars  of  maternal  affection,  with  the  votive  offerings  placed 
thereon  by  filial  love — if  you  would  not  hear  the  ravings  of 
anarchy  through  your  halls  and  parlors,  or  the  distracting  cries 
of  helots  at  the  church  door,  guard,  forever  guard,  your  children 
against  the  doctrines  of  sectionalism.  Fathers,  who  pride  your- 
selves upon  the  manliness  of  your  sons — who  hope  to  have  your 
names  perpetuated  in  honor  through  posterity — and  who  love 
the  olive  branches  that  cluster  about  your  table,  teach  your 
children  that  ours  is  a  nation  and  not  a  confederacy,  and  that 
in  undivided  national  progress  is  the  proper  incentive  for  their 
action.  And,  young  men,  as  you  love  your  parents  and  friends ; 
as  you  are  ambitious  and  hope  for  honorable  preferment ;  as 
you  would  add  a  bright  chapter  to  the  brilliant  chronicles  of 
your  country's  history ;  as  you  would  see  that  country  the  law- 

fiver  to  the  lands  and  the  mistress  of  the  sea  ;  as  you  would 
ear  her  institutions  to  a  point  for  all  time  hereafter  to  be 
unapproachable  by  tempest  and  unharmed  by  the  storm,  swear 
this  day,  by  the  spirits  of  our  gallant  dead,  that  the  ark  of  our 
covenant  shall  never  be  broken  nor  the  bow  of  our  promise 
rent.  So  shall  we  fill  the  destiny  that  awaits  us,  and  a  hundred 
million  souls  united  as  one  man  will  soon  use  our  valleys  and 
till  the  land  with  the  accumulated  results  of  a  Christian  civiliza- 
tion. In  that  day,  as  we  shall  witness  the  success  of  emulating 
followers,  our  highest  pride  and  boast  shall  be  that,  by  the 
prowess  of  the  loyal  soldiery,  our  pennant  of  Union  leads  all 
banners  of  war. 

At  the  conclusion  of  Col.  Jackson's  eloquent  oration,  Dr. 
Buckner  pronounced  the  benediction,  after  which  the  members 
of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  assisted  by  many  ladies, 
proceeded  to  decorate  with  flowers,  evergreens,  etc.,  the  four 
hundred  and  eighty  graves  of  the  martyred  patriots. 

AT  DCBUQCE,  IOWA. 

Agreeably  to  previous  aunoucement,  the  procession  of  sol- 
diers and  citizens  formed  on  Public  Square,  at  2  o'clock,  under 
the  direction  of  Maj.  John  McDeruiott  and  Assistants,  while 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  567 

the  Germania  Band  occupied  the  platform  in  the  Square.  The 
mounted  men  formed  on  Seventh  Street,  between  Locust  and 
Bluff,  the  dismounted  soldiers  on  Locust  Street,  in  front  of  the 
Public  Square,  with  their  right  resting  on  Sixth  Street,  while 
the  citizens  formed  in  the  Square.  The  procession  then  took  np 
the  line  of  march  in  the  following  order:  Mounted  Men,  Field 
Music,  Germania  Band,  Officers  of  the  Post,  Soldiers  and  Sail- 
ors, Citizens  on  Foot,  Mounted  Citizens  and  Citizens  in  Carriages. 
On  arriving  at  Lin  wood  Cemetery  the  procession  marched  through 
the  southwestern  gate,  and  arranging  themselves  partly  in  a 
square  were  brought  to  a  halt,  when  General  Win.  Vandever 
stepped  forward  and  delivered  the  following  speech : 

COMRADES  AND  FRIENDS: — The  sad  mementoes  before  us  call 
vividly  to  our  minds  the  harrowing  events  and  bloody  sacrifices 
of  the  late  war  for  the  suppression  of  a  wicked  rebellion.  Stand- 
ing to-day  at  the  portal  of  the  grave — between  the  living  and 
the  dead,  we  will  renew  our  vows  of  devotion  to  the  country  and 
the  flag  these  have  died  to  defend.  While  we  drop  a  tear  in 
sorrow  for  the  untimely  fate  of  fallen  comrades  and  friends,  we 
will  cherish  their  memories  in  our  hearts,  emulate  their  heroism 
and  virtue,  and  dedicate  ourselves  afresh  to  perpetuate  the 
principles  of  liberty  they  have  consecrated  by  the  sacrifice  of 
their  lives. 

The  list  of  deceased  soldiers  whose  remains  repose  beneath 
our  feet  constitute  a  "  Roll  of  Honor  "  emblazoned  by  imperish- 
able deeds  of  valor  and  devotion  to  country.  Here  and  there  a 
grave  is  marked  "  unknown" — we  can  only  tell  that  its  occupant 
was  a  patriot  who,  wan  and  crippled  from  the  field  of  strife, 
struggling  to  regain  his  home,  reached  the  confines  of  our  State, 
and,  destined  never  again  to  behold  the  face  of  wife  or  child, 
sank  exhausted  into  the  embrace  of  death ;  stranger  though  he 
was,  the  sympathizing  tear  and  tender  touch  of  woman  was  not 
denied  him  at  the  last  hour— for  there  are  those  among  us  who 
withheld  not  a  mother's  or  a  sisters  part  from  the  returning  vet- 
eran, but  smoothed  his  pillow  and  caught  his  last,  expiring  breath. 
Mav  Heaven  reward  and  bless  them!  The  tenants  of _  these 
o-ra'ves  whom  we  knew  in  Ifte,  I  need  not  name— they  live  in 
our  affections  with  a  freshness  and  verdure  that  knows  no  winter. 
We  meet  to  day  to  strew  alike  the  grave  of  the  known  and  un- 


a  tribute  of  admiration  „  . 
While  engaged  in  this  interesting  ceremony  our  minds  revert  to 
the  thousands  who  went  forth  never  to  return,  not  even  for  se- 
pulture The  remorseless  wave  which  deluged  the  land  witb 


568  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

blood,  cast  a  few  mangled  forms  back  at  our  feet,  but  the  great 
multitude  it  gave  not  up,  but  hid  forever  from  our  sight.  They 
lie  for  the  most  part  where  they  fell,  in  undistinguishable  groups 
on  every  battlefield,  shrouded  only  in  the  luihiliments  of  the 
soldier.  And  some,  alas,  murdered  by  the  slow  tortures  of  such 
infernal  dens  as  Libby  and  Andersonville,  yielded  their  emaci- 
ated bodies  a  scanty  repast  to  the  revelling  worm — their  terrible 
fate  adding  the  bitterest  dreg  to  till  the  iniquitous  cup  of  all 
villainies.  Oh,  what  a  wail  breaks  from  the  heart  of  the  nation 
this  day,  as  mournful  groups  gather  in  every  city,  village  and 
hamlet  of  the  land  to  cast  flowers  upon  the  graves  of  departed 
heroes,  and  mingle  tears  with  the  dust  of  the  dead.  Many 
hearts  revive  their  sorrow  to-day;  the  nation  weeps,  but  heaven 
be  praised  for  the  future;  there  is  a  resurrection  to  renewed 
national  life  in  which  traitors  and  tyrants  can  have  no  part,  but 
at  which  they  may  well  call  upon  the  rocks  to  hide  them. 

At  the  conclusion  of  this  speech  the  Germania  Band  played 
a  solemn  dirge,  when  a  prayer  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  L. 
Whitney. 

At  the  conclusion  of  these  interesting  exercises  the  infantry 
re-formed,  and  visiting  each  grave  covered  it  with  flowers,  each 
being  marked  by  a  miniature  flag.  The  committee  appointed 
by  Post  J^o.  7,  tr.  A.  E.,  to  ascertain  the  number  of  soldiers 
buried  in  the  vicinity  of  Dubuque,  found  upon  careful  examina- 
tion that  no  record  was  kept  by  any  officers  or  persons  from 
which  they  could  determine  who  or  what  number  of  soldiers 
have  been  buried  in  the  cemeteries  in  and  adjoining  the  city. 
Below  will  be  found  the  list  of  soldiers  reported  by  the  commit- 
tee to  be  buried  in  Linwood  Cemetery,  but  it  is  known  that  sev- 
eral others  are  buried  whose  graves  it  was  impossible  to  find  : 
Adjt.  Stillmau  H.  Smith,  14th  Iowa  Infantry;  Maj.  Carl  Schaef- 
fer,  Bernstein,  Curtis  Horse ;  Col.  J.  B.  Dorr,  8th  Iowa  Cavalry ; 
Capt.  L.  L.  Newberry,  13th  Regulars;  Lieut.  Y.  J.  Conyng- 
ham,  Regulars;  Wm.  Gunn,  1st  Iowa  Cavalry ;  F.  II.  Duncan, 
14th  Pennsylvania  Cavalry ;  Capt.  A.  F.  Duncan,  14th  Pennsyl- 
vania Cavalry;  George  King,  90th  New  York;  George  W. 
Barnes,  42d  Illinois  Infantry;  Henry  Kroll,  46th  Iowa;  Adjt. 
John  L.  Harvey,  46th  Iowa ;  Corp.  W.  McDermott.  1st  Iowa 
Cavalry ;  Lieut.  George  W.  Cumuiings,  37th  Iowa  Infantry  ;  L. 
N.  Converse ;  46th  Iowa  Infantry ;  Ernst  Amberg,  1st  Iowa ; 
W.  L.  Shankland,  5th  Cavalry ;  G-ilbert,  unknown  ;  James  Gra- 
ham, 5th  Iowa  Cavalry ;  Simon  Lanicca,  8th  and  16th  Cavalry ; 
John  Bossier,  1st  Iowa  Inf. ;  L.  D.  Cook,  46th  Iowa  Infantry ; 
Steven  Barton  ;  Stephen  Burton,  21st  Iowa  Infantry ;  two  un- 
known from  hospital ;  John  Littrell,  unknown ;  two  unknown, 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  569 

21st  Iowa;  Dan'l  McCartney,  100th  Col.  Infantry  ;  John  Lubty 
unknown;  N.  McDaniel,  unkown;  Madarf,  unknown;  John 
Garton,  14th  Infantry;  T.  J.  Knowlton,  8th  Iowa  Cavalry 
Jacob  Siegfried,  21st  Infantry.  Each  of  the  above  graves  was 
visited  in  the  order  we  have  named.  When  the  last  was  reached 
the  exercises  were  concluded,  and  the  procession  took  up  its 
homeward  march. 

Other  Cemeteries. — At  8  o'clock  yesterday  morning,  mounted 
men  formed  at  the  public  square  and  visited  the  cemeteries  of 
Key  West,  Rockdale  and  Center  Grove,  where  the  same  cere- 
monies in  regard  to  the  decoration  of  soldiers'  graves  took  place. 
At  Key  West,  Rev.  J.  W.  Hanson,  formerly  chaplain  of  the 
6th  Massachusetts  Cavalry,  delivered  a  very  effective  prayer. 
The  force  consisted  of  fifty  soldiers,  under  command  of  S.  M. 
Pallock,  who  visited  in  turn  each  of  the  cemeteries.  The  most 
of  the  flowers  for  the  occasion  were  kindly  furnished  by  Miss 
.N  agle.  Below  is  the  list  of  soldiers :  Key  West  Cemetery. — 
George  Carroll,  unknown;  Morris  Nagle,  3d  Iowa  Battery  ;  A. 
Cosgrove,  37th  Infantry ;  Win.  Barnes.  City  Catholic  Ceme- 
tery.— McManus,  3d  Iowa  Infantry.  Center  Grove  Cemetery. 
— Lieut.  I).  G.  Cook,  21st  Iowa  Infantry ;  Thomas  Lockey,  21st 
Iowa  Infantry.  Rockdale  Cemetery. — John  G.  Skaife,  21st 
Iowa  Infantry ;  Ralph  Irant,  Pennsylvania  Regiment  Mexican 
Volunteers;  William  Landmire,  38th  Iowa  Infantry.  Thus 
ended  the  ceremonies  in  honor  of  the  patriot  dead. 

AT  TOLEDO,  IOWA. 

The  exercises  here  were  appropriate,  and  conducted  with 
proper  solemnities  well  befitting  the  hour.  The  members  of 
the  Post  assembled  at  their  Hall  early  in  the  day,  formed  in 
procession,  and  marched  to  the  M.  E.  Church,  headed  by  mar- 
tial music,  all  with  badges  of  Red,  White  and  Blue,  carrying 
the  emblems  of  the  highest  type  of  respect,  flowers,  which  they 
strewed  upon  the  graves  of  their  dead  comrades,  bearing  also 
the  starry  emblem,  the  brave  old  flag,  draped  in  mourning  ;  car- 
rying also  banners  with  eighty-four  names  of  those  from  this 
county  who  gave  their  lives  in  the  defence  of  their  country,  in- 
scribed thereon.  Arriving  at  the  church,  the  exercises  were 
opened  by  prayer  by  Rev.  Mr.  Wilkinson  of  this  place,  after 
which  Rev.  Mr.  Cordnor  of  Tama  City,  delivered  a  short,  but 
pointed,  patriotic,  able  and  eloquent  address.  He  reviewed  the 
principles  and  measures  established  by  these  defenders  of  lib- 
erty and  the  equality  of  man,  in  the  late  rebellion.  He  thought 
it  unnecessary  to  attempt  an  expression,  in  words,  ot^  the  hero- 
ism of  these  gallant  ones,  the  feelings  and  emotions  ot  the  heart 


570  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

could  find  no  genuine  response  in  words,  they  would  only  be 
mockery  in  comparison  to  the  real  pulsations  of  the  heart.  He, 
however,  referred  briefly  to  a  few  incidents  and  battles  of  the 
war,  with  all  which  every  soldier  is  familiar,  and  at  the  mention 
of  which  every  loyal  heart  swells  with  proud  emotions,  and  goes 
out  in  gratitude. 

The  address  being  closed,  toasts  were  read  and  responded  to 
with  promptness,  warmth,  and  feeling.  The  procession  was 
again  formed,  and  marched  to  the  grave-yard,  where  all  the  sol- 
diers'graves  were  visited  and  the  flowers  strewn  upon  them; 
this  being  done,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Edwards  delivered  the  closing 
remarks.  He  referred  in  touching  terms  to  the  gallant  conduct 
of  the  defenders  of  our  nation  on  many  a  hotly-contested  battle 
field ;  how  they  had  fallen  all  covered  with  glory  and  weltering 
in  their  own  blood ;  many  of  us  who  linger  now  about  their 
graves  had  seen  them  thus  fall.  The  members  of  the  Order 
then  formed  in  procession  and  marched  to  their  Hall. 

AT  MOUNT  PLEASANT,  IOWA. 

The  surviving  comrades,  relatives,  and  friends  of  our  gallant 
dead,  assembled  at  the  public  square  to  take  part  in  the  solemn 
ceremonies.  After  music  by  the  martial  band,  the  crowd  sang 
the  "  Star-Spangled  Banner,"  after  which  Rev.  Mr.  Dennett 
offered  up  a  touching  and  eloquent  prayer.  Another  song,  and 
Judge  Drayer  was  introduced,  and  made  an  appropriate  speech 
of  fifteen  minutes'  length.  At  the  close  of  Judge  D.'s  speech, 
the  procession  was  formed  in  the  following  order  :  Band  ;  Eight 
Pall-bearers ;  Hawkeye  Zouave  Company,  in  uniform  ;  Minis- 
ters and  Speakers ;  Soldiers  and  Sailors  ;  Relatives  of  Deceased 
Soldiers  ;  Citizens.  The  entire  procession  was  under  command 
of  Col.  S.  D.  Swan,  Marshal  of  the  day.  At  the  head  of  the 
procession  was  carried  a  flag,  draped,  and  two  banners.  Upon 
one  was,  "  In  Memory  of  our  Koble  Dead  ;  "  and  the  other, 
"  Honor  to  the  Men  wno  Died  in  Defence  of  the  Kation." 

As  the  procession  moved  off,  the  band  played  the  "  Dead 
March,"  and  the  sad  sound  of  the  muflled  drain  called  up  many 
memories  of  the  past  to  the  soldiers  present.  The  procession 
marched  direct  to  the  old  cemetery,  and  as  they  marched 
through,  each  one  in  the  procession  dropped  flowers  upon  the 
graves  of  the  soldiers,  which  had  been  previously  marked  in 
order  to  designate  them.  This  ceremony  through  with,  the  pro- 
cession halted,  and  listened  to  a  short  address  by  Rev.  J.  W. 
Pickett.  The  procession  then  moved  to  the  new  cemetery,  and 
went  through  the  same  ceremony,  addresses  being  delivered  by 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  571 

Professor  Burns  and  Rev.  Mr.  Gunn.  The  procession  then  re- 
turned to  the  city,  and  dispersed.  The  following  are  the  names 
ot  the  heroic  men  who  are  buried  in  the  cemeteries  of  our  city  • 

CITY  CEMETERY.— B.  McMahon,  Sr.,  Captain  1st  Missouri 
Cavalry  ;  E.  Hemmenway,  1st  Iowa  Infantry;  Capt.  and  A.  A. 
G.  Sherman's  staff;  Alexander  Lee,  1st  Lieut.  25th  Iowa  In- 
fantry ;  Geo.  J.  Sharp,  2d  Lieut.  4th  Iowa  Cavalry  ;  I.  I.  Stew- 
art. Post  Chaplain,  Keokuk,  Iowa ;  Robert  Carter,  37th  Iowa 
Infantry ;  Jacob  Sutton,  14th  Iowa  Infantry ;  W.  W.  Kendall, 
25th  Iowa  Infantry ;  Joseph  Potter,  1st  Iowa  Cavalry ;  Alva 
Grant  ham,  1st  Iowa  Cavalry  ;  Win.  H.  Johnson,  1st  Iowa  Cav- 
alry ;  Dr.  J.  J.  Ely,  Surgeon ;  Jerome  Virden,  4th  Iowa  Cav- 
alry ;  James  Real,  llth  Iowa  Infantry  ;  Jonathan  Ayers,  4th 
Iowa  Cavalry  ;  Robt.  M.  Sypherd,  1st  Iowa  Infantry ;  Lewis 
Lavenburg,  25th  Iowa  Infantry  ;  D.  C.  Strang,  1st  'Iowa  In- 
fantry ;  George  W.  Brown,  25th  Iowa  Infantry ;  Edward  K. 
White,  4th  Iowa  Cavalry  ;  Joseph  F.  Morrison,  4th  Iowa  In- 
fantry ;  J.  A.  Laird,  37th  Iowa  Infantry ;  Gen.  Samuel  Brazel- 
ton,  soldier  in  war  of  1812. 

FOREST  HOME  CEMETERY. — Samuel  McFarland,  Lieut.-Col. 
19th  Iowa  Infantry  ;  H.  H.  Carter,  Captain,  llth  Illinois  In- 
fantry ;  Drummond  White,  Lieut.  56th  IT.  S.  Colored  Infantry ; 
Matthew  Ross,  4th  Iowa  Cavalry  ;  James  H.  White,  25th  Iowa 
Infantry  ;  J.  L.  Worthington,  45th  Iowa  Infantry ;  J.  W.  Clark, 
1st  Iowa  Infantry  ;  S.  E.  Bereman,  37th  Iowa  Infantry  ;  J.  S. 
Bereman,  25th  Iowa  Infantry  ;  Benjamin  F.  Taylor,  25th  Iowa 
Infantry  ;  David  Cavanee,  4th  Iowa  Cavalry  ;  Chas.  A.  Viney, 
1st  Iowa  Battery  ;  Benjamin  Ullery,  4th  Iowa  Cavalry  ;  Charles 
Davis,  do. ;  William  Doyle,  do. ;  D.  M.  Savage,  do. ;  J.  Laugh- 
lin,  do. ;  E.  II.  Stubbs,  do. ;  D.  Deardough,  do ;  G.  W.  Field- 
ing, do.  ;  Sensil  Watts,  do. 

AT  PAOLA,  KANSAS. 

About  2  P.  M.,  the  assemblage  convened  at  the  Post  of  the 
G.  A.  R.  in  this  city,  and  formed  in  procession,  headed  by  Paola 
Silver  Cornet  Band.  Then  followed  soldiers,  bearing  arms  and 
unarmed,  with  sprigs  of  evergreen  and  festoons  of  flowers.  In 
the  rear  followed  a  large  concourse  of  ladies,  with  wreaths  of 
flowers  and  emblems  of  friendship,  to  strew  upoft  the  little 
mounds  of  the  deceased.  Upon  arrival  at  the  cemetery,  the 
procession  was  halted,  and  the  exercises  opened  with  prayer  by 
Chaplain  Clayton,  when  the  band  performed  a  dirge.  Ihen  fol- 
lowed the  oration  of  Post  Commander  Stevens,  after  which  the 
band  played  "  The  Star-Spangled  Banner."  A  detail  was  then 
made,  and  a  vollev  fired  over  the  graves.  Flowers  were  then 


572  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

strewn,  and  the  vine,  the  ivy,  and  the  evergreen,  planted  on  the 
graves.  The  procession  was  re-formed,  and  marched  Lack  to 
the  Post  and  dismissed.  Several  spirited  and  patriotic  speeches 
were  made,  and  patriotic  songs  sung  by  members  of  the  G.  A.  R. 

ADDRESS  BY  HIRAM   STEVENS. 

When  that  Spartan  band  of  immortal  heroes  fell  at  the  Ther- 
mopylae in  defence  of  the  liberties  of  Greece,  it  was  inscribed 
upon  their  tombstones,  that  their  country,  the  world,  and  pos- 
terity, might  read  it  in  all  coming  time,  "  Go,  stranger,  and  tell 
at  Lacedajmon  that  we  died  here  in  defence  of  her  laws."  Well 
might  we  transcribe  the  sentiment  upon  the  monuments  of  our 
heroes  who  have  fallen  upon  the  many  Thermopylaes  from  the 
Potomac  to  the  Rio  Grande,  "  Go  stranger  and  tell  to  the  mil- 
lions that  shall  come  up  after  us,  that  we,  too,  died  here  in  de- 
fense of  American  Liberty,  American  Laws,  and  the  American 
Union."  We  have  met  here  to  commemorate  the  patriotism 
and  deeds  of  valor  of  those  who  are  now  sleeping  the  last  sleep 
beneath  the  green  turf  which  we  this  moment  press  with  san- 
daled feet,  and  with  that  reverence  which  we,  their  surviving 
comrades,  owe  to  our  fallen  brothers  and  friends.  It  is  meet 
that  we  be  here  to-day  to  do  honor  to  all  that  remains  mortal  of 
our  late  comrades-in-arms.  It  is  right,  yea,  it  is  an  imperative 
duty  that  we  owe  to  our  fallen  comrades  and  friends,  that  we, 
in  this  manner,  renew  our  recollections  of  their  patriotic  ser- 
vices. This  day  millions  of  our  countrymen,  from  the  pine-clad 
hills  of  Maine  to  the  golden  shores  of  California,  are  with  us, 
heart  and  soul,  doing  honor  to  the  remains  of  that  mighty  army 
of  two  hundred  thousand,  who  will  no  longer  awake  to  the 
sound  of  the  long  roll,  the  summons  to  strife,  carnage,  and 
death.  That  army  sleeps  quietly,  calmly,  and  serenely  beneath 
the  sod  of  many  a  stricken  and  bloody  field, 

"  With  their  face  to  the  field,  their  feet  to  the  foe, 
Leaving  in  battle  no  blot  on  their  name ; 
Looking  proudly  to  heaven  from  their  death-bed  of  fame." 

But  many,  very  many  of  that  vast  army  of  the  dead  are,  to-day, 
sleeping  coffinless  and  shroudless  over  the  extended  plains,  upon 
the  hills,  in  the  valleys,  among  the  pine  forests,  in  the  cotton 
fields,  and  in  the  rice  swamps  of  the  South. 

"  With  no  stone  upon  their  turf, 

No  bones  in  their  graves, 
Yet  they  live  in  the  verse 
That  immortally  saves." 

And  here  we  see  before  us,  inscribed  upon  many  of  these 
headboards,  the  melancholy  line,  "  Unknown  Union  Soldier." 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  573 

Oh !  what  sad  reflections  rise  in  the  mind—"  unknown  Union 
soldiers."  No  fond  mother,  no  weeping  sister,  no  loving  and 
heart-broken  wife,  this  day  to  weep  with  us  and  drop  a  tear  of 
sorrow  over  their  mortal  remains.  Strangers  in  a  strange  land ! 
What  must  be  the  feelings  of  that  mother,  of  that  sister,  and  of 
that  wife,  when  we,  this  day,  are  strewing  flowers  over  the 
graves  of  these  "unknown  soldiers,"  their  last  resting-place  is, 
to  them,  clouded  in  mystery — to  remain  such,  perhaps,  until  the 
judgment-day,  when  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth  shall  summon 
the  human  race  to  appear  before  the  eternal  throne.  When  the 
sea  and  the  grave  shall  give  up  the  dead,  then  the  mystery  shall 
disappear,  and  these  "  unknown  Union  soldiers "  shall  greet 
their  joyous  friends  with  the  shout  of  triumph — "  Victory  over 
Death."  Then,  with  the  millions  that  have  fallen  with  them, 
in  defence  of  law  and  liberty,  upon  the  gates  of  Paradise,  upon 
the  parapets  of  heaven,  they  will  wave  the  flag  of  a  redeemed 
and  ransomed  race.  Yes,  these  "  Union  soldiers  "  are  known — 
known  to  us,  known  to  posterity,  and,  we  trust,  known  to  the 
Judge  of  all  the  earth.  A  grateful  people,  this  day,  know  and 
do  them  honor.  They  sleep,  by  day,  beneath  these  flowers  of 
red,  white,  and  blue ;  and,  by  night,  beneath  the  blue  dome  of 
heaven  and  galaxy  of  stars,  emblematic  of  that  flag  which  they 
bore  aloft,  unsullied  and  untarnished,  in  the  dread  carnage  of 
battle.  I  know  of  no  motive  more  honorable,  no  purpose  more 
devoted,  than  the  motive  and  purpose  that  sever  the  domestic 
ties  that  bind  a  father  to  his  little  ones,  a  husband  to  his  fond 
wife,  and  which  induce  them  to  forego  the  pleasure  and  endear- 
ments of  home  and  friends,  and  to  go  forth  to  battle  for  one's 
country,  her  liberty,  and  her  laws.  Patriotism,  in  all  ages  of 
the  world,  and  in  all  countries  of  die  earth,  has  ever  been,  and, 
I  tru.-t.  will  ever  continue  to  be,  regarded  as  the  most  laudable 
sentiment  of  man.  That  self-sacrificing  spirit,  that  undying 
and  unfaltering  devotion  to  country  and  her  institutions,  bind 
men  and  people  together  under  one  form  of  government  with 
bands  stronger  than  adamant.  And  hence  the  sentiment  of 
nationality.  Without  this  sentiment,  instead  of  compact  socie- 
ties and  a  common  government  for  the  millions,  all  would  be 
confusion,  chaos,  and  anarchy.  Rapine,  violence,  and  blood- 
shed would  be  the  motive-power  and  vocation  of  the  unhappy 
victims  of  this  wild  anarchy.  Like  the  barbarians  of  ancient 
Germany— the  Goths  and  Vandals— who  with  savage  fierceness 
and  wild  fury  struck  down  the  conquering  eagles  of  Eome,  laid 
waste  her  territory,  and  finally  plundered,  sacked,  and  reduced 
to  ashes  the  city  of  the  Seven  Hills,  at  whose  base  rolled  the 
waters  of  the  Tiber.  After  these  barbarians  had  extinguished 


574  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Roman  civilization  from  that  empire,  that  extended  from  the 
wall  of  Antoninus  in  Caledonia  to  the  river  Tigress,  from  the 
columns  of  Hercules  to  Mount  Atlas,  they  turned  with  savage 
fierceness  and  unrelenting  fury,  and  waged  against  each  other  a 
war  of  extermination.  But  we  Americans  have  picked  up  the 
broken  fragments  of  that  empire,  crystallized  the  principles  that 
once  underlied  the  Republic  of  Rome,  under  the  Scipios  and 
Caesars,  purified  them  through  fire  and  blood,  and  have  laid 
them  deep  as  the  comer-stone  of  our  political  tabernacle.  We 
had  demonstrated  to  mankind  that  law  and  liberty  were  not  in- 
compatible. But  in  an  evil  hour,  when  the  free  choice  and  vol- 
untary suffrage  of  a  great  and  free  people  had  chosen  the  im- 
mortal Lincoln  to  preside  over  the  destinies  of  that  people  for 
the  brief  period  of  four  years,  wicked  and  ambitious  men 
sought,  through  the  force  of  arms,  to  subvert  that  Government. 
They  dared  us  to  the  wager  of  battle.  We,  the  loyal  millions, 
accepted  the  challenge,  and  the  world  knows  the  result.  It 
would  be  a  useless  task  now,  and  on  this  occasion,  to  detail  the 
causes  of  that  struggle  from  which  we  have  just  emerged — a 
struggle  for  national  life  that  has  taxed  this  people  to  their  ut- 
most capacity  in  endurance,  in  treasure,  and  finally  in  the  blood 
of  the  victims,  whom  we  this  day  honor.  The  parricides  of  the 
Republic  sought  to  extend  the  clanking  chains  of  slavery  over 
every  inch  of  our  common  heritage.  It  was  their  boast  that 
they  would  call  the  roll  of  their  slaves  under  the  shadow  of 
Bunker  Hill  Monument.  In  a  word,  that  they  would  convert 
Columbia's  fair  land  into  a  vast  empire  of  slavery,  and  a  slave 
market  in  which  auction  blocks  were  to  be  erected  over  the 
land,  from  which  men,  women,  and  children,  made  in  the 
image  of  God,  were  to  be  sold  into  a  lifelong  servitude  and 
chains.  We  of  the  North  sought,  through  peaceful  means,  to 
prevent  the  spread  of  this  great  crime  into  the  Territories. 
And  before  our  verdict  was  recorded,  the  South  rebelled  against 
that  verdict,  and  seized  upon  the  forts  and  other  public  property 
of  the  Republic,  thereby  compelling  us  to  accept  of  the  chal- 
lenge to  strife,  or  to  tamely  submit  to  a  dissolution  of  the  Union. 
We  did  not  hesitate  as  to  our  duty.  When  the  news  reached 
the  North  that  our  flag  had  been  lowered  at  Foil  Sumter,  and 
its  little  brave  garrison  had  surrendered  to  armed  treason,  this 
people  was  moved  as  was  no  people  on  earth  before.  The  noise 
and  hum  of  industry  in  every  city,  town,  and  hamlet  through- 
out the  land  was  at  once  silenced.  Men,  in  the  streets,  in  their 
counting-rooms,  in  their  workshops,  and  in  their  fields,  with 
compressed  lips,  with  unyielding  purpose,  resolved,  upon  their 
knees,  and  with  their  hands  extending  toward  heaven,  that  their 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  575 

country  should  not  be  dismembered,  Ajid  when  that  -ood 
great  and  immortal  Lincoln,  as  the  chosen  chief  of  the  nation 
appealed  to  the  men  of  that  nation  to  defend  its  integrity  a 
feeling  of  relief  was  telt  in  the  rescue  to  arms.  For  nearly  two 
year,  the  strife  raged  with  unparalleled  fury-success  "more 
often  crowning  the  armies  of  treason  than  those  of  loyalty  and 
union,  the  result  sometimes  hanging  fearfully  in  the  balance. 
Ine  loyal  army  and  people  began  to  grow  faint,  and  demanded 
that  the  war  should  be  prosecuted  by  more  determined  generals 
and  upon  a  different  basis.  Instead  of  using  that  army  for  the 
return  of  slaves  to  their  rebel  masters,  it  was  resolved  to  use  our 
natural  allies— the  enslaved  race.  Then  came  that  famous 
I  reclamation  that  spoke  freedom  to  an  oppressed  people.  The 
enunciation  of  that  Proclamation  rang  out  like  the  voice  of  God 
from  Mount  Sinai,  as  He  gave  the  law  upon  a  tablet  of  stone  to 
his  chosen  people.  The  people  were  joyous,  and  the  army  was 
jubilant.  They  went  Ibrth  to  battle  wi'th  new  hope  and  life ; 
and  He  who  holds  in  His  hands  the  destiny  of  nations,  ^ave  us 
the  victory.  We  met  the  enemies  of  the  JRepublic  witlf  "  Lib- 
erty and  Union  "  streaming  upon  onr  banners,  in  the  swamps 
that  surround  Yicksburg,  upon  the  plains  of  Gettysburg,  upon 
the  rocky  fastness  and  above  the  clouds  of  Lookout  Mountain, 
and  in  front  of  the  gates  of  Atlanta,  and  the  armies  of  treason 
and  rebellion  gave  way  before  the  invincible  armies  of  Grant 
and  Sherman.  The  army  of  Johnson  was  scattered  in  the 
swamps  of  Mississippi,  giving  us  control  of  the  Father  of 
"Waters.  The  army  of  Lee  retreated  hastily  into  Virginia,  and 
the  army  of  Hood  was  dispei-sed  over  the  pine  hills  of  central 
Georgia.  Then  commenced  those  memorable  marches,  without 
a  parallel  in  history  save  those  of  Alexander  the  Great,  and 
Napoleon's  march  into  Russia,  but  with  a  far  different  result. 
It  was  announced  by  the  Lieutenant-General  that  the  Con- 
federacy was  but  a  shell.  And  while  your  brave  and  indomitable 
Blunt  was  scattering  the  rebel  hordes  through  Missouri  into 
Arkansas,  like  chaff  before  the  storm,  Sherman  and  his  invin- 
cible hosts  were  sweeping  the  sandy  pine-forests  of  central  and 
southern  Georgia,  knocking  at  and  opening  the  gates  of  Savan- 
nah, and  linking  his  army  to  the  fleet  upon  the  sea.  And  while 
these  scenes  were  transpiring,  the  intrepid  and  generous  Grant 
was  hu^eing  the  rebel  army  in  Richmond  with  an  iron  grasp 
that  betokened  more  than  human  love. 

And  again  in  January,  1865,  Sherman,  with  his  eighty 
thousand  veterans,  that  never  retreated  or  flinched  before  an 
enemy,  started  from  the  Savannah  river,  scattered  death,  desola- 
tion, and  terror  through  the  rebel  hosts  of  South  Carolina ;  re- 


576  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

duced  Columbia — wb^ere  secession  hatched  the  first  egg  of 
treason — to  a  smouldering  ruin,  and  destroying  cotton,  railroads, 
and  other  sinews  of  war  as  he  swept  through  the  swamps  of  the 
Carolinas.  And  after  a  march  of  sixty-six  days  in  the  swamps 
and  wilderness,  and  the  victory  of  Bentonville,  without  supplies, 
cut  off  from  all  communication  with  the  loyal  millions,  lie  at  last 
encamped  his  hungry,  ragged,  and  barefooted,  but  undismayed 
army,  at  Goldsboro.  After  ten  days'  rest,  starting  to  move  upon 
Raleigh,  defended  by  Johnson,  the  lightning  flashed  the  news 
from  Grant  to  Sherman  that  Richmond — the  rebel  citadel — had 
fallen,  and  lay  prostrate  at  the  feet  of  Grant.  Two  days  later, 
on  the  12th  of  April,  while  the  army  was  encamped  at  Smith- 
field,  another  dispatch  from  Grant  was  received  at  Sherman's 
headquarters,  that  Lee,  with  his  entire  army,  had  surrendered  to 
the  loyal  cause.  Pressing  upon  Raleigh,  that  opened  her  gates  to 
Sherman,  he,  a  few  days  later,  received  the  capitulation  of  John- 
son and  his  army.  Once  more  the  flag  of  the  Union  waved  its 
ample  folds  over  the  soil  of  the  entire  and  united  republic,  with 
DO  slaves  or  clanking  chains  beneath  those  folds.  Marching 
that  army  through  Richmond,  on  the  19th  day  of  May,  A.  D. 
1865,  Sherman  encamped  his  army  with  that  of  Grant's  on  the 
Potomac.  Then  came  the  review  of  two  hundred  thousand 
veterans,  with  the  streets  of  Washington  strewn  with  flowers. 
A  heartfelt  welcome  to  the  saviours  of  the  country  rang  from 
every  street,  and  from  the  dome  of  the  Capitol,  and  reverberated 
through  the  land.  But  amid  this  joyous  scene,  one  melancholy 
reflection  threw  a  cloud  of  gloom  over  the  army  and  people. 
The  chosen  chief,  he  who  for  four  long  years  had,  by  his  council 
and  command,  directed  the  operations  of  that  army,  and  encour- 
aged the  drooping  spirits  of  the  nation,  was  no  more.  Abraham 
Lincoln,  the  good,  the  just,  and  the  true,  had  fallen  from  an  as- 
sassin's bullet.  A  triumphant  nation  in  mourning  over  the  loss 
of  its  chief,  and  that  army  of  the  dead — two  hundred  thousand 
strong.  "  How  are  the  mighty  fallen  in  the  midst  of  the 
battle  !  "  Such  was  the  language  of  lamentation  of  David  over 
Saul  and  Jonathan.  We,  too,  this  day  repeat  the  exclamation 
— "  How  are  the  mighty  fallen  in  the  midst  of  the  battle !  " 
We  call  up  in  our  recollection  to-day,  many  of  our  fallen  com- 
rades. In  imagination  we  speak  to  them,  as  of  yore,  in  the  din 
battle.  But  no  response  from  their  pallid  lips.  No  hearty 
cheer  and  wild  shout  to  brave  us  on  to  the  assault  of  the  ene- 
mies works.  The  roll  is  called.  The  response  is — "  dead  upon 
the  field  of  honor."  No  more  these  fallen  comrades  will  grasp  us 
by  the  hand  and  pledge  anew  their  devotion  to  their  country.  No 
more  will  their  eyes  behold  that  flag  which  they  pressed  to  their 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        577 


oids     t       n  dfatk  No  teara  w 

its  folds.    But  that  gallant  army  of  dead—  two 

beneath  the 


Two  hundred  thousand  rank  and  file  are  they 

Under  the  Captains  of  fulfilled  renown  • 
Led  to  immortal  triumph,  since  the  day    ' 

On  which  they  won  the  heroes  perfect  crown. 

They  march  in  silent  lines  compact  and  strong, 
Enfranchised  from  all  human  doubt  and  dread  • 

JNo  mortal  tremors  through  faint  pulses  throng, 
Jn  the  unshrinking  armies  of  the  dead. 

No  straggler  slinks  away  in  pallid  fear, 

No  sick  list  swells  before  the  battle  day 
No  mixed  and  broken  columns  throng  the  rear, 

When  on  the  front  war's  booming  engines  play. 

They  are  invincible  in  hand  and  heart, 

Before  the  fi^ht  their  victory  is  sure  ; 
From  elbow  touching  comrade  none  shall  part, 

None  shall  the  after-thirst  of  wounds  endure. 

No  cry  for  help  from  front  ranks  pressed  and  sore, 

Rises  above  the  storm  of  fire  and  hail  ; 
They  hold  each  forward  post  forever  more, 

And  no  supports  are  needed  lest  they  fail. 

•    The  fortresses  they  guard  shall  never  yield 
To  gnawing  famine  or  to  bursting  shell; 
No  widening  breach  shall  ever  be  revealed, 
No  pallid  flag  its  tale  of  shame  shall  tell. 

They  ask  no  furlough  till  the  next  campaign, 
_  Through  the  dark  winter  hours  of  storm  and  frost  ; 

Fixed  as  the  earth's  foundation  they  remain, 
The  whole  two  hundred  thousand  at  their  post. 

Their  term  of  service  with  no  time  expires; 

The  hidden  future  need  shall  see  them  stand 
With  changeless  front  to  guard  the  altar  fires, 

Set  up  to  freedom  on  a  ransomed  land. 

Oh,  armies  of  the  dead,  in  tears  and  pain, 

They  were  enlisted  for  the  eternal  years, 
To  keep  humanity's  fair  name  from  stain, 

To  lay  forever  all  its  rising  fears. 

AT  NEW  YOKK  CITY. 

The  principal  cemetery  near  New  York  City  is  that  of  Cy- 

press, Hill,  on  Long  Isla,nd,  a  few  miles  from  Brooklyn,  where 

there  are  about  three  thousand  five  hundred  graves.     During 

the  war,  several  large  general  hospitals  were  located  in  and  near 

37 


578  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

New  York,  among  which  were  the  Central  Park,  Lexington 
avenue,  David's  Island,  Fort  Schuyler,  and  Willett's  Point,  be- 
sides several  smaller  ones  at  the  Battery,  New  England  Rooms, 
and  New  York  State  Home.  All  the  deceased  who  were  not 
removed  by  their  friends  were  placed  in  this  cemetery.  Arrange- 
ments were  made  by  the  Posts  of  Brooklyn  and  Williamsburg, 
participated  in  by  Posts  from  New  York,  for  the  observance  of 
the  day.  At  the  hall  in  the  Post  Office  building,  the  donations 
of  flowers  were  brought  by  children  on  foot,  and  ladies  and  gen- 
tlemen in  carriages,  and  at  an  early  hour  a  rich  supply  of  floral 
decorations  was  heaped  upon  the  reception-tables.  Committees 
were  sent  to  the  cemeteries  of  the  Evergreens,  Holy  Cross, 
Greenwood,  and  the  Naval  Hospital  during  the  forenoon,  and 
at  noon  the  main  body  of  the  comrades  prepared  for  the  cere- 
monies at  Cypress  Hill,  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  J.  L.  Farley, 
A.  A.  G.  of  New  York,  and  Comrades  McLeer,  Mosscrop,  Fox, 
Spoon  er,  and  Gillen. 

Having  reached  the  cemetery  and  formed  in  a  square,  the 
services  were  opened  by  Chaplain  Bass,  who  read  the  service  of 
the  order,  and  led  in  prayer.  Comrade  Wm.  Hemstreet,  Com- 
mander of  Post  No.  10,  then  delivered  the  following  address: 

COMRADES  AND  FRIENDS  :  Notwithstanding  the  quiet  and  un- 
ostentation  with  which  this  day's  great  event  has  been  inaugu- 
rated, no  day  in  American  history  is  its  equal  as  an  attestation 
of  the  ever-living  sentiment  of  American  patriotism. •  To-day 
this  mighty  nation  turns  aside  for  a  moment,  in  the  pursuit  of 
its  material  prosperity,  to  come  to  the  quiet  graves  of  its  mar- 
tyred saviors  and  to  freshen  their  memory  before  the  world.  To 
woman  is  committed  the  immediate  office  of  strewing  their 
graves  with  those  ever-touching  floral  emblems  of  her  own 
faithful  heart  and  her  nature,  with  which  she  lias,  in  all  ages, 
fittingly  garlanded  the  brow  of  the  hero  living,  and  which 
she  has  always  planted  upon  that  little  mound  which  should 
cover  the  soldier  s  breast  when  dead.  There  is  something  more 
romantic  in  that  simple  little  old-fashioned  mound  than  in  clois- 
tered or  cavernous  vaults  for  the  soldier. 

"Bury  him  in  the  clover ; 

He  loved  the  fields  and  they  should  he  his  cover : 
Make  his  grave  with  hers 
Who  called  him  once  her  lover, 
Where  the  winds  may  sigh  upon  it, 
And  the  sun  may  shine  upon  it, 
Where  the  rain  may  rain  upon  it, 
Aud  the  bee  may  dine  upon  it." 

Three  years  have  rolled  on  since  the  last  shot  was  fired  by 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  579 

"State  Rights"  against  the  power  of  the  Union— a  shot  which 
made  the  last,  greatest,  and  best  martyr  to  our  nationality — he 
who  was  the  great  friend  of  soldiers,  of  soldiers'  widows  and  or- 
phans, and  of  soldiers'  graves ;  three  years  have  rolled  on,  and 
111  the  turmoil  and  dust  of  those  commonplaces  which  surround 
and  cover  up  the  poetry  of  the  noblest  things  in  the  present,  the 
nation  seemed  for  a  time  to  have  forgotten  its  immense  debt. 
But  time  is  perhaps  now  beginning  to  lift  our  people  to  an  alti- 
tude whence  the  proportions  of  the  crisis  through  which  we 
have  passed,  and  the  grand 'services  of  each  humble  actor  in  the 
front  line  of  events  can  be  measured.  Comrades,  this  day  is 
a  substantial  omen  to  the  living.  This  day  is  a  significant  sign 
of  the  ineradicable  love  in  our  people's  hearts  as  a  nationality ; 
for  though  these  ceremonies  were  begun  by  comrades,  it  has 
been  taken  up  and  sympathized  in  by  the  people.  We,  com- 
rades, are  of  the  people,  and  from  us  the  people  at  large  will 
catch  the  spirit  and  perpetuate  it.  This  act  will  engender  pat- 
riotism in  the  young  and  renew  the  old  fires  in  all  others.  As 
those  truths  which  are  draped  in  song  and  poesy  live  longest,  so 
will  these  poetic  offerings  to  the  dead  shine  in  our  history  with 
a  lustre  unequalled  by  that  of  those  more  immediately  substan- 
tial acts  of  charity  to  the  living.  All  over  this  broad  land,  at 
this  hour,  as  we  stand  here,  .within  hearing  of  the  surge  under 
which  sleep  some  of  our  comrades,  the  loyal  church-bells  of 
every  hamlet  and  village  are  chiming,  the  citizens  have  turned 
aside  from  their  vocations,  and  loyal  hearts  are  now  bending 
over  those  graves,  whether  they  be  in  the  piney  woods  along 
the  Atlantic's  coast  or  the  dark  forests  of  Tennessee ;  whether 
they  be  on  the  glorious  fields  of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania, 
where  their  sleeping  occupants  fell  amid  glory,  or  on  the  shores 
of  the  great  north  lakes  where  the  wild  song  of  breakers  is  mur- 
muring a  fit  symphony  of  the  roar  of  battle — as  it  were  a  lul- 
laby to  the  soldier's  rest ;  whether  those  graves  dot  the  flower- 
covered  prairies  of  the  West  or  the  pure  hillsides  of  New  Eng- 
land— they  are  sought  out,  and  are  at  this  moment  odorous  with 
the  incense  of  flowers  bedewed  to  immortal  freshness  with  a 
nation's  tears,  and  the  "  dear  old  flag,"  which  they  upheld  so 
well,  always  like  a  thing  of  life,  now'waves  its  sheltering  folds 
over  thenTin  cadence  to  the  requiems  being  sung  around  them. 
Our  republic  in  its  free-will  union  had  commanded  the  respect 
and  admiration  of  the  world  for  its  prosperity  and  power  as  a 
body  politic,  and  for  the  individual  happiness  and  prosperity  of 
its  citizens ;  but  had  it  not  been  for  those  men  whose  bones  now 
lie  at  our  feet,  and  their  three  hundred  thousand  comrades 
Bleeping  upon  the  thousand  battle-fields,  and  beneath  the  wave, 


580  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

this  "  majestic  temple  of  Freedom  "  would  to-day  be  in  ruins 
about  us,  the  scoff  of  all  monarchists.  And  with  that  universal 
destruction  of  our  political  fabric  would  have  sunk  all  social  se- 
curity. When  the  mind  reflects  upon  the  contrast  between 
what  we  behold  around  about  us  to-day,  and  what  might  have 
been  but  for  the  noble  spirits  that  once  animated  this  moulder- 
ing clay  here  beneath  us,  it  staggers  at  the  magnitude  of  that 
contrast  and  is  unwillingly  led  to  its  belief.  It  is  a  pity  that, 
notwithstanding  this  mighty  revolution,  which  seems  like  the 
Almighty's  own,  making  the  American  people  merely  his 
agents  for  the  behoof  of  this  world  and  posterity,  the  justness 
of  the  cause  for  which  these  men  gave  their  Jives  should  even 
yet  be  questioned.  And  this  is  one  of  the  strongest  reasons 
•why  appeals  should  be  made  to  every  human  sentiment  to 
keep  alive  the  attachment  to  what  was  the  Federal  Union,  but 
what  is  now,  by  God's  own  Hat,  a  nation,  leaving  that  centrali- 
zation so  dreaded  by  the  enemies  of  law  and  order  to  follow,  as 
the  intelligence,  the  Christianity,  the  sociality,  and  the  facilities 
of  intercommunication  may  lead.  But  whatever  political  clouds 
may  portend,  here,  comrades,  by  the  graves  of  our  fallen  bro- 
thers, let  us  swear  once  more  eternal  fealty  to  that  flag  and  to 
our  own  priceless  records.  The  bones  of  our  dead  comrades 
shall  never  rattle  in  their  coffins  at  our  recreancy.  "  Priceless 
records,"  it  was  said.  Because  no  wealth  can  buy  such  records, 
no  attainments  can  buy  them,  not  even  courage  nor"  patriotism 
can  now  buy  them.  They  are  rewards  for  nothing  that  you 
merit  abovo  your  fellow-citizens,  except  in  the  ppssession  of  that 
one  element  of  simple,  spontaneous  patriotism  that  called  you 
to  the  front  at  the  first  roll  of  the  drum — that  element  only 
which  has  ever  saved  nations. 

Let  this  day  be  commemorated  over  the  land,  and  become  a 
national  anniversary,  not  second  even  to  the  signing  of  the  De- 
claration of  Independence.  We  have  an  anniversary  of  the  na- 
tion born  ;  let  there  be  an  anniversary  of  the  nation  saved.  It 
need  never  be  a  day  of  mourning,  but  of  joy  and  triumph.  As 
in  the  solemn  burial  of  a  soldier  we  proceed  to  the  place  of  in- 
terment with  slow  march  and  muffled  drums,  and  then  march 
away  to  lively  and  inspiriting  music,  so  after  this  duty  each  year 
we  can  celebrate  the  rest  of  the  day  with  demonstrations  of  joy. 
The  national  observance  of  this  respect  to  the  memory  of  the 
dead  Union  soldier  will  be  of  practical  utility  in  accustoming 
the  popular  heart  to  the  idea,  so  that  that  respect  will,  to  some 
degree,  attach  to  the  living  ;  and  in  a  few  recurrences  of  this  an- 
niversary we  may  see  no  more  the  spectacle  of  the  beggar  in 
blue  blouse  nor  of  the  empty  sleeve  or  the  crutch  seeking  in 
vain  from  shop  to  office  for  honest  employment. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  531 

But  there  is  another  thought  which,  hefore  we  leave  mnst 
have  expression  What  are  these  other  graves,  from  the  Com 
ot  winch  ascends  no  perfume  of  flowers  as  a  national  offering 

fs0^teh3thep?   r  T  t0W     ^  the?  reSt  in  Peace  '  their  raista^e 
s  with  their  God.     We  cannot,  by  apotheosis  of  them  or  their 

cause,  encourage  their  living;  jet,  let  the  offerings  of  kindred 

and  domestic  love  be  twined  about  them,  and  let  them  not  be 

desecrated  bj  vindictive  touch,  for  they  fell  as  our  own  fell— 

oldiers,  Americans.      But  in  taking  our  leave,  let  us  by  these 

raves  swear  that  we  shall  always  stand  ready  to  make  more  of 

«  ^S^™^118  ollce  more  rePeat  our  sh°rt  and  simple  creed  • 
"ETERNAL  FIDELITY  TO  NATIONAL  UNITY."  That 
alone  was  the  issue  that  made  us  comrades  at  first,  that  was  the 
wsue  for  which  these  men  were  killed,  and  ly  that  issue  are  we 
bound  together;  while  as  a  Irotherhood  we  leave  att  other  issues 
to  other  people.  But,  comrades,  little  more  need  be  said.  Our 
duty  is  well  done  to-day,  as  it  has  been  in  the  past ;  and  the 
spirits  of  the  departed  may  now  look  down  upon  this  scene,  as 
well,  too,  the  living  beholders,  and  say:  " Dulce  et  decorum  est 
pro  patria  mori  " — Sweet  and  becoming  it  is  for  one's  country 
to  die. 

Rev.  Mr.  Everitt  and  Rev.  Matthew  Hale  Smith  made  brief 
but  eloquent  and  effective  addresses.  The  services  were  closed 
with  prayer  by  Rev.  W.  H.  Boole,  and  benediction.  The  graves 
were  then  visited,  and  the  flowers  distributed,  the  large  assembly 
being  detained  till  a  late  hour  before  they  separated  to  their 
homes.  In  the  evening,  memorial  services  were  held  at  Elm 
Place  Church,  Rev.  Wm.  A.  Bartlett,  Pastor.  Rev.  Mr.  Gal- 
lagher, of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  offered  prayer,  and  Mr. 
Bartlett  read  the  service  and  delivered  an  address.  The  hymn 
written  for  the  occasion  by  Mr.  Bourne  was  sung,  and  Mr.  Gal- 
lagher and  others  made  addresses.  At  the  close,  the  ode  written 
by  Edward  P.  Nowell  was  sung,  and  the  whole  congregation 
was  dismissed  with  the  benediction.  Some  of  the  Posts,  whose 
members  could  not  leave  their  accustomed  duties  on  Saturday, 
appointed  Sunday,  May  31st,  in  which  several  Posts  of  New 
York  and  Williamsburg  took  part  in  very  impressive  ceremo- 
nies. The  storm  of  Saturday  had  ceased,  the  sky  was  clear, 
and  the  sacredness  of  the  Sabbath  hour  made  this  visit  to  the 
"  city  of  the  dead  "  one  of  serious  and  holy  associations.  Post 
Phil.  Kearny  No.  8,  and  Post  I.  I.  Stevens,  No.  36,  had  ap- 
pointed memorial  services  at  the  hall  of  Post  No.  8,  and^at  three 
o'clock  a  crowded  audience  was  assembled.  The  exercises  were 
opened  by  singing  the  following  hymn : 


582  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

HYMX. 
Written  for  the  Memorial  Service*  to  the  Fallen  Heroet  of  the  TFar,  May 

SOth,  1868. 
TCXE— "  Pleyel's  Hymn.1' 

Love  immort-il  for  the  dead, 

Lying  here  in  gloried  sleep, 
Where  the  angels  softly  tread, 

While  their  holy  watch  they  keep. 

Wreaths  we  bring  that  ne'er  shall  fade, 

Greener  with  the  passing  years, 
Brighter  lor  our  sorrow's  shade, 

Jewelled  with  our  failing  tears. 

Here  they  died  t!:at  truth  might  live, 

Here  they  fell  in  freedom's  name, 
Giving  all  that  man  can  give — 

Life  for  glory's  deathless  fame. 

Bend  in  love,  O  azure  sky ! 

Shine,  O  stars,  at  evening  time ! 
Watch  where  heroes  calmly  lie, 

In  their  faith  and  hope  sublime. 

God  of  nations,  bless  the  land 

Thou  hast  saved  to  make  us  free ; 
Guide  us  with  thy  mighty  hand, 

Till  all  lands  shall  come  to  THEE  ! 

WM.  OLAXD  BOURNE. 

A  portion  of  the  Scriptures  was  read,  and  prayer  offered  by 
the  Chaplain  of  Post.  Xo.  8,  after  which  Commander  Morgan 
made  a  few  remarks,  and  called  upon  Comrade  J.  W.  Marshall, 
Commander  of  Post  !No.  36,  to  preside.  Colonel  "Wm.  Hem- 
street,  of  Brooklyn,  made  an  address,  followed  by  Comrade 
Marshall,  and  after  an  appropriate  chant  by  the  choir,  the 
Chaplain  of  Post.  ~&Q.  8,  Wm.  Oland  Bourne,  made  the  closing 
address.  The  comrades  present  laid  their  offerings  upon  an  em- 
blematic altar  prepared  for  the  occasion,  and  the  following 
hymn,  by  E.  P.  Is  owell,  was  sung : 

With  Nature's  fairest  gifts  we  come 

To  deck  these  silent,  solemn  mounds, 
And  though  the  flowers'  lips  be  dumb, 

Yet  speak  they  love  that  hath  no  bounds! 

They  show  that  those  who  bravely  stood, 

In  truth's  defence,  in  loyal  mi,rht, 
Though  for  this  cause  they've  shed  their  blood, 

They  live  in  hearts  that  love  the  right. 

The  flag  on  battle  fields  they  bore — 
The  flag  that  o'er  their  dear  dust  waves; 

O  hallowed  flag !  may  history's  lore 

Ne'er  tell  thou'rt  gone  from  o'er  their  graves. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        583 

O  sacred  dust  of  those  who  fell 

In  gory  strife's  appalling  hour ; 
Remembrance  of  their  deeds  shall  well 

"Within  our  souls  with  searching  power. 

Our  Father,  aid  us  well  to  love 

Our  land  ;md  its  defenders  true ; 
Teach  all  in  faith  to  look  above 

And  give  us  strength  the  right  to  do ! 

The  services  were  closed  with  an  invocation,  and  the  com- 
rades took  their  flowers,  and  proceeded  in  marching  order  to  the 
graveyard  of  Trinity  Church,  where  the  hero  of  undyino-  fame 
alter  whom  the  Post  was  named— General  PHILIP  KEAENT— 
quietly  sleeps.  On  the  invitation  of  Comrade  Marshall,  Kev. 
Dr.  Ogilby,  the  officiating  clergyman  of  Trinity,  conducted  the 
services.  It  was  by  a  happy  coincidence  that  the  school-mate 
of  the  hero  should  thus  have  been  called  upon  to  pay  his  tribute 
on  so  interesting  an  occasion  to  the  memory  of  his  friend.  With 
much  feeling  the  reverend  speaker  said  :  I  should  not  be  acting 
fairly  where  I  not  to  state  that  this  scene  deeply  affects  me,  for 
it  is  too  often  the  case  that  when  persons  have  done  some  par- 
ticular good  to  their  fellow-men,  they  are  allowed  to  pass  entirely 
out  of  remembrance.  Unlike  this  too  common  course,  we  hear 
from  all  parts  of  this  great  land  that  comrades  have  borne  in 
remembrance  those  who  have  fallen  ;  and  you  have  come  here 
to  show  that  you  bear  yours  in  memory  ;  that  you  remember 
him  who  has  helped  to  serve  and  bless  the  country  in  the  hour 
of  her  need ;  who  died,  like  the  martyrs  of  old,  for  the  good 
and  blessing  of  his  race.  It  has  been  my  happy  and  pleasing 
lot  to  have  known  the  deceased  from  his  boyhood,  for  we  were 
playmates,  and,  as  boys,  were  constant  companions.  It  was, 
therefore,  a  fortunate  thing  for  me  that,  as  I  was  about  to  leave 
the  sacred  edifice,  this  pleasing  yet  sad  ceremony  should  have 
taken  place  ;  and  I  feel  thankful  that  it  has  fallen  to  my  lot  to 
be  thus  made  a  participator  therein.  As  boys  we  have  played 
together,  and  I  noted  his  course  as  a  man.  When  he  went  forth 
to  Mexico,  my  mind  followed  him  ;  when  he  discharged  his  duty 
in  Europe,  I  felt  interested  in  his  movements ;  and  when  lie  led 
his  brave  followers  through  the  dangers  and  trials  of  our  domes- 
tic troubles,  it  was  with  an  intense  interest  that  I  watched  the 
accounts  of  his  gallant  deeds.  You  have  this  day  come  to  strew 
his  grave  with  flowers,  those  emblems  both  of  our  mortality  and 
of  our  immortality — those  beautiful  works  of  nature  which 
were  blessed  by  the  Saviour  when  he  pointed  to  them  and  said  : 
"  Behold  the  lilies  of  the  Held  how  they  grow  ;  they  toil  not, 
neither  do  they  spin ;  yet  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was  not 


584  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

arrayed  like  one  of  these."  The  Rev.  Doctor  then  offered  up 
prayer  for  the  divine  blessing  to  rest  on  the  efforts  then  being 
made  to  perpetuate  the  memories  of  the  dead,  and  dismissed  the 
audience  with  the  benediction. 

On  Sunday  evening,  Post  Sumner,  No.  24,  and  Post  Win- 
throp,  No.  28,  held  services  in  their  hall,  corner  of  Hudson  and 
Christopher  streets.  The  opening  exercises  were  conducted  by 
Rev.  D.  K.  Lee,  of  the  M.  E.  Church  in  Jane  street.  Floral 
offerings  were  deposited  upon  the  emblematic  and  flag-covered 
coffin,  a  dirge  was  finely  sung  by  the  choir,  and  a  very  eloquent 
eulogy  upon  the  American  soldier  pronounced  by  Colonel  A.  J 
PL  .Duganne.  After  singing  by  the  choir,  and  remarks  by 
Major  C.  W.  Coutan,  Hon.  N.  B.  Stratton  made  a  brief  address, 
followed  by  William  Oland  Bourne,  editor  of  the  Soldier's 
Friend.  The  audience  then  joined  in  singing  the  hymn  written 
for  the  day : 

"  Love  immortal  for  the  dead," 

and  were  dismissed  with  prayer  and  benediction. 

Post  Sedgwick,  No.  11,  held  its  services  at  the  hall,  on  Fri- 
day evening.  May  29th.  The  opening  by  the  the  Chaplain, 
Rev.  J.  B.  Willis,  followed  by  reading  the  General  Order  No. 
11 ;  General  Rush  C.  Hawkins  delivered  an  address,  in  which 
he  reviewed  the  sufferings  of  Southern  prisons  ;  an  extract  from 
a  letter  of  President  Lincoln  was  read ;  Col.  F.  A.  Conkling 
made  an  address ;  emblematic  floral  offerings  were  made,  and 
the  services  were  closed  with  the  Doxology,  and  benediction  by 
Chaplain  Willis. 

AT  GREENWOOD  CEMETEKT,  NEW  YORK. 

Comrade  E.  B.  Spooner  Jr.,  having  stated  the  object  of  the 
gathering,  read  the  ritual  for  the  dead  and  an  appropriate  pas- 
sage from  the  Bible,  Mr.  Spooner  then  introduced  Captain  R. 
H.  Chittenden,  who  spoke  as  follows : 

COMRADES  AND  FRIENDS  :  There  are  those  who  believe  that 
the  spirits  of  the  departed  revisit  the  scenes  once  familiar  to 
them,  and  love  to  linger  near  the  friends  they  leave  behind. 
Whether  it  be  so  I  know  not,  but  to-day  I  will  cherish  the 
thought  that  our  brethren  whose  mortal  remains  are  crumbling 
back  to  dust  where  they  fell,  either  on  the  battle-field,  in  the 
trenches  at  Andersonville  and  Salisbury,  or  in  our  own  beauti- 
ful Greenwood,  where  loving  hands  have  laid  them,  are  with  us 
to-day,  to  respond  to  the  sacred  sentiments  which  have  called 
us  together,  and  with  spirit-hands  to  touch  the  chords  of  our 
hearts,  causing  them  to  vibrate  in  unison  with  those  celestial 
songs  in  which  they  celebrate  "  Glory  to  God,  and  good  will  to 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  585 

men  !'  There  are  occasions,  my  comrades,  and  we  have  known 
many  of  them  since  that  fatal  shot  upon  Sumter  called  us  from 
the  hold,  the  work-shop,  or  the  office,  to  follow  that  sacred  em- 
blem of  our  national  integrity  and  liberty,  through  alternate 
defeat  and  victory,  when  our  hearts  were  too  full  for  utterance 
— when  the  most  eloquent  words  fell  tamely  upon  the  ear,  and 
the  heavy  sigh  and  the  manly  tear  were  more  expressive  to  them 
than  the  most  eloquent  tongue.  Such  an  occasion  we  have  to- 
day, and  if  you  ask  me  for  an  orator  adequate  thereto,  I  will 
point  you  to  that  boy  in  blue  who  to-day  placed  a  hunch  of 
violets  upon  the  grave  of  his  comrade  who  marched  with  him  to 
the  battle  one  sunny  morning,  but  who  never  again  answered  to 
the  roll  call !  A  bunch  of  violets — "Think  of  me,  I  remember 
you."  Emblem  of  memory  that  springs  up  anew  with  each  re- 
turning year.  But  I  forgot — we  did  have  an  orator  who  was 
adequate  to  this  task.  You  remember  that  tall,  ungraceful 
form  who  stood  up  before  the  assembled  multitude  at  Gettys- 
burg, whose  name  stands  first  in  the  roll  of  our  honored  dead — 
our  late  Commander-in-Chief,  Abraham  Lincoln?  Would  that 
God  had  seen  fit  to  spare  him !  Words  shall  live  in  the  memo- 
ries of  every  lover  of  freedom  when  the  classic  oratory  of 
Thucydides  over  the  heroes  of  Marathon  shall  have  been  for- 
gotten. Let  us  recall  them  to-day.  Let  them  inspire  our  souls 
with  something  of  the  divine  charity  which  filled  the  great 
heart  of  Lincoln !  We  have  associated  ourselves  to  do  the 
work  which  he  enjoined  upon  us ;  to  "  care  for  him  who  has 
borne  the  battle,  for  his  widow  and  his  orphans,  with  malice 
towards  none."  Let  us  say  to  our  late  foes — we  have  buried  all 
animosity  in  the  grave.  Renew  your  vows  of  allegiance  to 
the  Union,  the  Constitution,  and  the  old  flag ;  do  justice  to  all 
men  white  or  black,  and  then  resume  the  exercise  of  the  privi- 
leges you  have  forfeited,  return  to  our  embrace,  join  our  proces- 
sion, and  together  we  will  strew  flowers  upon  the  graves  of  the 
blue  and  the  grey.  Comrades,  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  I  am 
ready  to  admit  into  our  order  those  who  fought  against  that  flag  ! 
They  will  never  ask  it.  Ours  is  a  sacred  brotherhood  banded  for 
eacred  purposes ;  to  keep  alive  the  flame  of  patriotism  in  our 
hearts,  to  encourage  loyalty  to  our  constitution,  to  care  for  the 
soldier's  widow  and  orphans.  However  ungrateful  the  Republic 
may  seem,  let  us  not  be  forgetful.  Let  this  day  be  celebrated 
until  the  last  soldier  of  thV Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  shall 
have  been  borne  to  his  tomb.  Comrades,  neither  you  nor  I  will 
live  to  see  that  day,  but  there  is  one  of  our  number,  perchance 
some  drummer  boy  of  the  Grand  Army,  who  shall  live  to  bear 
the  unique  honor  'of  being  the  last  of  the  G.  A.R1- the  last 


586  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

soldier  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Eepublic.  Let  me,  on  this 
our  first  memorial  day,  cast  the  horoscope  of  our  future.  Three 
quarters  of  a  century  have  passed  away  ;  a  hundred  States  and  a 
hundred  millions  are  embraced  within  our  Federal  Union  ;  busy 
cities  have  sprung  up  in  the  track  of  the  Great  Pacific  Railroad, 
over  which  the  East  pours  her  treasures  into  the  lap  of  New 
York,  the  metropolis  of  the  world.  Methiuks  I  see  that  last 
comrade,  an  old  man,  bowing  under  the  weight  of  ninety  years, 
his  hoary  locks  trembling  in  the  breeze,  as  with  tottering  steps 
he  approaches,  to  place  upon  your  tomb  or  mine,  his  last  tribute 
of  fiuwers.  Throngs  of  reverent  citizens  attend  him  on  his 
sacred  way,  and  bear  him  in  triumph  to  his  home.  When  that 
day  shall  come,  may  his  dimmed  eyes  behold  the  old  flag  of 
his  fathers,  then  as  now  the  symbol  of  liberty  and  equality,  then 
as  now  floating  over  an  inspired  people,  made  free  and  happy 
by  the  death  of  those  we  mourn,  and  the  sacrifices  of  those  who 
still  survive. 

Thou  dear  old  flag,  dearer  than  erst  by  far, 

No  stripe  erased,  a  State  for  every  star, 
Of  banners  all  most  beautiful  and  best, 

The  dread  of  tyrants,  hope  of  the  oppressed, 
From  polar  snows  to  Mexico's  dark  wave 

Shall  float  o'er  freemen,  never  more  o'er  slave  I 

At  the  close  of  the  address,  a  prayer  was  offered  by  Com. 
Spooner,  when  the  delegation  proceeded  to  strew  the  graves  of 
their  comrades  with  flowers.  Details  visited  the  graves  of  Col- 
onel Edgar  Perry,  who  fell  while  leading  his  regiment  in  the 
charge  at  Coal  Harbor,  Virginia,  June  3d,  1864 ;  of  Colonel  A. 
Vosburgh,  the  loved  Commander  of  the  New  York  Seventy- 
first,  M'ho  died  in  the  service  from  exposure,  in  leading  his  regi- 
ment from  Annapolis  to  Washington,  in  April,  1861,  and  many 
others. 

AT  YONKERS,  NEW  YORK. 

The  procession,  headed  by  the  band  of  the  55th  Regiment,  was 
formed  in  Getty  Square,  Captain  James  Stewart,  Grand  Marshal, 
and  marched  to  St.  John's  Cemetery. 

The  flowers  provided,  in  the  shape  of  wreaths,  crosses  bou- 
quets, &c.,  were  abundant  and  beautiful.  A  portion  of  the 
flowers  were  taken  by  a  Committee  to  the  Roman  Cemetery,  where 
eleven  graves  of  soldiers  were  decorated.  The  names  of  the 
eleven  were  as  follows :  Patrick  Burns,  Michael  Lee,  Patrick 
Doile,  Dennis  Cliney,  Thomas  Garry,  Win.  McGafferty,  Win. 

Douled,  James  Montague,  James  Brogil,  Murphy, 

Morrissey. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  587 

Tn  St.  John's  Cemetery,  the  procession  having  halted  near  the 
family  vault,  a  fervent  prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  Dr 
,ra\vt..r.l,  «,t  the  Methodist  Church.     The  procession  then  visit- 
ed and  decorated  with  flowers  the  graves  of  the  following  dead 
soldiers:  Col.  Howard  Carroll,  Lieut.  Dwight,  Lieut.  De  Witt 
A1) 


.  ,         .  ,        ep        ns- 

worth,  James  Granger,  Charles  Tyler,  Benj.  Nodine.  Charles 
.tester,  James  Walton  and  Charles  E.  Lawrence. 

At  the  last  grave  visited,  an  eloquent  address  was  delivered 
by  Col.  Geo.  W.  Farnham  ;  and  an  impressive  prayer  was  made 
by  Rev.  Dr.  Cole  of  the  Reformed  Church.  The  ceremonies  of 
the  cemeteries  concluded,  the  procession  proceeded  to  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church,  where  was  assembled  a  large  congregation. 
The-  st-mces  were  opened  with  prayer  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mudge, 
of  the  Westminster  Church.  Capt.  Edward  W.  Jenkins  then 
delivered  an  address  which  was  listened  to  with  great  interest, 
and  called  forth  from  all  who  heard  it  expressions  of  admiration 
for  its  eloquence  and  appropriateness. 

He  spoke  beautifully  in  the  commencement  of  the  honors 
paid  in  ancient  times  to  the  dead  heroes  and  warriors,  and  of 
the  custom  of  decorating  their  tombs  with  flowers.  He  spoke 
in  strong  terms  of  the  wickedness  of  the  rebellion,  but  said  with 
feeling,  that  while  we  could  not  decorate  the  last  abode  of  the 
rebellious  dead  with  floral  wreaths,  "we  could  afford,  as  brave 
men  towards  brave  men,  bid  them  rest  in  peace,  as  we  drop  a 
tear  of  pity  on  their  tomb,  and  breath  a  mournful  sigh  for  so 
much  more  than  wasted  manhood."  He  spoke  of  the  lesson 
which  the  graves  of  the  soldier  teaches  us  —  that  the  battle  is 
not  yet  over  —  that  treason,  conquered  in  the  field,  is  striving  by 
treachery  to  accomplish  that  which  open  valor  failed  to  achieve. 
He  spoke  of  the  unparalleled  character  of  the  war,  whether  we 
look  at  the  nature  of  the  struggle,  the  causes  which  led  to  it,  the 
number  and  materiel  of  the  troops  engaged  on  either  side,  and 
the  issues  involved.  After  giving  a  brief  review  of  the  history 
of  the  war,  and  alluding  beautifully  to  Abraham  Lincoln,  he 
spoke  of  the  roll  of  honor  of  our  dead  heroes,  and  said: 

"  On  that  roll  of  honor,  Yonkers  is  but  too  well  represented. 
Nineteen  of  our  village  heroes  sleep  in  yonder  cemetery,  and 
eleven  in  the  other  —  thirty  in  all  —  an  honorable  percentage  of 
her  patriot  sons.  Would  that  I  could  linger  over  their  brief  but 
gallant  history.  Familiar  names  every  one:  —  Lawrence  and 
Mason  ;  Nodine,  Beasley  and  Morgan  ;  Lieuts.  Dwight  and 
Kniffin,  behind  the  shelter  of  whose  guns  I  have  slumbered 


588  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

peacefully  even  on  the  battle-field ;  Thompson  and  Granger;  Col- 
onel Howard  Carroll,  and  the  brave  young  George  S.  Rockwell, 
son  of  our  esteemed  fellow-citizen ;  E.  Atwood  Rainous  and 
Hamilton,  martyrs  to  Southern  '  chivalry  '  as  exemplified  in  their 
treatment  as  prisoners  of  war ;  Ainsworth,  Sickley,  Foster,  and 
the  rest — a  goodly  .company.  These,  in  their  honored  tombs,  are 
silent  witnesses  that  Yonkers  in  the  hour  of  trial  was  not  un- 
mindful of  her  duty." 

Capt.  Jenkins  next  spoke  of  the  organization  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  under  whose  auspices  the  ceremonies  of 
the  day  were  inaugurated,  and  which  ceremonies  "  it  was  the 
fixed  purpose  of  the  organization,  with  God's  help,  to  renew 
from  year  to  year,  while  a  survivor  of  the  war  remains  to  honor 
the  memory  of  his  departed  comrades."  In  this  connection, 
Capt.  Jenkins  said  that  the  organization  had  been  abused  and 
treated  by  certain  parties  as  a  political  organization.  He  said  : 
"  Our  regulations  tell  us  that  it  is  for  the  purpose,  among  other 
things,  of  strengthening  those  kind  and  fraternal  feelings  which 
have  bound  together  those  who  wanted  to  suppress  the  late  re- 
bellion. If  this  is  political — if  this  is  partisanship — we  must 
admit  that  there  is  something  pure  in  party,  and  that  a  better 
era  has  dawned  upon  American  politics  than  we  are  aware  of. 
If  to  love  country  better  than  life — if  to  unite  to  keep  that  dear 
old  blood-stained  flag  ever  floating  in  unsullied  purity  and  un- 
disturbed freedom  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific — if  again 
and  again  to  renew  solemn  vows  that  our  bodies  will  be  her  bul- 
warks, and  that  no  polluting  touch  of  traitorous  hand  shall  ever 
again  lower  it  from  its  lofty  height — if  to  tenderly  cherish  the 
memory  of  our  departed  brothers,  and  to  uphold  the  rights  and 
to  care  for  the  wants  of  the  maimed,  the  widow  and  the  orphan 
— if  to  hold  and  maintain  at  all  hazards  that  the  Union  is,  now 
and  forever,  one  and  inseparable — if  this  be  politics,  if  this  be 
partisanship,  then  are  we  politicians,  then  are  we  partisans 
indeed." 

At  the  conclusion  of  Capt.  Jenkin's  address,  the  Rev.  A.  J. 
Behrends  offered  a  prayer  and  pronounced  the  benediction. 

AT  MIDDLE-TOWN,  NEW  YORK. 

The  comrades  and  their  friends  who  assisted  in  the  services 
at  this  place  first  marched  to  the  Catholic  Cemetery,  where  the 
ladies  proceeded  to  strew  the  graves  with  flowers.  Maj.  Van 
Houton  acted  as  Master  of  Ceremonies,  and  introduced  Gen. 
Van  Wyck,  who  made  a  brief  and  touching  address,  in  sub- 
stance as  follows : 

I  regret,  my  friends,  that  Father  O'Reilly  is  not  present  on 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS  GRAVES.  589 

this  interesting  occasion  to  offer  a  few  remarks,  and  thus  add  ad- 
ditional interest  to  these  solemn  ceremonies.  This  is  no  idle  or  un- 
meaning ceremony.  Everywhere  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  our  widely  extended  land,  from  the  lakes  to  the  Gulf, 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  the  ladies  of  our  country,  in  com- 
mon with  our  fellow-citizens,  to-day  meet  around  the  graves  of  the 
dead  heroes  of  our  Republic,  to  decorate  them  with  flowers,  and 
water  them  with  tears ;  and  this  beautiful  ceremony  which  we 
inaugurate  here  to-day,  is  not  to  be  an  evanescent  one,  but  is 
designed  to  be,  and  shall  be,  as  lasting  as  the  Eepublic  itself; 
aye,  so  long  as  human  hearts  shall  anywhere  pant  for  a  free  gov- 
ernment and  constitutional  liberty,  so  long  shall  humanity  cherish 
the  memory  of  these  our  dead  heroes.  We  who  meet  around 
their  graves  to-day  with  floral  offerings  and  grateful  hearts,  little 
know  the  sufferings  they  underwent,  the  dangers  and  sacrifices 
they  endured,  and  the  heroic  daring  they  exhibited — these  noble 
men,  who,  with  their  lives  in  their  hands,  went  out  from  our 
midst  to  battle  for  us  and  for  a  free  government  regulated  by 
law.  But  history  to  their  eternal  honor  will  record  that  by  their 
valor  they  saved  the  Republic,  and  by  their  own  right  arms  they 
preserved  for  all  time  and  for  all  nations,  this,  the  last  refuge  of 
constitutional  liberty. 

The  ceremonies  here  being  ended,  the  procession  took  its  way 
from  thence  to  the  Middletown  Cemetery,  on  Academy  Avenue. 
The  only  soldiers  buried  here  are  James  Cranston,  and  another 
named  Webb.  The  graves  were  appropriately  decorated,  not 
forgetting  to  place  a  beautiful  wreath  of  choicest  flowers  over 
the  monument  erected  to  the  memory  of  Nathaniel  D.  Tinney, 
formerly  of  Ridge  bury,  who  went  down  with  the  Cumberland, 
being  killed  heroically  fighting  his  guns  in  that  ever  memorable 
contest  with  the  Merrimac.  The  procession  then  took  up  its 
line  of  march  for  u  Hillside  Cemetery,"  where  graves  were  vis- 
ited in  the  following  order  : 

Henry  Armstrong,  who  was  in  Gen.  Sherman's  army;  Wil- 
liam II.  Terry,  whose  regiment  we  did  not  get ;  Corporal  Daniel 
E  Webb,  wounded  at  Chancellorsville,  and  died  at  Alexandria, 
Va.,  August  24,  1863 ;  Winfield  W.  Parsons,  Sergt.  Co.  K, 
124th  Regiment,  died  in  hospital  at  Washington,  D.  0., ,  July  3, 
1863  in  his  twenty-first  year,  from  wounds  received  in  the  battle 
of  the  Wilderness,  on  the  5th  of  May,  1863 ;  Samuel  Bond,  of 
the  56th  Regiment ;  Robert  A.  Couch,  Regiment  not  known ; 
John  James  Scott,  killed  in  battle  at  Spottsylvama  Court  House, 
Ya.,  May  12,  1864;  Lieut,  I.  B.  Roosa,  of  the  56th  Regiment, 
Aid-de-camp  to  Gen.  Negley,  died  at  Newbern,  K  C.,  January 
19,  1863  ;  Jacob  Bookstaver,  Regiment  unknown  to  us. 


590  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

The  ladies  and  the  comrades  of  the  deceased  proceeded  tc 
strew  flowers  and  decorate  the  several  graves.  The  assemblage 
having  gathered  about  the  mound  containing  the  grave  of  Lieut. 
Roosa.  Chaplain  Van  Wyck  made  an  appropriate  and  most  elo- 
quent prayer,  after  which,  the  thanks  of  the  surviving  soldiers 
were  returned  to  the  ladies  of  Middletown  for  their  efforts  in 
adorning  the  graves  of  their  comrades.  Rev.  Dr.  Seward  then 
addressed  the  assemblage.  He  said: 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  :  Though  I  am  among  you  a  minis- 
ter of  religion,  I  yet  am  quite  tenacious  of  my  citizenship,  striv- 
ing in  my  humble  way  to  meet  its  solemn  responsibilities,  and 
alway  jealous  of  its  invaluable  prerogatives.  Among  these 
latter  is  the  welcome  privilege  of  joining  with  you  this  day  in 
paying  homage  to  the  memory  of  your  departed  heroes.  They 
were  representative  men  ;  they  represented  us  on  the  field  of 
peril,  to  which  we  sent  them  forth  with  prayerful  benedictions  ; 
they  were  representatives  of  those  institutions  under  which,  pre- 
served by  their  sacrifice  and  the  valor  of  their  comrades,  we  still 
live  while  they  are  gone  ;  and  of  those  principles  which,  lying 
as  the  basis  of  our  institutions,  are  worth  even  more  than  the 
Republic  with  all  her  sons.  I  do  not  forget  that  I  am  among 
you  a  minister  of  religion.  Rather  do  I  come  here  in  this  capa- 
city also  ;  and,  by  all  the  sanctity  of  my  holy  office,  remind 
both  myself  and  yon  how  religion  proclaims  patriotism  a  virtue, 
as  too  it  teaches  gratitude  towards  them  who  have  wrought 
worthy  deeds.  But  I  am  warned  by  this  coming  shower  to  de- 
tain you  with  only  a  single  word.  That  word  is  this  :  During 
that  dark  day  in  which  so  much  of  sorrow  and  of  joy  were  both 
commingled  and  concentrated,  none  in  all  our  community  drew 
more  largely  upon  my  sympathies  than  they  whose  loved  ones 
went  out  but  came  back  no  more — not  even  wrapped  in  the 
starry  flag  under  which  they  had  fallen.  I  beg  you,  therefore, 
in  connection  with  these  whose  graves  you  have  bedecked,  to 
remember  tenderly  at  this  hour  the  unrecovered  dead.  The 
names  of  all  our  heroes,  like  the  vernal  flowers,  will  bloom 
afresh  ever  and  anon.  But,  though  their  names  should  perish, 
as  even  the  marble  must  ultimately  crumble  ;  though  their 
deeds  should  be  forgotten,  as  seen  only  dimly  through  the  dis- 
tant past ;  though,  as  the  swelling  tide  of  history  bears  forward 
rising  actors  and  new  achievements  to  occupy  the  attention  of 
the  future,  their  names  and  their  heroic  deeds  should  be  meas- 
ureably  forgotten,  yet  the  principles  for  which  they  so  nobly 
bled  and  died  shall  still  endure — endure  while  time  itself  shall 
last,  and  even  so  long  as  the  God  of  Truth  and  Justice  sits  upon 
His  throne. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        591 

REMARKS   OF   GEX.    VAN  WYOK. 

Gen.  Yan  "Wyck  followed  in  the  following  remarks : 
He  alluded  to  the  redeeming  qualities  of  humanity,  that  in 
every  heart  was  a  cord  which  heat  responsive  to  the  deeds  of 
the  brave  and  the  memories  of  departed  heroes;  that  amono-the 
rewards  tor  the  sacrifices  of  the  patriot  and  incentive  to  the 
future  was  a  return  of  gratitude  for  his  achievements  on  the 
held;  that  to-day  the  loyal  men  of  the  Eepublic,  gather- 
ed by  the  graves  of  its  departed,  and  while  breathing  prayers  of 
thankfulness  could  realize  the  extent  of  the  sacrifice*  and  the 
vastness  of  the  great  victory  and  results  which  had  been  secured 
by  _their  blood.  That  life  at  best  was  short.  No  matter  wheth- 
er in  the  discharge  of  duty,  we  were  called  away  on  the  bloody 
field  or  in  the  quiet  walks  of  peace,  whether  in  the  morning  of 
life,  at  its  meridian,  or  when  down  in  the  valley  we  wrapped 
the  drapery  of  our  couch  about  us.  He  then  referred  to  the 
services  of  the  dead  whose  graves  had  been  wreathed  and  the 
places  \vhere  they  fell.  That  one  was  buried  from  the  sight  of 
men,  and  perished  beneath  the  waves  in  one  of  the  most  gallant 
achievements  in  any  age  of  the  world.  Yet  you  have  placed  a 
wreath  on  the  marble  which  commends  all  his  deeds.  He  was 
one  of  the  heroic  band  on  the  Cumberland  in  her  death  struggle 
with  the  Merrimac,  wrho  stood  by  her  guns  firing  as  the  vessel 
was  sinking,  and  as  they  fired,  the  last  broadside  and  the  water 
reached  the  guns,  gave  loud  cheers  to  the  old  flag  flying  at  the 
masthead,  and  all  was  still  where  the  vessel  and  heroes  went 
down.  We  strew  flowers  on  their  graves  to-morrow's  sun  will 
wither,  their  beauty  and  their  fragrance  is  gone,  yet  the  memory 
of  the  sleepers  and  the  fragrance  of  good  deeds  will  live  on 
while  tVee  institutions  are  cherished  and  liberty  preserved  among 
the  children  of  men.  That  these  memorial  scenes  were  beauti- 
ful as  indicating  a  great  people  remindful  of  the  struggles  of  the 
past,  and  bending  over  the  tombs  of  its  heroes.  That  Nature 
this  day  was  in  unison  with  the  grand  occasion  ;  sunshine  had 
added  brilliancy  to  the  tints  of  the  flower,  while  now  grandly  to 
conclude  the  act,  bright  gleams  of  lightning,  salvos  of  Heaven's 
artillery,  were  saluting  the  nation's  tribute.  How  nobly  life's 
mission  they  fulfilled.  May  the  spot  made  sacred  by  their  dust 
ever  be  hallowed  by  men. 

AT  SYRACUSE,  NEW  YORK. 

At  an  early  hour  in  the  forenoon  quantities  of  flowers, 
formed  in  various  shapes,  such  as  bouquets,  wreaths,  crosses, 
etc.,  began  to  be  brought  to  the  City  Hall,  which  had  been 
designated  as  the  depot  of  reception.  At  one  o'clock  minute 


592  MEMOltlAL   CEREMONIES 

bells  began  to  strike,  and  by  two  o'clock  the  procession  was 
formed,  the  right  resting  at  the  junction  of  Genesee  and  Wash- 
ington streets.  After  forming,  the  procession  moved  up  Genesee 
street  in  the  following  order  : 

Syracuse  City  Band ;  Standard  bearer,  with  American  flag 
surmounted  by  a  handsome  wreath,  the  work  of  Mrs.  Geo. 
Goodrich ;  Marshal  Col.  E.  L.  Walrath,  and  Assistant  Mar- 
shals Maj.  James  H.  Hinman,  Col.  Peter  McLennan,  Lieut.- 
Col.  Moses  Summers,  Maj.  Peter  Ohneth,  Major  W.  R.  Cham- 
berliu,  Capt.  James  Randall,  Lieut.  William  Duncan;  Mayor  An- 
drews and  Members  of  the  Common  Council,  followed  by  a  long 
delegation  of  veterans,  soldiers  and  citizens,  marching  in  twos. 
A  conveyance  waa  provided  by  Mr.  John  Ryan  and  William 
Richardson,  for  the  disabled  soldiers,  which  proved  very  accep- 
table and  was  freely  used.  Each  person  in  the  procession  was 
provided  with  a  bouquet.  The  procession  proceeded  up  Genesee 
to  Salina  street,  down  Salina  to  Ridgeway  street,  through  Ridge- 
way  street  to  Oakwood,  where  the  band  halted,  and  opening 
ranks,  the  entire  procession  passed  through  and  into  the  Cemetery. 
Under  the  guidance  of  Mr.  George  Gardener,  Sexton  of  Oak- 
wood,  the  line  of  march  was  taken  up  and  the  grave  of  John 
Lewis  first  visited.  Here  the  procession  opened  ranks,  and 
passing  on  each  side  of  the  grave,  each  person  threw  one  or 
more  flowers  from  their  bouquets  upon  the  grave.  Many  passed 
the  grave  with  uncovered  heads,  thus  paying  additional  respect 
to  the  buried  dead.  The  same  order  was  observed  at  each  of  the 
graves  of  the  following  persons,  which  comprise  all  the  soldiers 
buried  in  Oakwood  Cemetery  :  Charles  Y.  Felton,  William  C. 
Lilly,  James  Mills,  EL  G.  L.  Hall,  R.  Miles,  William  Drew, 
Charles  Highgate,  George  Smith,  E.  A.  Orvis,  James  R.  Luw- 
rence,  jr.,  Edmund  Curtis,  Thomas  W.  Moore,  J.  L.  Graham, 
Edwin  V.  Sumner,  James  E.  Doran,  Charles  George,  G.  S. 
Jenkins,  Edwin  D.  Breed,  William  J.  Webb,  M.  C.  Worden, 
A.  W.  Dwight,  A.  J.  Root,  W.  L.  Barnum,  John  White,  Thom- 
as Annis,  George  McMillen,  Harrison  H.  Hoyt,  Kirby  Smith, 
Kirby  Smith,  jr.,  William  J.  Hunt,  Walter  Johnson,  William 
H.  Tyler,  J.  M.  Brower,  D.  D.  Hills  and  Henry  L.  Kingsley. 
During  the  progress  of  the  procession  from  grave  to  grave  the 
band  discoursed  appropriate  music,  which  tended  largely  to 
solemnize  the  proceedings. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  ceremonies  the  line  of  march  was 
taken  up  from  Oakwood  to  St.  Mary's  Cemetery,  when  the  fol- 
lowing graves  were  likewise  honored  :  Michael  Duflfy,  Michael 

Colahan,  Patrick  Kelly  >  W —  T — ,  James  Murray, Cooley, 

Edward  Muldoon,  Daniel  Strong. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES. 


593 


Hair,   Sidney  Morse,  Adam   Listman,  D.'  J.  Lindsay    Jacob 

Kurtz  il^sS^ri10  *SWP"  D"  BenS-'  S* 
Thom'v    H    r        T'T      Ha°coc'k'  J-  M-  Doran,  William  Tisdell, 

nouiaa  H.  Gay  Henry  Knobel, Scherz,  Henry  Speezer 

Jacob  Wetzer.     From  Rose  HillCemetery  the  march  wl  con- 
tinued to  St.  Joseph's  (German  Catholic)  Cemetery ^  Pond 

of' ft  f  ?6re  tie  Same  hcTrS  W6re  ^aid  to  the  ^aves  of  each 
of  the  following  persons :  Inglebert  Lyons,  Louis  Becker,  Phil- 
lip Kholes,  Frederick  Thoma,  Mathew  Fiselbrant,  George  Zim- 
merman -  -  Schotiffer  and  John  Schwartz.  A  deputation 
was  sent  to  the  "Round  Top"  Cemetery,  where  the  graves  of 
Robert  Ealdon  and  Jerry  McCarthy  were  decorated,  and  another 
deputation  performed  like  honors  to  the  grave  of  Moses  Roths- 
cnild,  in  the  Jewish  Cemetery.  At  the  conclusion  of  the 
ceremonies  at  St.  Joseph's  Cemetery,  the  band  performed  the 
beautiful  and  appropriate  andante  entitled  "Home  Desire" 
after  which  the  Marshal  of  the  day,  Colonel  Walrath,  after 
thanking  all  in  behalf  of  the  friends  of  the  dead  for  their  kind 
remembrance  of  the  sacrifices  made  by  the  fallen,  dismissed  the 
procession. 

AT  WATERLOO,  NEW  YORK. 

The  ladies  assembled  at  Towsley  Hall  in  the  afternoon,  and 
soon,  with  evergreens  and  the  most  beautiful  flowers,  manufac- 
tured a  large  number  of  crosses,  wreaths  and  bouquets — all 
arranged  with  the  taste  and  skill  which  might  be  expected  from 
fair  hands  guided  by  inspirations  of  the  highest  patriotism  and 
love.  At  five  o'clock  a  procession  was  formed  of  ladies,  veteran 
soldiers  and  citizens  generally,  who  bore  the  floral  offerings  and 
evergreen  crosses,  and  preceded  by  the  Waterloo  Cornet  Band, 
under  the  marshalship  of  Gen.  John  B.  Murray,  took  up  the  line 
of  march  for  the  cemeteries.  The  procession  came  to  a  halt  in 
the  old  burial  ground,  when  Rev.  Dr.  Grid  ley  made  a  few  ap- 
propriate and  eloquent  remarks,  after  which  the  graves  of  the 
soldiers  here  interred  were  visited  in  rotation,  and  suitable  dec- 
orations placed  upon  each.  The  procession  then  reformed  and 
proceeded  to  the  new  cemetery,  where  the  same  ceremonies 
were  performed.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  soldiers  buried 

in  the  cemeteries  :     Gen. Chapin,  Capt.  Robert  Brett,  Lieut. 

Win.  Coffin,  Patrick  Moran,  Patrick  Moran,  Jr.,  Patrick   Mc- 
Intyre,  Isaac  M.  Lampherej  Richard  Huff,  O.  Staley,  Win.  G. 


594  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Cook. Stranghn,  Wm.  H.   Day,  James  Stevenson, 

Steitz,  Isaac  Van  Honten,  Geo.  A.  Langdon,  Wintield  S.  Dey, 
Truman  Wooledge,  Hudson  Henion,  Barnard  Greuse,  James 

Smith,  John  Brown, Simmons,  Irving  T.  Smith,    Andrew 

Schott,  Chas.  Shirley,  Thos.  Fitzgerald,  John  Bridgman,  Joseph 
Wielder,  Isaac  Conkey,  Jr.,  Russell  Disbro,  Albert  H.  Pierson, 
Geo.  H.  Stringham,  Wm.  Moran,  De  Lanoy  Draper,  Coleman 
Byron,  Newton  Van  Tuyl,  James  P.  Smith. 

At  Nyack,  New  York,  Post  Waldron,  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic,  under  Lieut.  James  H.  Christie,  turned  out  in  force, 
and  together  with  a  large  number  of  our  citizens,  met  at  the 
Hall,  where  an  address  appropriate  to  the  occasion  was  deliv- 
ered by  Rev.  L.  D.  Manstield ;  after  which  a  procession  was 
formed  and  marched  to  the  Cemetery.  Arriving  there,  the 
ceremony  of  decorating  the  graves  was  gone  through  with,  the 
flowers  donated  for  the  purpose  being  very  handsome,  and  made 
into  beautiful  wreaths.  The  following  is  a  list  of  those  who 

were  buried  in  the  Cemetery :     Col.  Edward  Pye, Oblenis, 

Major  Rnggles,  Corporal  W.  F.  Wood,  John  N.  Wood,  Towt  J. 

Waldron,  Geo.  W.  Tremper,  Fletcher,   Lever,  Ezra 

F.  Bodine,  Jeremiah  Springsteel.  The  burial  ground  at  South 
Nyack  was  then  visired,and  the  grave  of  Joseph  Hoifman  strewed 
with  flowers.  Having  ascertained  that  two  of  the  graves  in  the 
Cemetery  had  been  overlooked  on  Saturday,  the  members  of 
the  Post  visited  the  place  and  decorated  the- graves  of  Ezra  F. 
Bodine  and  John  N.  Wood. 

At  Peekskill,  New  York,  the  stores  and  offices  were  all 
closed  at  8  o'clock  a.  m.,  the  Union  Veterans  of  Cortlandt,  con- 
sisting of  companies  A  and  B.  under  command  of  Major  E.  R. 
Travis,  headed  by  a  drum  corps,  marched  to  the  Hudson  River 
railroad  depot,  and  there  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  New  York 
morning  express.  When  that  train  arrived,  it  brought  Com- 
pany F,  Hawkins  Zouaves  of  New  York,  composed  of  80  men, 
and  commanded  by  Capt.  Henry  C.  Perley,  headed  by  O'Brien's 
8th  regiment  band.  Under  command  of  Grand  Marshal  Husted 
the  line  was  formed,  joined  in  by  the  firemen  and  citizens  of 
the  place,  and  inarched  to  the  Cortlandt  Cemetery.  The  pre- 
liminary services  took  place  at  a  wooden  church  in  the  centre  of 
the  Cemetery,  over  a  hundred  years  old.  The  Grand  Marshal 
introduced  the  Rev.  Mr.  Baldwin,  pastor  of  the  Second  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Peekskill,  and  after  a  fervent  prayer  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Terry  of  St.  Paul's  M.  E.  Church  of  Peekskill,  read  a 
hymn,  which  was  written  by  Wm.  Uland  Bourne.  Hon.  Chaun- 
cey  M.  Depew  then  delivered  an  eloquent  oration.  After  the 
oration,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Rhodman,  pastor  of  the  Second  South 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  595 

Street  M.  E.  Church,  pronounced  the  benediction.  The  soldiers 
and  firemen,  accompanied  by  the  bands,  then  visited  the  forty- 
five  graves  of  the  dead  Union  soldiers,  each  of  which  was  marked 
by  a  small  American  flag.  Eacli  gave  was  profusely  decorated 
with  the  floral  offerings.  On  the  return  of  the  procession, 
Grand  Marshal  Husted  made  a  few  happy  remarks,  thanking 
all  who  had  participated  in  the  interesting  ceremonies,  when  the 
column  was  dismissed. 

At  Earlville,  JSfew  York,  a  procession  was  formed  m  front  of 
the  M.  E.  Church,  and  marched  into  the  beautiful  cemetery 
where  repose  the  remains  of  seven  soldiers.  After  singing, 
prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  A.  C.  Smith.  The  decorating  com- 
mittee, with  a  large  quantity  of  flowers  most  beautifully  arranged, 
then  passed  to  each  grave  and  distributed  their  memorial  tokens, 
accompanied  with  beautiful  and  appropriate  singing.  When  all 
had  visited  each  grave,  they  assembled  in  the  centre  of  the  yard 
and  listened  to  the  reading  of  a  poem  prepared  for  the  occasion 
by  Rev.  D.  D.  Brown,  and  an  address  by  Rev.  A.  C.  Smith.  All 
seemed  interested  in  the  exercises,  and  returned  home  feeling 
they  had  a  pleasant  time  in  performing  a  sacred  duty. 

At  Delhi,  New  York,  the  members  of  the  Post  there  met  and 
arranged  a  nearly  rarpromptu  programme,  and  proceeding  in  a 
body  to  the  cemetery,  sought  out  and  decorated  the  scattered 
graves  of  their  late  comrades,  attended  by  a  large  concourse  of 
Fadies  and  citizens.  After  completing  the  work  at  the  grave  of 
Col.  England,  Post  Commander  Cormack  read  the  order  under 
which  they  had  acted,  after  which  followed  impressive  services 
by  the  chaplain,  Rev.  Mr.  Ackerly,  and  a  brief  and  pertinent 
address  to  his  comrades  of  the  Post,  by  Win.  M.  Murray,  Esq. 

At  Port  Jervis,  Laurel  Grove  Cemetery  was  very  properly 
decorated  by  the  ladies  of  that  place.  "  A  morning  walk  to  the 
cemetery  on  the  day  following  the  decoration,"  says  the  editor 
of  the  fjnion,  "gave  proof  to  our  eyes,  that  just  as  the  noble 
women  of  our  country  loved  to  serve  the  soldiers  when  living, 
so  they  were  faithful  to  their  memories  when  dead.  In  that 
quarter  of  the  cemetery  grounds  known  as  the  'soldier's  re- 
serve,' yet  covered  with  the  morning  dew,  we  found  a  number 
of  wreaths  and  evergreen -crosses  interwoven  with  flowers  beau- 
tifully arranged— so  many  that  they  literally  covered  the  graves. 
The  credit  of  this  act  belongs  more  especially  to  the  ladies  of 
our  village ; — to  those  who"  generously  gave  evergreens  and 
flowers  for  the  purpose, — and  others  who  gave  time  and  taste 
in  so  beautifully  arranging  them.  Dr.  Conkling,  who  has  in 
charge  the  records  of  the  buried  in  Laurel  Grove  Cemetery, 
kindly  furnished  names  and  numbers  of  the  lots,  and  rendered 


590  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

other  assistance,  as  also  did  his  family.  We  do  not  know  that 
any  committee  was  formally  appointed  to  perform  this  labor  of 
love — it  was  more  likely  the  voluntary  offering  of  many  noble 
women  of  our  place.  Among  the  names  we  heard  mentioned 
as  very  active,  were  those  of  Mrs.  Little,  Mrs.  Strader,  Mrs. 
Thomas,  and  the  Misses  Rose — Van  Dyne,  and  others." 

The  soldiers'  graves  in  the  cemeteries  in  and  about  Goshen, 
N.  Y.,  were  appropriately  decorated  on  Saturday,  under  the 
auspices  of  their  comrades  of  Poet  No.  37,  District  of  Orange, 
Department  of  N.  Y.,  Grand  Annv  of  the  Republic. 

The  ceremonies  at  Newburg,  1$.  Y.,  were  of  the  most  im- 
pressive character.  In  order  to  give  all  the  returned  soldiers  a 
better  opportunity  to  take  part  in  the  exercises,  the  ceremonies 
took  place  on  Sunday,  May  31.  Over  five  thousand  persons 
were  present.  The  returned  veterans  belonging  to  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  some  four  hundred  strong,  marched  to 
St.  George's,  St.  Patrick's,  Big  Rock,  and  Old  Town  Ceme- 
teries, preceded  by  the  J^ewburg  Band.  Carriages  were  laden 
with  flowers,  and  almost  every  one  bore  some  floral  offering  to 
strew  upon  the  graves  of  the  heroes  who  sleep  the  death  of  the 
brave.  Col.  Connelly  and  Col.  Dickey  made  eloquent  and 
touching  addresses.  At  Trumansburg,  2s.  Y.,  the  ceremonies 
were  as  follows :  The  account  is  given  by  Mr.  D.  Elmore,  in 
a  letter  to  the  editor:  "On  examination  of  our  cemetery, 
it  was  found  that  the  battle-fields  of  Tennessee,  Georgia, 
Virginia,  Maryland  and  Florida  were  represented  by  the  graves 
of  our  slain  veterans.  To  cherish  and  honor  their  memory,  on 
Saturday,  by  previous  notice  and  invitation,  at  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  bell-call,  the  people,  well  provided  with  flow- 
ers, gathered  and  formed  a  procession,  and  led  by  our  national 
colors  and  martial  music,  marched  to  our  loved  ones'  last  resting- 
place.  A  hollow  square  was  formed  on  the  Cemetery  grounds 
under  the  shade  of  the  grove.  Prayer  was  offered  and  two  ad- 
dresses delivered  by  our  village  pastors,  one  of  whom  had  been 
a  soldier,  and  from  his  own  experience  described  its  trials, 
anxieties  and  suffering.  The  other  had  given  a  son,  and  that 
son  his  life  on  the  altar  of  God  and  our  country.  AVell  might 
such  men,  on  such  a  subject,  speak  with  tongues  of  flre  from 
melting  and  overflowing  hearts.  Much  interest  and  feeling  was 
apparent  in  all  that  were  present. 

"  At  the  close  of  the  addresses,  the  line  of  march  was  re-formed, 
and  we  were  divided  into  as  many  platoons  as  there  were  graves 
to  be  visited.  Each  platoon  was  led  by  a  returned  soldier, 
whose  special  charge  it  was  to  see  that  each  soldier  s  grave  was 
well  strewn  with  these  mementoes  of  love.  All  being  in  readi- 


AT    THE    SOLDIERS     GRAVES. 

ness,  our  column  took  up  its  circuitous  route — right  and  left 
Tp.arch — partially  representing  the  indescribable  former  marches 
of  these  now  silent  heroes.  Every  grave  was  visited  and  marked 
with  these  tokens  of  honor.  Our  work  being  done,  at  the  gate- 
way we  disbanded,  to  return  to  our  homes  made  more  dear  to 
us  by  these  services,  and  the  remembrance  of  the  price  paid  for 
the  liberty  we  enjoy." 

At  Baldwinsville,  the  same  ceremonies  were  observed :  At 
Fredonia,  on  the  morning  of  the  30th  of  May,  a  large  number 
of  ladies  met  at  the  office  of  the  "Forest  Hill  Cemetery  Asso- 
ciation" and  prepared  wreaths,  bouquets,  &c. ;  and  in  the  after- 
noon, assisted  by  a  large  committee  of  gentlemen,  previously 
appointed  at  a  meeting  of  citizens,  proceeded  to  decorate  the 
graves  of  soldiers,  of  which  about  forty  were  buried  there.  Each 
grave  was  decorated  with  a  profusion  of  flowers,  wreaths,  &c., 
and  a  small  flag.  Large  flags  were  suspended  in  different  parts 
of  the  ground,  the  gate  way  arched  and  decorated  with  ever- 
greens and  flowers,  &c.  The  next  day,  Sunday  the  31st,  the 
gates  were  opened  at  1  P.  M.,  and  the  grounds  visited  by  a  mul- 
titude. The  utmost  decorum  and  propriety  was  observed,  but 
no  speeches  or  other  exercises  were  had. 

IN  NEW  JERSEY. 

Bayard  Encampment,  Post  No  8,  G.  A.  R.,Trenton,  N.  J. 
In  accordance  with  G.  ().  No.  11,  dated  Head  Quarters 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  A.  G.  O.,  Washington,  D.  C., 
May  5th,  1868,  designating  Saturday,  May  30th,  1868,  for  the 
purpose  of  strewing  with  flowers  or  otherwise  decorating  the 
Craves  of  comrades  (soldiers  and  sailors)  who  died  in  defence  of 
their  country  during  the  late  rebellion,  and  whose  bodies  now 
lie  in  almost  every  city,  village  and  hamlet  church-yard  in  the 

Although  the  above  order  designated  Saturday  the  30th,  as 
the  day  for  its  observance  it  was  unanimously  agreed,  that  in 
consideration  of  the  circumstances  of  a  majority  of  the  members 
of  the  Post  to  prevent  loss  (financially)  to  them  as  well  as  to  in- 
sure a  more  general  turnout,  not  only  of  the  members  but  the 
public  generally,  thatthe  provisions  of  the  said  G.  O.,  JSo;  11, 
be  carried  out  on  Sunday  afternoon,  May  31st,  1868.  At  the 
stated  muster  of  the  Post  prior  to  the  time  thus  set_  apart,  ar- 
rano-ements  were  entered  into  for  a  successful  carrying  out  ot 
the°provisions  of  the  order,  committees  were  appointed  to  ascer- 
tain the  places  of  interment  of  those  brave  comrades  whom  we 
were  to  honor  with  our  floral  offerings,  to  carry  the  same  into 


598  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

effect  worthy  of  the  cause  for  which  these  heroic  spirits  battled 
when  living,  and  dying  made  sacred  b}"  their  life  blood. 

In  accordance  with  the  arrangements  the  members  of  the 
Post,  numbering  about  tifty,  as  well  as  quite  a  number  of  sol- 
diers not  members,  and  also  a  delegation  from  '•  Keamy  "  En- 
campment Post,  No.  10,  of  Bordentown,  N.  J.,  met  at  the  room 
of  Post  No.  8,  Green  Street,  next  above  City  Hall,  Sunday 
afternoon,  at  1,  P.  M.  Line  of  procession  was  formed  about 
2,  P.  M.,  as  follows  : 

Section  of  Police,  Coates'  National  Band  of  Trenton,  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  Press  in  this  City,  and  the  City  Government.  A 
large  American  flag  containing  flowers,  wreaths,  and  bouquets, 
furnished  by  friends,  carried  by  ten  comrades.  Post  No.  8, 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  with  discharged  soldiers  and 
visitors  generally,  the  whole  under  the  command  of  Comrade 
Ira  W.  Cory — two  large  flags  (silk),  one  a  National  color,  the 
other  a  State  of  New  Jersey  color  were  carried  in  the  line  of 
procession.  The  members  of  the  Post,  generally,  carried  a  bou- 
quet or  wreath.  The  line  of  procession  was  taken  up  about  2^, 
P.  M.,  proceeding  first  to  Mercer  Cemetery.  At  the  starting 
point  a  large  crowd  had  collected,  while  at  the  cemetery  a  still 
larger  crowd  were  found  in  waiting.  Upon  arriving  at  the  cem- 
etery and  within  the  enclosure  a  hollow  square  was  formed. 
Here  was  placed  a  table  and  a  chair  said  to  have  been  once  oc- 
cupied by  General  George  Washington,  and  the  flag  which  was 
first  raised  on  the  south  side  of  the  Potomac  by  the  three  months' 
men  of  New  Jersey.  Our  venerable  fellow  citizen,  Charles  C. 
Haven,  occupied  the  chair.  A  very  interesting  feature  at  this 
moment  was  the  arrival  of  the  children  from  the  Soldiers'  Chil- 
dren's Home  (they  participating  by  invitation  of  the  Post)  ac- 
companied by  the  teachers,  i.  e.,  Miss  Corson,  Miss  Tate,  Miss 
Johnston,  and  other  ladies  and  gentlemen  connected  with  the 
management  of  the  institution.  The  children  numbered  one 
hundred  and  twenty-six,  boys  and  girls  about  equally  divided  ; 
the  boys  were  dressed  alike  in  neat  grey  suits  and  light  felt  hats, 
the  girls  were  dressed  as  near  alike  as  possible.  As  they  enter- 
ed the  cemetery  the  Post  stood  at  open  order  and  allowed  them 
to  puss  through,  the  band  playing  a  funeral  dirge.  Arriving  at 
the  centre  of  the  cemetery  the  comrades  closed  in  and  around 
the  children. 

The  ceremonies  were  opened  by  the  children  singing  a  hymn 
suited  to  the  occasion.  Prayer  was  then  read  by  Comrade  Lewis 
II.  Cresse,  Post  Chaplain,  after  which  the  Post  all  joined  in 
singing  "  America." 

Comrade  Gen.  James  F.  Rusling  then  delivered  the  follow- 
ing oration : 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  599 

COMRADES  A*D  FELLOW-CITIZEN  :  In  pursuance  of  orders 
from  headquarters  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  we  a™ 
assembled  here  to-day  to  decorate  with  flowers  these  graves  of 
our  departed  countrymen,  and  to  do  honor  to  their  Memory 
to  i,  no  new  thing  that  we  are  doing  here  to-day-to  honor 
the  ga  hint  and  heroic  dead  ;  but  if  it  were,  it  is  something 
my  judgment,  that  should  commend  itself  to  the  consideration 
and  approval  ot  every  loyal  and  patriotic  heart.  In  all  a-es, 
indeed,  and  in  every  land,  those  who  have  fought  and  died  for 
then;  country  and  their  country's  liberties,  hav?  ever  been  held 
in  kindly  regard  and  affectionate  remembrance.  The  memory 
ot  these,  the  world's  patriots  and  heroes,  mankind  everywhere 
—empire  and  republic  alike— have  ever  agreed  to  honor  and 
commemorate.  _  For  these,  old  Egypt,  unknown  centuries  ago 
built  her  pyramids  and  left  them  as  a  wonder  for  all  after  op- 
erations, ior  these,  democratic  Athens  founded  her  Cerami- 
cus,  and  crosvded  its  sacred  groves  witli  altars  and  temples, 
monuments  and  mausoleums,  fountains  and  flowers.  For  these 
republican  Borne  consecrated  her  Campus  Martius,  where,  by 
solemn  vote  of  the  Senate  and  people  of  Rome,  her  most  dis- 
tinguished soldiers  were  adjudged  worthy  to  repose.  For  these, 
England  has  her  St.  Paul's  and  her  Westminster  Abbey,  for  her 
Wellingtons,^  Kelsons,  and  her  Napiers.  And  for  these,  by 
solemn  act  of  Congress,  we  have  recently  established  great  Na- 
tional Cemeteries,  at  Gettysburg  and  Antietam,  at  Arlington 
and  in  the  Wilderness,  at  Stone  River  and  Nashville,  at  Vicks 
burg  and  Chattanooga,  and  elsewhere  through  the  land.  Here, 
into  these,  we  have  reverently  and  tenderly  brought  together 
the  scattered  remains  of  our  fellow-comrades  at  the  South  ;  and 
here,  now,  at  last,  our  late  brave  defenders,  not  only  our  great 
commanders  merely,  but  all,  of  whatever  rank  or  color,  as  befits 
a  Republic,  shall  hereafter  repose  in  peace  and  dignity  beneath 
the  protecting  aegis  of  the  Union  while  time  endures. 

Now  I,  for  one,  think  this  right  and  fitting,  eminently  so, 
and  in  all  respects,  for  the  nation  as  well  as  its  heroic  dead. 
For  who  were  these  half  a  million  of  men  nearly,  that  fought 
and  fell  for  the  Union  ?  Not  hireling  mercenaries,  bought  with 
a  price ;  not  alien  adventurers,  striving  for  gain ;  not  foreign 
Hessians,  battling  for  a  tyrant.  No  !  they  were  our  own  fellow- 
countrymen  ;  many  of  them  are  our  own  sons  and  brothers,  who 
loved  home,  and  friends,  and  fireside  joys  and  comfort,  not  less 
than  the  best  of  us ;  yet,  at  the  call  of  patriotism,  they  cheer- 
fully forsook  all,  and  marched  southward,  to  fight  and  die,  as 
God  so  willed — unnaurmuringly,  that  the  nation  might  live. 
How  grand  and  how  glorious  is  our  own  roll  of  honor  !  There 


600  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

shines  the  name  of  Kearny,  that  knight  "without  fear  and 
without  reproach,"  and  Bayard,  and  Jane  way,  and  Ilyerson,/md 
Abbott,  and  Woolsey,  and  Lalor,  and  Wilks,  and  the  countless 
heroes  of  the  ranks,  unknown  perhaps  to  fame,  bat  who  each 
did  his  part  well,  and,  falling,  died  none  the  less  gloriously  be- 
cause carrying  a  musket  or  swinging  a  sabre,  instead  of  com- 
manding a  division  or  leading  a  brigade.  These  men,  my 
friend?,  fought  to  put  down  treason  and  to  punish  traitors. 
These  men  fought  to  vindicate  the  right  of  the  nation  to  live. 
These  men  fought  to  maintain  and  perpetuate  the  rights  of  hu- 
man nature,  "these  men  fought,  not  for  themselves  alone — they 
struck  the  chains  from  the  limbs  of  four  millions  of  bondmen. 
They  believed  in  the  rights  of  all  men,  as  men,  and  died  to  up- 
hold" all  rights  for  all.  Their  beloved  cause  was  the  shining 
cause  of  truth,  and  right,  and  justice.  Their  Hag  was  the  old 
and  sacred  flag  of  Liberty  ;  their  music  was  ever  a  drum-beat 
for  humanity  ;  their  every  roll-call  was  a  roll-call  of  the  nations. 
Every  shot  they  fired  was  a  solid  shot  for  mankind  ;  every  blow 
they  struck,  and  every  victory  they  won,  was  equally  a  blow 
and  a  victory  for  Kossuth  in  Hungary,  Garibaldi  in  Italy,  Glad- 
stone and  glorious  John  Bright  in  'England,  and  for  the  great 
and  good  in  all  lands,  who  strive  to  make  their  fellow- men 
nobler  and  better,  freer  and  happier.  In  that  faith  and  for  that 
cause  they  laid  down  their  lives  a  willing  sacrifice,  when  their 
hour  had  come  ;  and  to-day,  thank  Heaven,  that  good  cause  tri- 
umphs here,  all  over  onr  broad  land,  and,  in  the  end.  is  des- 
tined to  triumph  everywhere,  the  wide  world  over,  because  it  is 
the  ever-advancing  and  invincible  cause  of  humanity  and  God. 
Surely,  then,  if,  alter  death,  men  are  to  be  judged  and  honored 
by  their  fellow-men,  according  to  the  deeds  they  have  done  and 
the  results  they  have  achieved,  surely,  then,  I  say,  we  should 
take  the  memories  of  these  brave  men  home  to  our  hearts  and 
lives,  and  embalm  them  in  the  nation's  gratitude  and  remem- 
brance forever  and  forever. 

"We  have  here  in  our  midst  many  graves  of  our  departed  he- 
roes, who  came  home  sick  or  wounded,  to  die,  or  whose  remains 
were  afterwards  brought  home  for  burial  from  where  they  fell, 
"  face  to  the  foe,"  on  the  field  of  honor.  We  are  met  here  to- 
day to  commemorate  their  heroic  deeds,  and  to  decorate  their 
honored  graves  with  our  floral  offerings.  We  gather  about 
these  graves  as  sorrowing  comrades,  yet  rejoicing  that  our  dead 
died  not  in  vain,  and  that,  by  their  death,  they  helped  to  save 
the  noblest  of  human  causes.  We  crown  these  mounds  with 
wreaths,  and  strew  them  with  flow-ers,  as  outward  and  visible 
signs  of  our  inward  reverence  and  gratitude.  We  plant  above 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  601 

f  "at 


»£££  assiSSSSSH 

t< )  s \vOiir  pfprii n  I  firl*:i1if-Trt-/-inii  «  «.   i  j  •      i 

•or  i]      •   ,  y  to  a11  a  soldier  loves  or  a  soldier  honors 

tf  the  noblest  of  our  old  English  poets  write,    ' 

"How  sleep  the  brave  who  sink  to  rest 

By  all  their  country's  wishes  blest : 

When  Spring  with  dewy  fingers  cold 

Returns  to  deck  their  hallowed  mould- 

She  thfn  shall  dress  a  sweeter  sod 

Than  fancy's  feet  have  ever  trod : 

By  fairy  hands  their  knell  is  rung, 

By  forms  unseen  their  dirge  is  sung; 

Here  honor  conies  a  pilgrim  gay, 

To  bless  the  turf  that  wraps  their  clay; 

And  Freedom  shall  awhile  repair, 
.  And  dwell  a  weeping  hermit  there." 

But  better  and  more  appropriate,  my  friends,  than  any  thing 
1  can  say,  *m  an  occasion  like  this,  are  the  words  of  Abraham 
Lincoln  at  Gettysburg,  when,  standing  over  the  graves  of  our 
comrades  who  fell  in  the  great  battle  there,  he  said,  so  beauti- 
fully and  tersely  :  "  Four-score  and  seven  years  ago,  our  fa- 
thers brought  forth  upon  this  continent  a  new  nation,  conceived 
in  liberty,  and  dedicated  to  the  proposition,  'All  men  are 
created  equal.'  Now  we  are  engaged  in  a  great  war,  testing 
whether  that  nation,  or  any  nation  so  conceived  and  so  dedi- 
cated, can  long  endure.  VVe  are  met  on  a  great  battle-field  of 
that  war.  We  are  met  to  dedicate  a  portion  of  it  as  the  final 
resting-place  of  those  who  here  gave  their  lives  that  the  nation 
might  live.  It  is  altogether  fitting  and  proper  that  we  should 
do  this. 

'  But  in  a  larger  sense,  we  cannot  dedicate,  we  cannot  conse- 
crate, we  cannot  hallow  this  ground.  The  brave  men,  living 
and  dead,  who  struggled  here,  have  consecrated  it  far  above  our 
power  to  add  or  detract.  It  is  for  us,  the  living,  rather  to  be 
dedicated  here  to  the  unfinished  work  that  they  have  thus  far 


602  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

nobly  earned  on.  It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here  dedicated  to  the 
great  task  remaining  before  us  ;  that,  from  these  honored  dead, 
we  take  increased  devotion  to  the  cause  for  which  they  here 
gave  the  last  full  measure  of  devotion  ;  that  we  here  highly  re- 
solve that  the  dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain — that  the  nation 
shall,  under  God,  have  a  new  birth  of  freedom — and  that  the 
government  of  the  people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people, 
shall  not  perish  from  the  earth." 

Grand  words  are  these,  and  glorious.  How  eloquent  of 
great  deeds  and  high  endeavor ;  how  reverent,  how  self-devoted  ; 
how  worthy  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  great  martyr  of  the  war  ! 
Let  every  one  of  them,  be  garnered  up  in  the  nation's  memory, 
and  handed  down  to  posterity  in  letters  of  gold  ;  dulce  et  deco- 
rum estpro  patria  mori. 

With  this  I  conclude.  And  now,  O  soldiers  sleeping  here, 
old  companions  of  the  camp-fire  and  the  march,  comrades  of 
the  bivouac  and  the  battle-field,  good  friends,  brave  hearts,  gen- 
erous souls,  hail  and  farewell : 

"  Tender,  and  loving,  and  hot  tears  flow 
For  the  loyal  and  kindly  heart  laid  low  ; 
But  ever  calm  and  sweet  is  the  sleep 
Of  him  whom  God  and  the  angels  keep." 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  address,  the  ceremony  was  com- 
menced of  crowning  with  floral  offerings  the  graves  of  those 
who  sacrificed  their  lives  nobly  in  defence  of  their  country. 
The  procession  marched  around  from  grave  to  grave  in  the  order 
above  named,  the  band  meanwhile  playing  airs,  solemn  and  ap- 
propriate to  the  occasion.  A  quantity  of  flowers  weie  placed  at 
the  head  of  each  sleeper's  grave,  and  a  little  flag  of  the  Stars 
and  Stripes  placed  to  wave  from  a  staff  over  each  grave.  Many 
of  the  friends  of  the  deceased  were  present,  and  mingled  their 
tears  with  the  modest  memorials  of  affection  thus  placed  upon 
the  last  resting-place  of  their  former  companions.  The  cere- 
mony of  distribution  was  performed  by  Comrade  A.  Frank 
Carll.  At  each  burial-place  in  the  city  the  same  ceremony  was 
performed.  The  sacred  observance  was  terminated  by  the  sing- 
ing of  the  Doxology  by  the  Post. 

At  Mercer  Cemetery,  twenty-eight  graves  were  adorned. 
At  First  Baptist  churchyard,  two  graves  were  adorned.  At 
Riverview  Cemetery,  thirty-eight  graves  were  adorned  (thirteen 
unknown  were  adorned  in  one  group).  At  Union  street  M.  E. 
churchyard,  one  grave  was  adorned.  At  Union  street  Presby- 
terian churchyard,  four  graves  were  adorned.  Total,  seventy- 
three. — Official  Report. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  603 

AT  BOKDENTOWN,  NEW  JERSEY. 
The  comrades  of  Prmt  "NYi    m  p    A    r>    j 


. 

Henry  Olive,  (history  unknown)    Dr  William  Tnnt    Q  ' 

93rl  K   T  VrJo    TU      n  i  V'      **  vvniiam  i_,ook,  burgeon, 

'  °       ^  ei  ),  Charles  Eartey 


Patrick  McDonald,  Co.  C,  9th  N.  J.  Vols.,  Pr.  Chas.  Platt,  Co! 

A,  4th  B  .  J.  Vo  IB.,  the  tret  Bordentown  soldier,  dec.,  (3  months 

--  -  Eobinson  (history  unknown),  Wesley  Robinson, 
(Instorynnkno™)  John  Puce,  Co.  A,  4th  K  J.  Vols.,  (3  months 
men),  Charles  Smith,  Co.  E,  43d  N.  Y.  Vols.,  Pr.  Johnson 
Spragiie  ,  Co.  B,  23d  N.  J.  Vols.,  Charles  Stout,  (history  un- 
known), Maj.  Alfred  Thompson,  23d  K  J.  Vols.,  Pr  Edward 
rhomaa.  Co.  B,  12th  N.  J.  Vols.,  Corp.  Chas.  H.  Venable,  Co 

B,  23d  X.  J.  Vols.,  Segt.  Lewis  Vandegrift,  Co.  D,   1st  N  J 
Cavalry  Vols.,  Pr.  Ellis  W.  Vandegrift,  Co.  B,  23d  AT  J  Vols  " 
Asst.  Engineer  Joseph  Waters,  U.  S.  N. 

There  was  quite  a  large  assemblage  of  the  citizens  gathered 
at  the  cemetery,  and  when  the  escort  reached  the  ground  it  was 
formed  with  inverted  open  ranks,  when  Lieut.  Lemuel  C. 
Keeves,  the  Adjutant  of  the  Post,  made  the  following  remarks: 

COMRADES  :  You  are  all  well  aware  for  what  purpose  we  are 
here  assembled  amid  these  lonely  habitations  of  the  citizens  of 
.the  "'  silent  republic  of  the  dead."  You  know  why  we  are  here 
amid  these  green  earthy  mounds,  surrounded  by  a  concourse  of 
our  fellow-citizens.  But  there  may  be  those  here  to-day  who 
will  ask,  "  What  meant  that  mournful  music  by  the  road-side  \  " 
"  What  means  the  solemn  tread  of  veteran  feet  in  these  piping 
times  of  peace  V  "  Why  laden  with  the  flowers  of  spring  do 
they  wend  the'ir  way  in  loving  sorrow  to  the  village  grave-yard, 
with  standard  and  with  arms  reversed,  to  the  mournful  tappings 


604  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

of  the  funeral  drum  ? "  "With  our  words,  and  by  our  acts,  we 
answer:  "We  come  to  strew  with  fragrant  flowers  of  spring- 
time, in  sweet  memorimn,  these  hallowed  mounds,  'neath  which 
in  death  repose  a  few  of  the  heroes  of  our  nation.  We  come 
to  decorate  their  final  resting-places  with  these  memorials  of  our 
love,  and  in  tenderness  and  patriotic  adoration  to  plant  above 
and  rear  aloft  their  hallowed  graves  our  gorgeous  banner,  the 
dear  old  'stars  and  stripes,'  following  which  they  marched, 
fought,  and  bled,  and  'neath  whose  sacred  folds  so  many  of 
them  freely  gave  their  lives  whilst  battling  in  its  defence."  We 
did  expect  that  the  several  clergymen  residing  among  us  would 
have  been  here,  as  per  invitation,  and  led  our  exercises  by  in- 
voking on  us  and  all  here  assembled  the  blessing  of  our  God, 
within  whose  bright  realms  of  happiness  (we  trust),  our  comrades 
even  now  are  chanting  hallelujahs  to  the  Lamb.  But  a  mis- 
taken zeal,  a  false  modesty,  a  sickly  sentimentalism,  coupled 
with  &fear  of  loss  of  caste  in  this  community  which,  during  the 
struggle  of  our  country  for  its  existence,  bore  reputation  for  such 
doubtful  loyalty,  have  kept  the  sleek  and  oily  wearers  of  minis- 
terial robes  from  giving  their  attendance  here.  Comrades,  all 
of  the  clergy  of  this  city  were  personally  invited  to  assist  us, 
upon  the  receipt  of  which  invitation,  they  "  met  and  resolved 
not  to  participate !  "  And  this,  too,  in  the  face  of  the  fact  that 
to-day  (out  of  respect  for  them)  instead  of  to-morrow,  which  is 
the  Samafff)  was  at  great  inconvenience  designated  as  the  day 
for  these  memorial  ceremonies.  Yes,  comrades,  the  clergy  have 
refused  us  their  presence  and  their  prayers  whilst  we  are  en- 

faged  in  this  sacred  work  ;  and  it,  perhaps,  is  well  that  it  is  so, 
>r  it  serves  to  remind  us  of  the  sickly  camp,  the  weary  march, 
and  the  bloody  field  of  tight,  from  which  we  so  often  carried  our 
brave  comrades  forth  and  in  rude  cases,  without  the  benefit  of 
clergy,  and  with  neither  psalm  nor  prayer,  laid  them  in  their 
lonely  graves ;  and  this  but  reminds  us,  too,  that  when  we  were 
battling  for  our  country,  the  neglect  with  which  the  soldier  was 
BO  often  dealt,  causelessly  caused  so  many  comrades'  lives,  and 
this  neglect  now  following  us  as  we  come  to  cast  our  roses  on 
our  comrades'  graves  should  bind  us  closer  to  each  other, 
and  in  chords  of  love  and  friendship ;  as  men  who  have  so  often 
braved  danger  in  a  thousand  forms,  unite  us  in  a  bond  of  bro- 
therhood, ending  as  ends  a  soldier's  patriotism,  in  death  itself. 
I  cannot  trust  myself  to  continue  my  remarks  any  further,  the 
indignation  (at  this  unexpected  insult  to  our  fallen  heroes)  now 
controlling  me,  will,  I  fear,  (if  I  proceed),  cause  my  feelings  to 
o'er-top  my  judgment.  In  conclusion  let  me  say,  that  we  have 
come,  pursuant  to  orders  from  head-quarters  of  the  Grand  Army 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  605 

of  the  Republic,  to  decorate  our  fallen  comrades'  graves.  Let 
us  do  so.  Let  us  prove  our  devotion  to  their  memory,  and  as 
thus  by  our  outward  signs  we  show  our  respect  for  the  valiant 
dead,  let  us  once  more  swear  fealty  to  those  they  have  left  be- 
hind, and  resolve  to  be  more  active  in  the  work  for  which  our 
organization  was  instituted,  and  defend  and  provide  for  the 
soldier's  widow,  and  protect,  support,  and  educate  their  orphan 
children. — Official  report. 

AT  JERSEY  CITY,  NEW  JERSEY. 

About  1 : 30,  p.  M.,  the  procession  commenced  to  fall  into 
line,  and  formed  in  the  following  order: 

Detachment  of  Police,  thirteen  in  number,  under  command 
of  Aid  Mann;  Reinhard's  Band ;  State  Rifle  Corps  Battalion, 
commanded  by  Maj.  Bookstaver,  consisting  of  the  Hooker 
Rifles,  Capt.  Me  Laughlin, — Kearny  Rifles,  Capt.  Randolph,— 
and  Capt.  Keenan's  Company  from  Hudson  City ;  the  Turner 
Rifles,  with  drum  corps ;  Phil.  Kearny  Post,  Grand  Army  of 
the  Republic,  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Murphy.  Bergen 
Post,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  commanded  by  Maj. 
Gaines;  Hearse,  containing  choice  flowers;  Express  Wagon, 
covered  with  flags  and  tilled  with  flowers;  Carriages,  contain- 
ing the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  of  Bergen,  and  representatives 
of  the  press ;  Burr's  Mammoth  Omnibus,  containing  the  Lie- 
dertafel  Singing  Society ;  a  large  Omnibus,  decorated  with  flags ; 
Carriages  containing  citizens  ;  and  Citizens  on  foot. 

On  their  arrival  at  New  York  Bay  Cemetery  they  were  met 
by  the  Concordia  Club,  of  Greenville,  who  were  first  upon  the 
ground.  Then  filing  into  the  east  gate,  they  proceeded  to  the 
ground  where  stands  the  monument,  the  inscription  on  which 
reads  thus : 

"  A   TRIBUTE   OF   JERSEY  CITY  TO   HER   PATRIOT  DEAD. 

lie  sleeps  his  last  sleep, 

He  has  fougbt  his  last  battle." 

Here  the  following  was  the  order  of  ceremonies :  Episcopal 
service,  by  Rev.  Thomas  K.  Coleman ;  Singing  by  the  Liederta- 
fel ;  Mr.  B.  Van  Riper,  Aid  to  the  Marshal,  made  the  following 
remarks : 

FRIENDS— SOLDIERS  :  We  have  assembled  to-day  to  perform 
a  holy  and  sacred  mission  of  love  and  gratitude.  Standingly 
this  monument,  erected  as  a  "  Tribute  to  the  Patriot  Dead  — 
surrounded  by  the  graves  of  the  nation's  martyred  heroes— we 
have  come  to" plant  on  their  graves  these  tender  offerings  of  af- 
fection. , 

Soldiers  :  Memory  carries  us  into  the  past ;  the  long  marcl 


606  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

and  bivouacs  ;  the  picket  and  skirmish  line  ;  the  advance  and 
the  roar  of  battle ;  the  sick,  wounded,  dying,  and  the  graves  of 
your  dead  comrades. 

Friend :  Tread  lightly  around  these  graves.  Let  no  tear  or 
sigh  escape — fearful  that  they  would  overpower  thee  in  thy  labor 
of  love ;  let  the  swelling  chest  and  throbbing  heart  be  alone  the 
indication  of  your  sorrow;  place  ancl  strew  o'er  their  graves 
those  wayside  apostles  of  beauty  and  innocence,  and  as  you 
kneel  at  their  graves  tell  your  little  ones  that  three  hundred 
thousand  heroes  immolated  their  lives  upon  the  altar  of  their 
country  that  liberty  might  be  preserved.  Go  forth  on  your 
Christian  duty,  and  God  will  bless  you — for  He  knows  no  day 
in  these  ennobling  acts — mercy,  pity,  charity,  and  Christian  love. 

An  anthem  was  sung  by  the  Concordia  Glee  Club,  of  Green- 
ville. A  dirge  was  played  by  the  band.  Flowers,  which  ap- 
peared in  abundance,  were  then  solemnly  strewn  upon  the  mon- 
ument and  graves.  Then  breaking  into  squads,  the  following 
graves  were  decorated  with  flowers  in  pots  and  loose  by  the  G. 
A.  R. :  Benjamin  A.  Yerrinder,  died  December  3u,  1861 ; 
Lieut.  A.  G.  Chazotte,  died  June  25,  1862 ;  Capt.  James  H. 
Hughes,  died  October  13,  1862  ;  William  Gamble,  died  Decem- 
ber 29,  1S62 ;  George  W.  Jones,  died  March  6,  1863 ;  Capt. 
John  Gamble,  died  May  6,  1863;  Lieut.  John  Howeth,  died 
May  15,  1863;  Charles  P.  Platt,  died  July  28,  1863;  William 
Paynton.  died  July  28,  1863;  Capt.  Alpheus  "Witherell,  died 
August  21,  1863;  Dr.  L.  E.  Ohlenschlager,  died  August  21, 
1863;  Thomas  Roberts,  died  December  1st;  Sergt.  John  W. 
Hoey ;  Capt.  James  B.  Turner ;  Edwin  Clark ;  James  F.  Cooper; 
William  Cooper ;  William  Beliield ;  Col.  Casselman ;  Arthur  O. 
Olcott. 

From  this  point,  the  procession  wended  its  way  to  the  Dutch 
Reformed  Church,  in  Bergen,  where  a  prayer  was  made  by  Rev. 
Thomas  K.  Coleman,  followed  by  singing  by  the  Liedertafel, 
and  the  usual  flowering  was  done.  On  the  conclusion  of  pro- 
ceedings here,  the  procession  divided,  one-half  going  to  the 
Catholic,  and  the  other  to  the  Jersey  City  cemetery,  at  the  foot 
of  the  hill,  at  each  of  which  places  the  usual  ceremonies  were 
held. 

AT  BRIDGE-TON,  NEW  JERSEY. 

Shortly  after  three  o'clock,  the  procession  formed  in  line  in 
front  of  Sheppard's  Hall,  under  the  command  of  Jr.  Vice  Com- 
mander, Capt.  F.  M.  Riley.  Adjutant,  Capt.  T.  Fletcher  Jacobs, 
and  Quarter  Master  Chas.  W.  Preston,  marched  two  deep,  each 
soldier  bearing  wreaths  and  bouquets.  In  the  middle  of  the 


AT    THE    SOLDIERS     GRAVES. 

procession  the  flag  and  eagle  of  the  "Cumberland  Grays," 
draped  in  mourning  and  festooned  with  flowers,  was  a  conspicu- 
ous object  of  interest.  In  the  morning  the  great  flag  was 
stretched  across  the  street,  bordered  with  crape,  and  bearing  the 
appropriate  inscription,  "  Our  Fallen  Comrades  are  not  For- 
gotten/' 

The  procession  first  took  its  way  to  the  Old  Presbyterian 
Bury  ing-ground,  when  the  first  floral'  offerings  were  made  to  the 
memory  of  the  following  soldiers  whose  graves  are  there  found  : 
1.  Alex.  L.  Eobeson,  1st  Lieut.  Co.  H,  24th  1ST.  J.  Vols.,  was 
among  the  number  reported  "  missing"  after  the  battle  of  Fred- 
ericksburg,  Dec.  13th,  1862.  The  following  record  is  made  of 
him  in  the  sketch  of  the  24th  Regiment,  in  "  New  Jersey  and 
the  Rebellion  : "  "  Having  the  charge  of  his  company  in  the 
Captain's  absence,  he  bravely  led  them  forward,  never  to  re- 
turn. Though  a  faithful  and  oft-repeated  search  was  made  for 
him,  as  long  as  such  search  could  be  allowed,  no  tidings  were 
received,  nor  has  any  positive  intelligence  since  been  obtained 
concerning  him.  The  members  of  his  company  loved  him  as  a 
brother,  and  his  men  were  equally  dear  to  him.  He  looked 
faithfully  after  all  their  wants  and  sympathized  with  them  un- 
failingly in  all  their  sufferings.  He  was  especially  endeared  to 
his  fellow  oiticers,  who  esteemed  him  for  his  intelligence  and 
excellent  judgment,  and  loved  him  for  his  virtues  and  exemplary 
Christian  character."  2.  Thomas  Barnett,  Co.  K,  10th  N.  J. 
Yols.,  was  taken  sick  in  the  early  part  of  his  term  of  service 
and  never  recovered,  and  died  shortly  after  being  discharged. 
3.  Henry  Bolton,  Capt.,  Co.  K,  34th  K  J.  Vols.,  4.  David 
Yarrick, 'Corporal,  Co.  F,  3d  N.  J.  Yols.,  wounded  in  action  at 
Spottsyivania,  May  8th,  died  in  the  Hospital  at  Fredericksburg. 
5.  Benjamin  H.  Bitters,  private,  Co.  D,  10th  K.  J.  Yols.,  was 
taken  sick  in  the  field  and  died  in  hospital  in  Washington, 
June  1st,  1862.  6.  James  Bright,  private,  Co.  F,  3d  K.  J. 
Yols.,  enlisted  in  the  army  and  afterwards  transferred  to  navy. 
Beside  the  first  grave  the  procession  halted,  when  the  following 
address  was  made  by  Sergeant  Charles  Padgett : 

COMRADES  AND  FELLOW  CITIZENS  :  Let  us  draw  near  to  these 
passionless  mounds  with  reverential  hands  and  swelling  hearts, 
where  sleep  the  brave  and  true  men  whose  blood  was  the  mag- 
nificent oblation  of  the  Eepublic  in  her  crucial  hour.  Let  us 
make  these  consecrated  grounds  a  temple,  where,  with  music  and 
glad  hearts,  the  incense  of  a  people's  gratitude  and  remembrance 
shall  arise  We  hope  that  the  beautiful  ceremonies  of  to-day 
but  foreshadow  the  state  and  solemnities  of  the  future  observance 
of  this  sad  but  glorious  anniversary.  Let  this  morning  maugu- 


608  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

rate  a  new  Mayday  for  our  land,  grander  in  its  traditions,  nobler 
in  its  teachings,  and  more  lasting  in  its  impressions  than  the  one 
whose  prettv  floral  celebration  we  inherit  from  childhood  and 
England.  \Vre  may  not  know  them  all,  but  none  the  less  should 
we  do  them  honor  in  our  memory  and  our  hearts.  If  the  ques- 
tion should  arise — what  mean  ye  by  these  things  ?  In  reply 
I  would  ask,  does  the  tather  forget  the  son  who  left  him  in 
the  Juil  vigor  of  manhood,  and  who  was  brought  back  to  him  a 
mangled  corpse,  given  as  a  sacrifice  on  the  altar  of  his  country? 
Does  the  mother  forget  her  noble  boy  who  gave  promise  of  an 
unusually  bright  and  happy  future,  and  yet  who  gave  all  up  for 
his  country's  good?  Neither  do  we  forget  the  comrades  who 
fought  with  us  on  the  bloody  fields  whose  names  are  inscribed 
on  yonder  flag ;  and  it  is  to  do  them  honor  that  we  thus  engage 
in  these  forms  and  ceremonies.  And  we  hope  that  the  names 
of  those  who  fought  with  us  for  the  dear  old  flag  shall  ever  be 
fresh  in  onr  memory  and  yours,  and  that  these  observances  may 
be  kept  up  from  year  to  year  while  a  survivor  of  the  war  re- 
mains to  honor  the  memory  of  his  departed  comrades. 

On  reaching  the  monument  to  Lieutenant  Robeson,  a  few 
remarks  were  made  by  Rev.  C.  R.  Gregory,  after  which  Lieut. 
James  J.  Reeves  said : 

FELLOW  SOLDIEKS  :  We  have  come  to-day  to  sprinkle  our 
tears  and  our  flowers  over  the  green  graves  of  our  fallen  com- 
rades. For  months — oltimes  for  long  and  weary  years — we 
trod  with  them  the  thorny  path  of  army  life,  mingling  our  joys 
and  our  sorrows,  our  cares  and  our  labors  with  theirs,  until  an 
all-wise  Providence,  whose  ways  are  past  finding  out,  but  who 
doeth  all  things  well,  selected  them  from  our  numbers  to  lay 
down  their  lives  upon  our  country's  altar.  Why  were  they 
taken  and  we  left  ?  "  Even  so,  Father,  for  so  it  seemed  good  in 
Thy  sight.''  Grateful  are  our  emotions,  and  yet  howr  full  of 
sadness,  as  we  tread  these  hallowed  grounds  and  pay  this  simple 
tribute  of  affection  to  the  memory  of  our  loved  companions.  We 
rejoice  that  we  can  say  of  many  of  them — and  Oh,  how  emi- 
nently true  of  our  dear  brother  whose  form  lies  sleeping  beneath 
the  sacred  sod  of  Fredericksburg,  but  whose  stately  cenotaph 
before  us  points  upwards  to  his  home  in  glory, — 

None  knew  tbee  but  to  love  thee, 
None  named  thee  but  to  praise. 

Fellow  soldiers  in  the  battle  of  life !  The  duties  of  the 
passing  hour  remind  me  to  be  brief.  Permit  me  then  to  add  a 
word  in  season  for  the  present.  We  have  been  spared  to  return 
to  our  homes  for  a  high  and  noble  purpose.  Our  gallant  com- 
rades whose  memory  we  are  perpetuating,  have  fought  their 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  609 

-eus  s  Hleirrr-  „  Man^  a  hard  batt1'  of  life  is 

1.  Smith  Dalrymple,  private    Co    F    R^l  AT    T  Tr  i 
discharged,  and  award's  eSedin^e'aea  Pa^nddled 
of  disease  contracted  in  the  service 

'T1'  °°-  K'  lst  Del»are,  a  native 


fi  ,e  1<e,Urnl       ome'  but  never  f»llv  recovered, 

finally  died  from  the  effect  of  his  treatment  in  the  prison 

3    Christopher  Mead,  corporal,  Co.  H,   12th  N.  /  Vols 
was  killed  at  Cold  Harbor,  June  3,  1864. 

4.  Barren  de  Kalb  Harris,  corporal,  Co.  K,  10th  K  J.  Vols., 
died  of  disease  at  Relay  House. 

5.  Edmund  Gilman,  private,  Co.  H,  24th  K  J.  Vols.,  died 
ot  disease  contracted  in  the  service  at  the  Chain  Bridge. 

At  the  Commerce  street  grave-yard  addresses  were  made 
by  Kev.  Mr.  Apgar,  Methodist  Protestant  Church,  and  Kev. 
Mr.  Stuart,  St.  Andrew's  Episcopal  Church,  as  follows  : 

MR.  APGAB'S  ADDRESS. 

If  there  is  one  virtue  that  honors  a  man's  character  above 
another  it  is  the  love  of  country  ;  and  that  man  who,  uninflu- 
enced by  political  or  any  other  motives,  save  pure,  holy  patriot- 
ism, dares  to  take  his  life  in  hie  hand,  and  goes  forth  to  fight 
for  his  country's  weal  on  the  field  of  battle  deserves  to  be> 
honored  by  generations  yet  unborn.  While  we  are  here  to-day 
to  strew  with  flowers  the  graves  of  some  whose  forms  lie  here 
beneath  the  green  sod,  I  would  refer  particularly  to  one  soldier 
boy  whose  heart  was  moved  by  pure  patriotic  feelings,  and  who 
was  led  to  take  his  life  in  his  hand,  in  defiance  to  the  opposition 
that  was  raised  against  him  by  his  friends,  and  went  forth  to 
battle  in  defence  of  his  country  ;  and  when  he  returned,  I  am 
told,  his  own  friends  .turned  him  away  from  their  door,  simply 
39 


610  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

because  he  dared  to  love  his  country,  to  make  some  sacrifice 
to  preserve  this  Government — the  noblest  the  world  ever  saw. 
And  being  turned  away  from  the  door  of  those  who  should  have 
cared  for  him,  lie  was  taken  in  by  some  kind  friends  and  cared 
for  by  fellow-soldiers  until  they  closed  his  eyes  in  death,  and 
then  took  his  remains  away  to  the  silent  tomb.  Tell  me,  fellow- 
citizens  and  soldiers,  tell  me  not  that  there  beats  not  in  the 
heart  of  the  soldier  of  pure  heart,  tell  me  not  that  there  is  no 
sympathy  there,  for  I  have  seen  it  manifested,  not  only  in  the 
field,  not  only  while  engaged  in  the  war,  but  to-day  in  the  feel- 
ing manifested  on  the  part  of  these  comrade  soldiers  in  strewing 
these»graves  with  flowers.  And  I  ask  no  higher  honor  than 
when  I  am  laid  in  the  grave  to  have  some  kind  hand  of  a  fellow 
soldier  to  strew  my  grave  with  flowers.  It  is  enough,  and  I  ask 
no  more.  Fellow-comrades,  continue  to  practice  this  pleasing 
memorial ;  and  I  hope  it  may  be  kept  up  from  year  to  year 
down  to  the  latest  generation,  and  that  you  and  I,  loving  God 
and  our  country  with  pure  hearts,  and  doing  justly  and  loving 
mercy,  and  dealing  with  our  fellows  as  we  should  have  them 
deal  with  us,  may  at  last  go  to  God's  right  hand,  where  we 
shall  wear  unfading  laurels  while  the  ages  of  eternity  roll  on. 

ME.  STUABT'S  ADDRESS. 

This  is  not  an  occasion  when  our  feelings  need  to  be  excited 
or  raised  up  to  a  certain  height,  but  one  of  those  occasions 
when  the  best  and  dearest  expressions  of  feeling  are  those  which 
are  in  the  heart,  awakened  silently  in  the  memory,  or  intima- 
ting their  existence  by  such  acts  of  beauty  and  affection  as 
those  in  which  you  are  now  engaged.  For  if  you  but  look 
around  this  cemetery  upon  the  graves  that  are  here  in  such 
great  number,  and  ask  what  would  the  friends  of  those  who  are 
sleeping  here,  whether  carried  to  their  rest  long  ago  or  but 
lately,  what  would  the  friends  of  those  who  are  sleeping  here 
choose  as  the  best  demonstration  of  respect  for  their  memory, 
what  would  be  the  answer  ?  Would  they  have  loud  harangues, 
great  oratory,  loud  displays  over  their  graves  ?  No,  they  would 
say  these  things  may  be  intended  to  honor  those  who  are  gone, 
but  they  do  not  express  that  affection,  that  memory  which 
dwells  within  our  breast,  and  we  would  see  these  friends  coming 
here,  just  as  you  are  doing  this  afternoon,  in  this  beautiful 
spring  time,  silently,  in  all  affection,  to  lay  upon  the  graves  of 
their  departed  these  symbols  of  a  new  and  beautiful  life.  You 
do  not  need  to  be  raised  up  to  a  certain  height  of  feeling,  but 
to  come  with  the  feeling  of  comrades,  with  the  feeling  of  friends 
and  brothers,  with  the  feeling  of  relationship,  of  relationship 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS  GRAVES.  611 

cemented  in  blood,  and  here  to  lay  silently  upon  their  graves 
the  token  of  that  which  is  beautiful,  of  that  which  is  pure  and 
which  outlasts  decay  and  death.     These  flowers  that  you  intend 
to  lay  upon  your  comrades'  graves  are  often  used  as  emblems 
of  immortality  and  life  from  the  dead.     They  have  sprung  up 
with  this  new  spring-tide  as  indications  that  God  is  renewing 
the  face  of  the  earth.     And  these  flowers  and  this  season  shall 
pass  away  and   decay,  but  the  memory  of  those  brave  men 
whose  blood  has  paid  the  price  of  victory  shall  outlast  the 
spring-time  as  it  comes  and  goes ;  shall  outlast  the  withering 
flowers  which  in  themselves  are  so  beautiful ;  but  the  influence 
of  their  noble  deeds  and  their  sacrificed  lives — this,  God  grant, 
shall  remain  in  these  United  States,  in  this  land  which  their 
blood  has  redeemed  and  bought,  this  shall  remain  as  long  as 
God's  word  remains,  as  long  as  men  are  freemen,  and  have 
souls  and  hearts,  and  value  liberty  and  the  sacrifices  of  the 
good.     This  is  what  you  can  do  to  testify  your  appreciation  of 
their  great  work ;  but  their  work  shall  live  and  its  influences 
shall  extend  with  or  without  our  appreciation ;  and  let  our 
effort  be  not  merely  to  commemorate  their  deeds,  but  to  enter 
info  them  and  to  prove  that  the  liberty  which  they  have  bought 
for  us,  by  our  use  of  it  in  our  lives,  has  not  been  purchased  in 
vain.     The  memory  of  these  men  shall  live  as  long  as  the  mem- 
ory of  the  good  and  brave  shall  live,  and  may  their  memory  be 
embalmed  in  every  heart. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  the  soldiers  interred  in  Com- 
merce Street  graveyard,  with  such  particulars  as  can  be  hastily 
procured : 

1.  Joseph  M.  El  well,  Corporal,  Co.  A,  24th  N.  J.  Yols.,  died 
of  Typhoid  Fever  at  Wind  Mill  Point  Hospital,  January  25th, 
1S63  2.  Samuel  Fogg,  Private,  Co.  F,  3d  K".  J.  Yols.,  died  in 
Hospital,  at  Philadelphia  of  Typhoid  Fever.  3.  Burton  Penton, 
Private,  Co.  B,  77th  Pa.,  enlisted  for  three  years  and  re-enlisted 
as  a  veteran.  Served  through  the  campaign  with  Sherman  and 
died  about  three  weeks  after  his  discharge.  4.  Richard  Rettig, 
Private  Co  H  24th  N.  J.  Yols.,  wounded  at  Fredencksburg, 
and  died  in  Hospital  at  Washington.  5.  Wm  Hider,  Fnrfto. 
Co  D  9th  K  J.  Yols.,  died  at  Greensboro  of  disease.  6.  Dan  i 
Sharp  Co.  F,37thK  J.  Yols.  7.  Robert  Glaspey,  Private,  Co. 
F,  3d  N.  J.  Yols.,  served  the  full  term  and  died  m  Bridge  ton  of 
disease  contracted  in  the  service.  8.  Aaron  Fithian,  Co.  K,  1;  >th 
N.  J.  Yols.,  served  three  years,  re-enlisted  as  v ete ran  1 but  die d  of 
disease  before  his  term  expired.  9.  James  Husted,  Co.  D  10th 
N  J  vols.,  died  of  disease  contracted  in  the  service 
B.' Smith,  Sergeant,  Co.  H,  24th  N.  J.  Yols,  served  full  term  and 


612  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

died  shortly  after  his  discharge  of  disease  contracted  in  the 
service.  11.  George  Burch,  Private,  Co.  H,  24th  N.  J.  Vols., 
died  of  disease  in  Hospital  at  Baltimore.  12.  George  Moore, 

Private,  Co. ,  10th  N.  J.  Vols.,  died  of  fever  at  home  in 

Bridgeton. 

AT  CAMDEN,  NEW  JERSEY. 

Post  No.  6,  G.  A.  R.,  assembled  on  Sunday,  May  31st,  at  12 
o'clock,M.,  at  their  Hall,  corner  of  Fourth  and  Federal  Streets, 
dressed  in  dark  suits  and  white  gloves.  At  1  o'clock  the  proces- 
sion formed  into  line.  It  was  composed  of  the  members  of  the 
G.  A.  R.  and  Soldiers  and  Sailors,  Mayor  and  Common  Council 
of  Camden  and  citizens  generally.  The  Northern  Liberty  En- 
gine Company's  ambulance  of  Philadelphia,  drawn  by  two 
splendid  horses,  was  decorated  with  flags,  flowers,  and  evergreens, 
and  filled  with  little  girls  dressed  in  white,  with  red  sacks,  each 
carrying  a  bouquet  of  flowers.  Next  was  a  carriage  gorgeously 
trimmed  with  flags  and  flowers.  This  contained  the  floral  tokens 
of  affection  prepared  by  the  ladies  of  Camden,  which  were  to 
be  used  for  decking  the  graves.  This  carriage  was  drawn  by 
Mr.  Roberts'  four  beautiful  black  horses,  led  by  four  colored 
men  ;  it  was  guarded  by  a  "  Guard  of  Honor,"  consisting  of 
six  members  of  the  Post,  followed  by  the  members,  soldiers  and 
sailors.  Then  came  the  citizens  of  Camden,  commanded  by 
Capt.  Hufty.  The  whole  procession  was  under  the  command  of 
Capt.  Stone,  and  headed  by  the  Union  Brass  Baud  which  played 
Bolemn  funeral  dirges. 

Arriving  at  the  cemetery  a  halt  was  made  near  the  Chapel, 
and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Whitecar  made  an  impressive  prayer.  Col. 
Harbert  of  the  Post,  then  delivered  an  address,  full  of  feeling 
and  tender  affection  for  those  of  his  comrades  who  fell  for  Free- 
dom and  Right,  and  whose  memories  are  sacredly  embalmed  in 
the  hearts  of  the  loyal  living  millions.  He  was  followed  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Davies,  pastor  of  the  Tabernacle  Baptist  Church,  who 
spoke  as  follows: 

GENTLEMEN  AND  SOLDIERS  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE  RE- 
PUBLIC :  We  have  met  here  to-day  in  this  sequestered  spot,  un- 
der the  broad  open  canopy  of  the  heavens,  to  strew  these  floral 
offerings  on  these  little  mounds,  which  mark  the  quiet  resting- 
places  of  the  sacred  dust  of  those  brave  soldiers  who  fell  in  the 
service  of  their  country  while  battling  for  its  rights.  In  doing 
this  we  are  rendering  "  honor  to  whom  honor  is  due."  The 
world  has  not  always  been  particular  and  discriminating  in  the 
selection  of  its  favorites,  whom  it  has  made  the  objects  of  its 
love,  and  the  idols  of  its  pride,  but  it  has  frequently  bestowed 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        613 

its  emoluments ,  conferred  its  honors,  and  pronounced  its  eulo- 
gies op  the  worthless  and  the  undeserving;  but  such  evidently 
is  not  the  case  with  us  to-day,  for  those  whom  we  honor  bv  this 
iolemn  and  impressive  ceremony  rendered  the  most  valuable 
,»mce  to  their  country  in  the  hour  of  its  trial,  and  proved  them- 
selves by  their  heroic  deeds  to  be  truly  worthy  of  the  nation's 
protoundest  homage.     Those  brave  heroes,  around  whose  cold 
silent  graves  we  are  gathered  to-day,  were  true  and  noble 
patriots.     They  loved  their  country,  they  loved  this  soil    its 
mountains  and  valleys,  its  hills  and  dales,  its  broad  lakes  and 
majestic  rivers,  its  cultivated  farms  and  its  extensive  prairies 
They  loved  its  noble  institutes,  its  laws,  principles,  and  Consti- 
tution.    They  loved  its  history,  its  enterprise,  its  glory,  and  its 
flag.  ^  They  loved  their  country  in  all  its  aspects,  interests,  and 
relations.     And  what  a  country  was  and  is  ours  to-day.     It  sur- 
passes all  the  other  countries  of  the  world  in  the  extent  of  its 
territories,  in  the  abundance  and  variety  of  its  resources,  in  the 
mildness  and  equity  of  its  laws,  in  the  essential  rectitude  of  its 
governmental  principles  which  recognize  the  natural  rights  and 
equality  of  all  men,  and  their  inalienable  right  to  self-govern- 
nient.     This  glorious  country,  though  as  yet  a  new  world,  has 
its  grand  historical  epochs.     Christopher  Columbus  discovered 
territorial  America,  the  "  Pilgrim  Fathers  "  discovered  protec- 
tive America,  where  the   down-trodden  and  oppressed  of  all 
nations  of  the  earth  might  find  a  refuge  from  the  heartless 
despotism  of  cruel  tyrants.     George  Washington  discovered  inde- 
pendent America,  severed  from  all  the  embarrassing  trammels  of 
foreign  rulers ;  Abraham  Lincoln  discovered  free  America,  with 
the  curse  of  slavery  forever  abolished,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that 
the  next  president  of  the  United  States  will  discover  a  reunited 
and  a  gloriously  reconstructed  America,  with  all  its  difficulties 
settled,  its  internal  discord  suppressed,  and  its  peace  fully  re- 
stored.    "We,  as  a  nation,  are  indebted  to  our  soldiers  for  the 
glorious  triumph  of  our  cause ;  thejT  are  the  saviors  of  their 
country,  which  they  loved  dearer  than  life,  for  they  displayed 
their  patriotism  not  in  sentimental  sighs  and  empty  profession, 
but  by  the  most  self-sacrificing  deeds  :  for  when  our  noble  gov- 
ernment was  ruthlessly  assailed  by  rebellious  foes,  and  our  proud 
banner  was  insulted  and  trampled  in  the  dust,  our  brave  sol- 
diers left  their  trades,  avocations,  merchandise,  homes,  and  dear 
ones,  and  rushed  to  arms  and  to  fight  to  the  death  in  behalf  of 
the  country  that  gave  them  birth.     They  voluntarily  endured 
the  deprivations  of  the  camp,  the  fatigue  of  tedious  marches, 
the   awful   perils  of  the  battle-field,   the   agonies  of  reeking 
hospitals,  and  unutterable  cruelty  of  military  imprisonment, 


614  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

and  all  from  the  purest  love  for  their  country.  They  were  suc- 
cessful in  defeating  their  foes,  sustaining  the  government,  and 
vindicating  the  Hag.  Though  thousands  upon  thousands  of  them 
fell  in  many  a  well-fought  battle-field,  the  Great  Republic  lives, 
it?-  interests  are  advancing  and  its  banners  are  proudly  floating 
over  every  state  of  the  Union.  Our  heroes  also  live  in  the  pros- 
perity of  our  country,  in  the  annals  of  history,  and  in  the  hearts 
of  a  grateful  people,  and  this  great  gathering  and  these  solemn 
ceremonies  are  significant  evidences  of  the  fact  that  our  brave 
soldiers  have  not  been  forgotten.  Let  none  presume  to  speak 
disparagingly  of  the  valorous  deeds  or  of  the  scenes  of  their 
heroic  struggles.  The  battle  grounds  of  Antietara,  Gettysburg, 
Seven  Pines,  the  Wilderness,  Fredericksburg,  and  Richmond, 
are  dear  to  thousands,  for  there,  husbands,  fathers,  brothers,  and 
sons  poured  out  their  life-blood  for  their  country's  glory.  Peace 
be  to  their  dust,  strew  flowers  on  their  graves,  honor  their  deeds, 
forget  not  their  widows  and  orphans,  and  may  the  blessing  of 
God  be  upon  our  country. 

While  the  ceremony  of  strewing  the  graves  with  flowers  was 
being  performed,  the  choir  sang  some  very  touching  tunes.  The 
procession  then  re-formed  and  moved  to  the  old  Newtown  Ceme- 
tery, where  prayer  was  made  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Davis.  He  was 
succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Whitecar,  who  delivered  an  eloquent 
address.  This  over  the  choir  sung  while  flowers  were  being 
strewn  over  the  graves  of  the  departed,  whose  names,  fifty-eight 
in  all,  we  have  been  unable  to  obtain.  We  could  not  help  re- 
calling the  poet's  language : 

"  'Tis  sweet  to  mnse,  as  o'er  the  gladdened  sea 
The  orient  sun  his  youthful  ntdiance  flings, 
On  those  fair  scenes  Hope  to  Fancy  brings, 

And  drenra  of  joys  and  pleasures  yet  to  be ; 

But,  oh !  'tis  sweeter  far  for  memory 
At  dewy  eve  when  lingering  eye  looks  back 
O'er  the  bright  spots  of  that  familiar  track, 

Which  first  we  trod  with  careless  step  and  free ; 
There  the  fond  heart  o'er  ancient  visions  strays, 

And  friends  once  deeply  loved  and  long  since  gone, 
Meet  us  again,  and  scenes  of  other  days, 

Float  o'er  the  mind,  like  music's  dying  tone, 
Leaving  a  peace  that's  less  of  earth  than  heaven, 
A  holy  calm  like  that  to  sainted  spirits  given." 

The  procession  was  again  formed,  and  was  addressed  by 
Capt.  J.  H.  Stone  in  a  few  pertinent  remarks,  after  which  it  re- 
turned to  the  hall  and  was  dismissed. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  615 

AT  PROVIDENCE,  RHODE  ISLAND. 

The  several  Posts  assembled  at  the  designated  hour,  and 
proceeded  to  Exchange  Place,  where  the  line  was  formed.  The 
procession  was  then  formed  in  the  following  order : 

Platoon  of  police ;  Major-General  Ambrose  E.  Burnside, 
Grand  Commander;  Win.  Ames,  Senior  Yice  Commander; 
Harvey  Allen,  Assistant  Adjutant-General ;  H.  W.  King,  As- 
sistant Surgeon-General ;  Aides  de  Camp — Major  J.  E.  Bradford 
and  Lieutenant  C.  H.  Williams ;  Post  No.  20,  G.  A.  E.,  40  men 
mounted.  Col.  Henry  Allen,  Commander ;  Z.  C.  Eennie,  Se- 
nior Yice  Commander ;  Capt.  Geo.  H.  Pierce,  Junior  Command- 
er; Staff — Lieut.  Henry  E,.  Barker,  Adjutant;  Lieut.  J.  L. 
Sherman,  Quartermaster ;  Comrade  Charles  Wildman,  Sergeant- 
Major  ;  platoon  of  police ;  American  Brass  Band,  25  pieces, 
D.  W.  Eeeves,  leader;  Post  No.  1,  G.  A.  II.,  about  300  men, 
as  seven  companies;  Col.  E.  C.  Ehodes,  Commander;  Sergt. 
Chas.  E.  Morgan,  Senior  Yice  Commander;  Capt.  Thomas 
Simpson,  Junior  Yice  Commander;  Staff— Capt.  Wm.  Frank- 
land,  Adjutant ;  Capt.  Allen  Baker,  Quartermaster ;  Dr.  George 
Carr,  Surgeon ;  Brevet  Brig. -Gen.  Horatio  Eogers,  Jr.,  A.  D. 
C. ;  Major  E.  C.  Poineroy,  A.  D.  C. ;  Major  William  B.  Ehodes, 

A.  D.  C. ;  Officers  of  Companies— Capt.  A.  G.  Thomas,  Lieut, 
Chas.  C.  Grey,kCapt.  S.  Thurber,  Capt.  Wm.  Stone,  Capt.  H. 

B.  Cady,  Capt. 'William  E.  Taber.     Post  No.  1  have  the  battle- 
flag  of  'the  1st  E.  L  D.  M.  borne  by  Charles  Beeherer,  who  was 
the  standard-bearer  during  the  term  of  active  service.     Carriage 
containing  His  Honor,  Mayor  Doyle;  Col,  E.  Metcalf,  Orator; 
Samuel  W.  Field,  Chaplain';  Eev.  Daniel  Leach,  Superintendent 
of  Schools ;   carriage  containing  wreaths  and  bouquets ;  drum 
cores;  Post  No.  13,  G.  A.  E.  (colored),  50  men,  Ord.  Sergt. 
Moses  F.  Brown,  Commander;  Ord.  Sergt.  Eobert  F.  Nicoh, 
Senior  Yice  Commander;  Q.  M.  Sergt.  Charles  C.  Johnson, 
Junior  Yice  Commander;   Staff— Sergt.-Major   G.  H.  Black, 
Adjutant;   Sergt.-Major  Z.    Howland,  Quartermaster;   bergt. 
James  L.  Franklin,  Sergt.-Major;  Corp.  John  B.  Lane,  Q.  M 
Sergt.;  Sergt.  L.  G.  Pheuix,  officer  of  the  day.     They  carried 
the°flag  bo?ue  by  the  Uth  E.  I.  H.  A.  during  the  war     Post 
No  12  G  A.  E,  (mounted),  about  25  men;  Gen.  ±.  J.-Lippitt, 
Commander;  Senior  Yice-Commander,  J.  T.  Pitman;  Junior 
Commander,  Charles  L.  Stafford  ;  Adjutant  Charles  M.  Smith ; 
Quartermaster,  Amos  M.  Bowen  ;  Surgeon,  Dr.  Geo.  E.  Ma  on 
Chaplain,  Eev!  Arthur  May  Knapp.    ^he  men  were  all  mount- 
ed.    On  the  left  of  the  line  was  a  barouche  filled  with  flowers 
Mowry  &  Goff 's  School,  two  companies,  one  with  muskets 


616  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

one  with  carbines,  Capt.  "William  A.  Mowry  commanding. 
There  were  about  twenty-five  lads  in  each  company. 

The  procession  moved  by  the  designated  route  to  the  Dexter 
Training  Ground,  and  formed  around  a  stand  which  had  been 
erected  at  the  flagstaff,  near  the  north  end.  Here  were  also 
arranged  the  children  of  the  public  schools,  numbering  from 
2,500  to  3,000,  all  bearing  a  floral  offering  as  their  tribute  to 
those  who  were  about  to  be  honored. 

The  exercises  opened  with  "  America,"  sung  hy  the  pupils 
of  the  High  School  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Carter,  accom- 
panied by  the  American  Brass  Baud.  Prayer  was  then  offered 
by  Rev.  Samuel  W.  Field,  chaplain  of  the  day.  Col.  Edwin 
Metealf  was  then  introduced  and  delivered  the 

OBATION. 

MR.  COMMANDER  AND  COMRADES  :  "We  come  here  to-day,  not 
for  the  sake  of  the  living,  but  of  the  dead — to  pay  them  the 
tribute  of  our  affection  and  our  gratitude.  We  are  here  to 
honor  them  and  keep  green  their  graves  and  fresh  and  bright 
their  memory.  And  not  alone  have  we,  their  comrades,  gath- 
ered here  to  give  this  simple  proof  of  our  unchanging  regard 
for  those  who  have  fallen  in  our  ranks.  With  us  have  come  these 
fitting  representatives  of  the  whole  people — the  fairest  flowers 
of  our  State.  They  bring  with  them,  may  we  $not  rightly  be- 
lieve— yes,  comrades,  we  have  the  common  heartfelt  spontaneous 
tribute  of  the  people  of  Rhode  Island,  her  men  and  women  alike 
with  her  children,  to  the  gallantry,  the  patriotism,  the  worth  of 
all  who  went  out  from  among  us  to  fill  a  soldier's  grave.  It  is 
good  for  us  to  be  here.  This,  I  am  sure,  is  the  sentiment  per- 
vading all  hearts  and  animating  the  whole  country.  Its  peace, 
its  safety,  and  all  of  prosperity  or  enduring  greatness,  or  prom- 
ise for  the  future,  our  country  owes  to  the  sacrifice  of  these  lives, 
and  the  spirit  with  which  the  sacrifice  was  made.  And  the 
nation  has  responded  as  with  one  voice  to  the  caH  which  has 
brought  us  together.  And  we,  comrades,  may  well  congratulate- 
ourselves  and  the  great  body  of  the  soldiers  and  sailors  of  the 
Republic  which  we  here  represent,  upon  the  happily  conceived 
order  that  has  led  to  this  gathering.  Well  is  it  for  us  who  still 
keep  up  the  semblance  of  military  authority  among  ourselves ; 
well  is  it  for  our  nation  that  the  general  and  hero  who  is  at  our 
head  has  no  purpose  to  be  obtained  through  the  efforts  of  those 
who  were  the  defenders  of  our  country  in  her  day  of  need — 
nothing  but  the  peaceful  and  joyful,  for  I  cannot  call  it  the  sor- 
rowful duty,  we  are  here  to  discharge.  Forgetting  almost  all 
the  strifes,  the  blood  and  the  tears  that  embittered  it,  let  us  for- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        617 

get  to-day,  comrades,  the  cause  of  the  strife  and  the  hostility 
that  forced  us  to  fight  and  to  conquer  those  we  would  fain  have 
treated  as  friends  and  brothers.  Here,  and  now,  we  would  re- 
member that  to  the  fallen  heroes  of  the  war  belong  the  first 
honors,  the  fairest  tribute  from  us  and  from  all  men.  Here  let 
us  join  hearts  as  we  join  hands  in  carrying  out  faithfully,  earn- 
estly, and  as  cheerfully  as  may  be,  the  spirit  of  the  order  under 
wh  it-It  we  have  assembled.  Be  it  alike  with  pleasure  as  with  pride 
that  we  strew  with  beautiful  flowers  the  honored  graves  of  our 
departed  brothers  in  arms.  Beautiful  flowers !  from  these  fair, 
and  gentle,  and  loving  hands ;  blessed  by  the  good  wishes  these 
children  with  their  youth  and  freshness  diffuse  around  them,  are 
they  not  fit  emblems  of  the  love  and  faith  and  all  the  kindly 
sentiments  we  would  indulge  over  the  graves  of  our  patriot 
heroes.  Such  be  their  language  to  us,  and  to  all  who  take  part 
with  us  in  this  consecrated  work.  Tender  and  fragrant  and 
grateful  to  every  sense  that  earth's  fairest  ornaments  can  appeal 
to,  may  we  bear  them  to  the  sacred  spots  we  are  to  visit  to-day, 
with  hearts  attuned  to  the  gentle  influences,  the  joyous,  voiceless 
harmonies  of  this  floral  tribute.  To  these  flower-laden  children 
their  labor  of  love  will  bring  its  own  reward.  Too  young  to 
know  what  war  has  been  to  their  friends  and  their  country,  yet 
they  can  realize  somewhat  of  our  feelings  as  they  visit  with  us 
the  graves  of  the  fallen.  We  who  are  to  teach  and  guide  them, 
to  load  them  in  the  way  of  life,  and  of  the  world,  must  see  to  it 
that  we  do  not  find  anything  to  dread,  anything  to  regret,  any- 
thing that  they  shall  not  resolve  themselves  gladly  to  encounter 
if  the  call  shall  come  to  them  as  it  did  come  to  us.  If  there  be 
need  of  educating  youth  in  the  love  of  country,  and  in  the  faith 
that  the  hardships  of  war,  and  even  death  on  the  battle-field  are 
better  far  than  submission  to  wrong  and  insult ;  if  they  are  to 
be  taught  that  to  uphold  the  right  and  to  protect  the  national 
honor  is  the  highest  of  man's  duties,  and  the  noblest  of  his 
triumphs,  then  may  this  gathering  this  day,  the  tribute  to  our 
dead,  be  not  without  its  lesson  for  the  young  as  for  the  old  ;  and 
in  after  years,  as  this  holiday  recurs,  may  it  bring  to  these  young 
people,  to  those  who  come  after  them,  such  kind  and  strong 
heart  that  shall  find  in  these  simple  observances  the  best  incen- 
tives to  a  noble  and  patriotic  career.  To  those  associated  with 
us  in  the  services  of  this  day,  and  in  paying  their  tribute  to  the 
country's  dead,  who  cannot  forget  their  private  griefs— the  irre- 
parable loss  of  father,  husband,  son,  or  brother— may  the  mflu- 
erces  of  the  occasion  not  be  powerless  to  soothe  and  cheer, 
the  world,  if  man's  philosophy,  if  religion  have  any  consolation 
for  those  who  mourn,  surely  in  the  spirit  which  actuated  our 


618  MEMORIAL   CEREMONIES 

departed  brothers,  the  devotion  they  exhibited,  and  their  faith- 
fulness even  unto  the  end,  our  honored  dead  have  left  behind 
them  all  these  consolations.  Go  then  to  their  graves,  and  while 
rejoicing  that  they  have  lived,  rejoice  also  that  they  were  willing 
to  die,  aye,  and  d'ie  nobly  in  the  sacred  cause  of  their  country. 

Comrades,  our  tribute  to-day  to  our  fallen  cannot  be  fitly 
paid  by  the  hands  alone,  or  by  words.  These  gifts  of  nature  so 
rich  and  beautiful,  are  but  emblems :  the  most  impressive  speech 
is  but  an  echo  of  what  should  fill  our  hearts  as  we  visit  their 
graves.  Out  of  the  turmoil  and  strife  of  our  daily  life,  closing 
the  work-shop,  the  counting  room  and  the  office,  we  have  under- 
taken this  sacred  pilgrimage.  Are  we  carrying  with  it  the  gen- 
erous sentiment,  the  noble  magnanimity,  the  faith  in  right, 
which  makes  those  graves  monuments,  not  to  the  martyrs  of  lib- 
erty, but  to  her  defenders  and  conquering  heroes  ? 

Among  all  the  national  traits  this  war  has  brought  promi- 
nently to  notice,  and  more  especially  those  which  have  called 
forth  the  most  touching  and  eloquent  eulogies  of  the  dead,  none 
so  remarkable  or  so  deserving  of  notice  as  the  generous  temper, 
the  freedom  from  vindictiveness,  the  truly,  manly  character  of 
those  who,  living  or  dead,  we  most  admire  and  love.  God  be 
thanked  that  it  was  not  from  hatred,  malice  or  any  uncharitable- 
ness  that  the  battle  was  fought  and  the  victory  won. 

How  striking  a  contrast  in  this  respect  does  the  story  of  our 
late  contest  present  to  that  of  our  revolution.  The  Tory  of  that 
day  was  regarded  with  a  bitterness  of  feeling,  and  treated  with 
a  severity  of  punishment  wholly  inconceivable  to  the  modern 
student  of  history.  Hardly  in  a  single  instance  has  literature 
even  yet  done  justice  to  his  motive  or  conduct.  He  sought, 
after  all,  a  good  government,  if  not  always  a  wise  one.  The 
Rebel  of  our  day  would  destroy  the  best  system  under  which  a 
man  ever  lived.  The  Tory  was  banished  and  outlawed.  The 
Rebel  has  been  dealt  with  tenderly,  as  man  deals  with  an  err- 
ing brother  whom,  he  loves  better  than  himself.  Not  to  punish, 
but  to  protect  and  reclaim,  did  we  contend  through  weary  years 
of  struggle ;  and  when  the  nation  resolved  to  strike  the  final 
blow,  that  blow  was  struck  at  no  men  or  class  of  men,  but 
at  a  system,  which  must  be  destroyed  lest  the  country  perish. 
If  to  some  of  us  this  treatment  of  our  enemies  seemed  too  mag- 
nanimous in  time  of  war,  none  can  now  be  too  thankful  that 
such  was  the  temper  and  spirit  in  which  the  nation  chose  to  de- 
fend itself.  I  know  of  no  more  acceptable  tribute  that  we  can 
offer  to  the  memory  of  our  patriotic  soldiers  and  sailors  than  by 
emulating  the  glorious  spirit  which  animated  them  in  the  con- 
flict. Those  who  survived  it,  yet  shared  with  them  its  duties 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        619 

and  dangers,  will  do  well  to  follow  their  upright  example.  And 
well  has  it  been  followed.  More  than  three  years  have  gone  by 
since  the  close  of  the  war.  The  citizen  soldier  and  sailor  have 
returned  to  the  pursuits  of  peace,  waiting  patiently  for  the  fruits 
ot  their  long  warfare,  and  waiting  at  last  not  'in  vain.  The 
feeling  has  coine,  at  times,  to  many  of  us,  I  fear,  that  our  coun- 
try s  treasure,  her  heroes  blood  have  only  gained  victories  not 
crowned  them  with  blessing.  Not  a  rebel  has  been  punished 
because  he  was  a  rebel.  Only  one  man  in  all  our  land  is  even 
called  a  traitor,  and  he,  the  bitterest  of  all  his  foes  are  readiest 
to  pardon.  The  fruits  of  a  righteous  war,  the  rewards  of  a 
whole  people's  unexampled  devotion  and  self-sacrifice,  no  man 
can  yet  see. 

_  Through  all  these  days  of  darkness  and  discouragement, 
this  vast  disbanded  host  of  sailors  and  soldiers  has  stood  quietly 
by,  confiding  in  their  cause,  in  the  people,  and  above  all,  in 
themselves.  None  has  cried  out  for  the  avenger.  Peace  and 
pardon  have  been  the  Patriot's  watchwords.  Submission  to  the 
establishment  of  civil  authority  throughout  our  broad  domain, 
and  the  overturn  of  military  rule,  are  the  only  conditions  he 
would  set,  and  most  surely,  comrades,  this  faith  shall  be  reward- 
ed. This  spirit  shall  yet  bring  back  peace  and  brotherhood  to 
our  beloved  country,  North  and  South,  East  and  "West. 

May  we  not,  then,  humbly  yet  joyfully  lay  this  offering  on 
the  graves  of  our  departed  comrades.  "Whoever  else  has  pur- 
sued selfish  ends,  or  an  unholy  ambition,  the  citizen  sailors  and 
soldiers  have  been  true  to  the  Republic  in  the  battle-field 
and  during  the  war.  Those  same  lessons  that  these  graves  are 
teaching, — one  country,  equal  rights  for  all  men,  respect  for  law. 
To  secure  these,  how  many  of  our  bravest  and  best  have  lain 
down  their  lives,  and  shall  it  be  in  vain  ?  No !  God  be  praised, 
comrades,  not  in  vain  have  they  lived  and  died.  Their  fidelity 
to  principle,  their  devotion  even  unto  death,  has  not  been  lost. 
The  crowning  tribute  we  bear  them  to-day  is  the  determination 
to  finish  the  work  they  left  undone,  and  to  carry  into  the  pur- 
suits of  peace  the  self-sacrificing  spirit  that  made  them  heroic. 

The  solemn,  yet  grateful  duty  is  soon  ended.  In  a  few  brief 
hours,  we  shall  have  done  all  that  was  proper  on  such  an  occa- 
sion to  show  our  admiration  and  regard  for  our  departed  com- 
rades. May  this  gathering  with  all  the  youth  and  freshness 
and  beauty  that  make  it  so  pleasant  to  the  eye,  so  cheering  to 
the  heart,  be  a  good  omen.  May  it  help  us  to  look  on  their 
graves  with  a  more  cheerful  feeling,  and  a  higher  faith  that  the 
shedding  of  blood  may  yet  be  atoned  for,  not  by  new  violence 
of  strife,'  but  by  fresh  and  lasting  blessings  of  peace. 


620 

I  have  not  felt  as  if  this  were  the  time  or  the  place  for  studied 
eulogy.  Happily,  Rhode  Island's  dead  have  not  wanted  for  such 
fitting  tributes  as  tongue  and  pen  can  offer.  On  far-off  battle- 
fields, on  ocean  and  river,  in  camp  and  hospital,  they  have  gone 
to  their  rest.  Ours,  ours  be  the  duty  and  privilege  to  keep  green 
their  graves,  and  to  cherish  their  memories  with  that  warmth  of 
affection  which  time  shall  not  abate. 

At  the  close  of  the  oration,  the  American  Brass  Band  played 
a  dirge,  after  which  Gen.  Lippitt  most  effectively  read  the  fine 
poem  of  Bishop  Burgess — 

"THE  OLD  BLUE  COAT.'' 
1864. 

You  asked  me,  little  one,  why  I  bowed, 

Though  never  I  passed  the  man  before  ? 
Because  my  heart  was  full  and  proud 
When  I  saw  the  old  blue  coat  he  wore  ; 
The  blue  great-coat,  the  sky  blue  coat, 
The  old  blue  coat  the  soldier  wore. 

I  know  not,  I,  what  weapon  he  chose, 

"What  chief  he  followed,  what  badge  he  bore ; 
Enough  that  in  the  front  of  foes 
His  country's  blue  great-coat  he  wore; 

The  blue  great-coat,  the  sky  blue  coat, 
The  old  blue  coat  the  soldier  wore. 

Perhaps  he  was  born  in  a  forest  hut, 

Perhaps  he  had  danced  on  a  palace  floor, 
To  want  or  wealth  my  eyes  were  shut, 
I  only  marked  the  coat  he  wore : 

The  blue  great  coat,  the  sky  blue  coat, 
The  old  blue  coat  the  soldier  wore. 

It  mattered  not  much  if  he  drew  his  line, 

From  Shem  or  Ham  in  the  days  of  yore  : 
For  surely  he  was  a  brother  of  mine, 
Who  for  my  sake  the  war  coat  wore  ; 

The  blue  great  coat,  the  sky  blue  coat, 
The  old  blue  coat  the  soldier  wore. 

He  might  have  no  skill  to  read  or  write, 

Or  he  might  be  rich  in  learned  lore ; 
But  I  know  he  could  make  his  mark  in  fight, 
And  nobler  gown  no  scholar  wore. 

Than  the  blue  great-coat,  the  sky  blue  coat, 
The  old  blue  coat  the  soldier  wore. 

It  may  be  he  could  plunder  and  prowl, 

And  perhaps  in  his  mood  he  scoffed  and  swore, 
Bnt  I  would  not  guess  a  spot  so  foul 
On  the  honored  coat  he  bravely  wore  ; 
The  blue  great-coat,  the  sky  blue  coat, 
The  old  blue  coat  the  soldier  wore. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        621 

He  had  worn  it  long,  and  borne  it  far ; 

And  perhaps  on  the  red  Virginian  shore, 
From  midnight  chill  till  the  morning  star, 
That  warm  great-coat,  the  sentry  wore. 
The  hlue  great-coat,  the  sky  blue  coat, 
The  old  blue  coat  the  soldier  wore. 

When  hardy  Butler  reined  his  steed 

Through  the  streets  of  proud,  proud  Baltimore, 
Perhaps  behind  him  at  his  need, 

Marched  he  who  yonder  blue  coat  wore  ; 
The  blue  great-coat,  the  sky  blue  coat, 
The  old  blue  coat  the  soldier  wore. 

Perhaps  it  was  seen  in  Burnside's  ranks 

"When  Rappahannock  ran  dark  with  gore ; 
Perhaps  on  the  mountain-side  with  Banks, 
In  the  morning  sun,  no  more  he  wore 

The  blue  great-coat,  the  sky  blue  coat, 
The  old  blue  coat  the  soldier  wore. 

Perhaps  in  the  swamps  'twas  a  bed  for  his  form, 

From  the  seven  days'  battling  and  marching  sore, 
Or  with  Kearny  and  Pope,  'mid  the  steely  storm 
As  the  night  closed  in  that  coat  he  wore ; 
The  blue  great-coat,  the  sky  blue  coat, 
The  old  blue  coat  the  soldier  wore. 

Or  when  right  over  him  Jackson  dashed, 

That  collar  or  cape  some  bullet  tore ; 
Or  when  far  ahead  Antietam  flashed ; 

He  flung  to  the  ground  the  coat  that  he  wore; 
The  blue  great-coat,  the  sky  blue  coat. 
The  old  blue  coat  the  soldier  wore. 

Or  stood  at  Gettysburg,  where  the  graves 

Bang  deep  to  Howard's  cannon  roar ; 
Or  saw  with  Grant  the  unchained  waves 
"Where  conquering  hosts  the  blue  coat  wore ; 
The  blue  great-coat,  the  sky  blue  coat, 
The  old  blue  coat  the  soldier  wore. 

That  garb  of  honor  tells  enough, 

Though  I  its  story  guess  no  more ; 
The  heart  it  covers  is  made  of  such  stuff, 
That  the  coat  is  mail  which  that  soldier  wore. 
The  blue  great-coat,  the  sky  blue  coat, 
The  old  blue  coat  the  soldier  wore. 

He  may  hang  it  up  when  the  peace  shall  come, 
And  the  moths  may  find  it  behind  the  door; 
But  his  children  will  point,  when  they  hear  a  drum, 
To  the  proud  old  coat  the  soldier  wore. 
The  blue  great-coat,  the  sky  blue  coat, 
The  old  blue  coat  the  soldier  wore. 


622  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

And  so,  my  child,  will  yon  and  I, 

For  whose  fair  home  their  blood  they  pour, 
Still  bow  the  head,  as  one  goes  by 
Who  wears  the  coat  that  soldier  wore  ; 
The  blue  great-coat,  the  sky  blue  coat, 
The  old  blue  coat  the  soldier  wore. 

The  exercises  closed  with  the  Doxology.  The  several  Posts 
of  the  G.  A.  R.  then  moved  in  the  order  as  before,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  the  several  Cemeteries  to  perform  the  pleasant  yet  sad 
duty  of  strewing  upon  the  graves  of  their  comrades,  the  floral 
tributes,  sweet  mementos  of  love,  honor  and  gratitude.  They 
visited  Grace  Church  Cemetery,  Elm  wood,  Swan  Point,  and 
that  at  the  North  End. 

AT  NEWPORT,  RHODE  ISLAND. 

At  the  appointed  hour  the  procession  formed  on  Touro  Park, 
and  was  constituted  as  follows :  The  Commander  of  Post  No.  2, 
G.  A.  R.,  and  Stan";  Officers  and  Members  of  Post  No.  2,  G. 
A.  R.,  28  members;  Ex-officers,  Soldiers,  and  Sailors  of  the 
United  States,  in  all  30 ;  Band  3d  U.  S.  Artillery,  22  pieces ; 
Bvt.  Brig.  Gen.  Horatio  G.  Gibson,  Major,  3d  U.  S.  Artillery, 
commanding  all  the  troops,  and  staff;  Battalion  3d  U.  S.  Artil- 
lery, embracing  Co.  B.,  60  officers  and  men,  Co.  D.,  66  officers 
and  men,  Co.  H.,  71  officers  and  men  ;  Aquidneck  Drum  Corps, 
18  pieces;  "Newport  Artillery,"  34  officers  and  men  ;  "Aquid- 
neck Rifles,"  48  officers  and  men  ;  "  Burnside  Guards,"  39  offi- 
cers and  men  ;  "  Newport  Light  Infantry,"  46  officers  and  men ; 
Officers  and  crew  of  U.  S.  revenue  cutter,  "  Crawford,"  39  offi- 
cers and  men ;  Carriages  conveying  Clergy  and  Speakers  and 
children  of  deceased  soldiers,  carrving  flowers  and  wreaths; 
Members  of  the  City  Government ;  tFnited  States  Civil  Officers ; 
Children  of  the  Public  Schools,  about  350  in  number.  These, 
with  citizens  of  all  classes,  proceeded  down  South  Touro  street 
to  Bowery,  down  Bowery  to  Thames,  and  up  Thames  to  the 
Cemetery. 

On  arriving  at  the  Cemetery,  the  soldiers  were  formed  in  a 
circle  around  the  platform  which  had  been  erected  for  the  occa- 
sion, and  members  of  the  Post  proceeded  to  the  work  of 
decorating  the  graves.  This  work  done,  the  company,  with  the 
numerous  crowds  of  people  who  had  gathered  in  different 
localities,  repaired  to  the  stand  to  listen  to  the  addresses.  Gen. 
Tew  introduced  Rev.  I.  P.  White,  Rector  of  Trinity  Church, 
who,  after  a  few  remarks,  read  a  selection  of  Scripture  and  of- 
fered prayer.  Gen.  Tew  then  read  the  names  of  the  comrades 
whose  graves  had  been  visited.  After  a  dirge  by  the  band,  Gen. 
Tew  spoke  as  follows : 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  623 

COMRADES  AND  FRIENDS  :  "We  have  assembled  upon  this  spot 
at  this  time  in  accordance  with  orders  from  Maj.  Gen.  Logan, 
Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  to  per- 
form a  duty  that  must  be  sacred  and  dear  to  us  all.  It  is  proper 
and  fitting  that 'we  should  remember  and  cherish  the  memory 
of  those  who  were  dear  to  us  while  on  earth ;  especially  those 
wlip  have  mingled  and  shared  with  us  the  toils  and  privations 
and  dangers  of  army  life.  The  memory  of  such  should  be  held 
in  grateful  remembrance,  and  the  spot  where  their  remains  rest 
be  often  visited,  and  upon  the  mound  raised  to  mark  their  rest- 
ing-place, tears  of  affection  shed,  and  recollections  of  our  inter- 
course with  them  brought  to  mind.  To-daj  a  duty  devolves 
upon  this  Post  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  that  is 
doubly  sacred  to  the  heart  of  every  soldier  and  sailor  who  served 
in  our  Army  and  Navy  during  the  great  struggle  for  national 
existence. 

It  is  to  place  the  flowers  of  Spring,  and  the  evergreen,  upon 
these  mounds  that  cover  the  ashes  of  our  fallen  comrades,  whose 
hearts  once  beat  quick  with  ours  in  patriotism,  and  love  for  the 
nation  that  is  so  dear  to  all  us.  Among  these  names  (this  Roll 
of  Honor  that  has  just  been  called)  how  many  familiar  names 
strike  our  ear,  and  as  we  approached  these  mounds  that  cover 
the  dust  of  those  who  sacrificed  their  lives  on  the  altar  ^of  their 
country,  how  many  recollections  of  the  past  brought  vividly  to 
our  minds  scenes  of  the  camp,  the  bivouac,  the  march,  and  the 
battle.  They  answered  to  the  roll  call  with  us  wben  treason 
threatened  the  existence  of  our  nation :  we  were  spared  to  re- 
turn to  our  Island  home ;  they  fill  those  honored  graves  where 
we  have  laid  the  evergreen  and  tire  early  flowers,  and  left  the 
flag  they  loved  so  well  to  waye  over  them.  This  is  indeed  a 
sacred  hour  to  us,  standing  as  we  do  in  the  shadow  of  the  monu- 
ment that  covers  the  dust  of  the  immortal  Stevens  who  fell, 
with  the  Highlanders'  flag  in  his  dying  grasp,  and  in  sight  oi 
the  spot  where  rest  the  ashes  of  our  beloved  Tanner,  who,  in 
like  manner  fell  while  waving  this  flag  (this  weather-beaten, 
blood-stained  flag,  under  whose  shadow  we  now  stand)  within  a 
few  feet  of  the  enemy.  Shall  the  graves  that  contain  those  and 
other  precious  treasures  ever  be  forgotten  by  us  ?  no,  not  so  long 
as  n  comrade  survives  :  their  records  are  written  in  that  proud 
portion  of  our  history  which  their  own  hands  have  recorded, 
Tut  more  deeply  and  Lduringly  still  in  the  f^^rem^ 
brauce  of  those  who  have  served  and  suffered  with  them  i 
war  And  children,  I  wish  to  say  to  you  (as  you  have  assisted 
us  in  performing  these  sacred  duties),  that  the  small  band  of  sur_ 
vivinc,  soldiers  and  sailors  will  soon  have  passed  away,  and 


624  MEMORIAL   CEREMONIES 

charge  you  not  to  forget  these  graves,  where  rest  the  remains 
of  those  whom  to-day  we  come  to  honor,  and  who  gave  their 
lives  a  sacrifice  on  the  altar  of  freedom. 

At  the  conclusion  of  General  Tew's  address,  after  the  band 
had  played  a  piece,  Col.  T.  W.  Higginson  was  introduced  to  the 
audience,  and,  surrounded  with  the  battered  and  service-worn 
emblems  of  our  national  glory,  among  which  was  the  flag  of  the 
1st  South  Carolina  Colored  Regiment,  of  which  he  was  the  able 
commander,  made  an  appropriate  and  very  happily  conceived 
address.  He  began  by  saying  that  this  honored  roll  of  the  dead 
(the  list  read  by  General  Tew)  reminded  him  of  the  honors  de- 
creed by  Napolepn  Bonaparte  to  that  great  soldier,  La  Tour 
d'Auvergne.  The  hero  of  many  battles,  but  remaining,  by  his 
own  choice,  in  the  ranks,  he  received  from  the  Emperor  a  mili- 
tary sword,  and  the  official  title,  "  First  among  the  Grenadiers 
of  France."  When  he  was  killed,  at  last,  the  Emperor  ordered 
that  his  heart  should  be  entrusted  to  the  keeping  of  his  regi- 
ment ;  that  his  name  should  always  be  called  upon  its  roll ; 
that,  at  every  roll-call,  some  comrade  should  answer  for  him, 
"  Dead  upon  the  field  of  honor."  In  our  memories,  said  the 
speaker,  there  stand  the  names  of  many  heroes,  not  of  one  only. 
We  bear  all  their  names  on  our  roll-call,  treasure  all  their  hearts 
in  this  consecrated  ground,  and,  as  the  name  of  each  is  called 
to-day,  we  answer  in  flowers,  "  Dead  upon  the  field  of  honor." 
They  fought  side  by  side  upon  a  hundred  battle-fields,  without 
distinction  of  nationality,  of  race,  of  religion ;  they  gave  their 
lives  that  we  might  remain  still  a  nation.  Without  distinction 
of  nationality,  of  race,  of  religion,  we  decorate  their  graves  to- 
day. From  this  stand  are  visible,  in  many  directions,  the  flags 
we  have  placed  at  each  headstone,  and  each  seems  to  wave  re- 
sponse to  the  tattered  standards  that  float  above  this  platform. 
Each  answers  through  the  gathering  sea-mist  for  him  who  sleeps 
beneath,  "  Dead  upon  the  field  of  honor."  The  little  distinction 
of  rank  that  separated  men  in  the  service,  are  nothing  now. 
Death  has  given  the  same  brevet  to  all.  The  color-corporal, 
who  died  with  yonder  colors  in  his  hands,  and  over  whose  grave 
they  were  just  now  unfurled  with  the  flowers,  ranks  with  us  the 
same  as  the  General,  the  same  with  the  humblest  soldier  or 
sailor  whose  grave  is  here  among  strangers.  Nature  has  been 
equally  tender  to  them  all ;  even  where  man  has  neglected,  she 
has  bade  some  moss  creep,  some  grasses  twine  over  every  grave, 
and  the  butterfly,  emblem  of  immortality,  waves  his  little  wings 
above  every  mound.  Nature  cares  for  them  all,  and  we  would 
commemorate  them  also.  And,  again,  it  makes  no  difference 
what  were  their  personal  qualities,  how  large  their  respective 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  625 


there  is  no  such  merging  of  all  duties  in  one.  We  mus 
serve  our  country  by  this  annual  tribute  of  gratitude,  bv 
or  our  surviving  comrades,  by  aiding  to  protect  the  e  so?d  er 
children  who  have  helped  us  bear  these  flowers,  and  by  awai  - 
ing  some  future  ca  1  to  service,  should  any  arise.  Hav'L  done 
this,  we  also  shall  deserve  that  these  flags  should  wave  abJve 

field"    hon'or"?  °f  "  alS°  U  Can  be  reSrded>  "  Dead  upon  tS. 


low  eV'      F'      aC°m  ten  Came  f°rVVard>  and  SP°ke  as  fo1' 

This  day,  America,  her  cheeks  wet  with  tears,  and  clad  in 
the  vestments  of  mourning,  visits  the  graves  of  all  her  fallen 
heroes  and  strews  them  with  fair  and  fragrant  blossoms,  sym- 
bols of  the  love  and  honor  she  bears  the  memory  of  their  names 
is  proper  that,  by  these  august  ceremonials,  the  nation  should 
express  the  homage  it  renders  those  brave  men  who,  upon  fields 
battle,  sacrificed  their  lives  for  the  safety  and  glory  of  our 
Kepublic.  As  we  now  look  about  us,  here  in  this"  city  of  the 
dead,  we  see  the  green  mounds  beneath  which  silently  sleep 
those  who  once  contended  with  the  clang  of  aims  for  the  peace 
and  security  we  now  enjoy.  All  honor  to  their  names.  Let  us 
cherish  them  to  the  latest  hour  of  our  lives  with  pious  remem- 
brance. Let  us  keep  the  sacred  trust  of  unity  and  liberty  they 
have  preserved,  that  we  may  transmit  it  unimpaired  to  future 
generations. 

How  touching  and  solemn  are  the  scenes  of  this  hour  !  The 
air  tremulous  with  strains  of  martial  music,  not  of  exultation 
now,  but  of  dirge  and  threnody  ;  this  vast  concourse  of  soldiers 
and  of  citizens  ;  the  booming  of  minute-guns  from  yonder  fort  ;. 
these  flags,  stained  and  tattered,  as  borne  over  many  fields  of 
strife  and  carnage,  and  these  gorgeous  silken  banners,  as  yet  un- 
sullied by  the  smoke  of  battle  ;  these  officers,  whose  courage 
and  skill  helped  to  bring  victory  to  our  arms,  and  these  veteran 
soldiers  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  who  stood  side  by 
side  with  their  comrades,  now  fallen,  in  the  fierce  struggle; 
these  children,  in  the  innocence  and  fairness  of  early  life,  already 
bereaved,  standing  here  beneath  these  uplifted  standards,  the 
objects  of  peculiar  care  to  the  God  of  the  fatherless,  and  be- 
queathed to  us  for  care  and  guardianship  ;  these  graves,  all 
about  us  in  the  several  burial-grounds,  now  decked  with  flowers 
40 


626  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

and  wreaths,  where  our  departed  heroes  are  resting — these 
scenes  all  fill  our  minds  with  sorrow  for  the  dead,  with  sympa- 
thy for  the  bereaved,  with  honor  for  the  brave  men  who  saved 
our  country's  Union,  and  established  its  glory,  and  with  grati- 
tude to  God  for  the  blessings  of  liberty  we  this  day  possess. 
Let  all  of  us,  therefore,  see  to  it  that  in  our  own  lives  we  emu- 
late the  virtues  of  those  whom  to-day  we  honor.  Let  their 
heroism  and  patriotism  be  ours  also.  Let  us  be  mindful  of  the 
widow  and  the  fatherless.  Soldiers  upon  the  field,  and  sailors 
upon  the  deep,  have  died  in  defence  of  the  dear  old  flag ;  and 
now,  here  in  the  presence  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  and  in  the 
presence  of  these  orphaned  children,  and  in  the  presence  of  God 
who  looks  down  from  the  canopy  above  us,  let  us  take  heed  that 
this  hour  becomes  the  occasion  not  only  of  reverence  and  honor 
to  the  brave  dead,  but  also  of  duty,  and  justice,  and  love  to  all 
the  living.  So  may  God  keep  and  defend  us  by  His  holy  care. 
And  may  our  nation,  delivered  from  foreign  foes,  and  from  in- 
ternal feud  and  dismemberment,  grow  more  and  more  in  true 
prosperity  and  righteousness,  until  it  shall  fill  the  earth  with  its 
blessings ! 

Comrade  David  Fales  was  next  introduced,  and  spoke  briefly 
and  eloquently  of  the  importance  and  sacredness  of  the  hour. 
He  thought  we  should  fail  to  learn  the  full  meaning  of  tlrese 
ceremonies,  if  we  forget  the  wants  of  those  whom  they  have 
left  behind  them.  Let  us,  then,  in  the  solemn  presence  of  these 
passionless  mounds,  renew  those  sacred  vows  made  in  the  pres- 
ence of  High  Heaven,  by  which  we  pledged  ourselves,  as  com- 
rades of  these  departed  heroes,  to  aid  and  assist  those  whom 
they  have  left  among  us  as  a  sacred  charge  upon  a  nation's 
gratitude — the  widow  and  orphan  of  the  soldiers  and  sailors. 
To-day,  four  hundred  thousand  of  our  comrades  gather  round 
the  sacred  remains  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-seven  thousand 
heroes,  and  strew  their  graves  with  the  flowers  of  Spring.  The 
ties  and  charms  of  life  were  as  strong  and  as  sweet  to  those 
brave  souls  as  to  us  who  survived  them,  and  they  are  not  lost 
or  forgotten.  They  are  on  the  roll  of  glory, 

"  On  Fame's  eternal  camping-ground 

Their  silent  tents  are  spread, 
And  memory  walks  with  solemn  round 
The  bivouac  of  the  dead." 

The  service  was  then  closed  with  prayer  and  the  benediction 
by  Rev.  C.  H.  Malcom,  when  the  procession  re-formed  and  re- 
turned to  the  city. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  627 

AT  WOONSOCKET,  RHODE  ISLAND. 

The  ceremonies  were  observed  under  the  auspices  of  Post 
No.  9,  Gen.  L.  C.  Tourtellot  commanding.  At  8  o'clock  the 
members  rendezvoused  at  Armory  Hall,  and  formed  a  proces- 
sion in  the  subjoined  order  : 

(.'apt.  Willis  C.  Capron,  of  the  First  Rhode  Island  Cavalry, 
as  guide,  carrying  the  guidon  of  the  Third  Rhode  Island  Volun- 
teers ;  Woonsocket  Cornet  Band,  B.  "W.  Nichols  leader ;  Com- 
mander L.  C.  Tourtellot,  and  Staff;  Capt.  George  W.  Greene 
and  Lieut.  John  Hackett,  carrying  the  tattered  flag  of  their 
regiment,  the  Third  Rhode  Island  Heavy  Artillery ;  Post  No. 
9,  Grand  Army  of  the  Repubic,  under  command  of  Capt.  A.  E. 
Green,  in  uniforms  worn  during  the  Rebellion,  and  each  mem- 
ber carrying  a  beautiful  floral  offering ;  Flag  of  the  Fourth 
Rhode  Island  Volunteers,  carried  by  two  members  of  the  origi- 
nal color-guard,  Comrades  Jilson  and  Chace  ;  Disabled  Soldiers, 
in  carriages;  Ministers  of  the  Gospel,  in  carriages;  The  Church 
Choirs,  under  the  leadership  of  Angelo  Howland,  in  carriages  ; 
A  carriage  bearing  the  floral  decorations  ;  Citizens,  in  carriages 
and  on  foot. 

The  procession  first  moved  to  St.  James'  Cemetery,  on  the 
Smithtield  side  of  the  river.  Here  are  deposited  the  remains  of 
Henry  Davis,  of  the  First  Rhode  Island  Volunteers,  who  was 
the  first  Rhode  Island  soldier  who  died  in  the  service ;  Lieut. 
"William  Jones,  of  the  Eighth  New  Hampshire  Volunteers,  who 
died  by  wounds  received  at  Port  Hudson  ;  Richard  O.  Strat- 
ford, of  the  First  Connecticut  Cavalry,  who  died  a  prisoner  at 
Florence.  The  religious  services  commenced  with  prayer  by 
Rev.  S.  L.  Holman.  The  members  of  the  Grand  Army  then 
bestrewed  the  graves  with  flowers,  the  choir  meanwhile  singing 
a  hymn.  Addresses  were  then  made  by  Rev.  Robert  Murray, 
Jr.,  and  Latimer  W.  Ballon,  Esq.  The  benediction  was  pro- 
nounced by  Rev.  E.  Douglas,  and  the  procession  then  took  up 
its  line  of  march  to  the  Baptist  Cemetery.  The  Grand  Army 
Post  carried  the  battle- worn  flag  of  the  Rhode  Island  Heavy 
Artillery,  that  flaunted  two  years  before  Fort  Sumter  and 
Charleston.  It  was  borne  by  Capt.  G.  W.  Greene  and  Lieut. 
John  Hackett,  of  that  regiment.  Also  the  flag  of  the  Fourth 
Rhode  Island  Regiment,  which  saw  its  first  battle  on  the  glori- 
ous field  of  Newbern.  It  was  borne  by  the  same  men  who  car- 
ried it  iii  service-Sergts.  C.  A.  Chace,  Jr.  and  A.  N.  Jillson. 
The  only  soldier  who  sleeps  in  the  Baptist  Cemetery  is  Daniel 
W  Burnham,  a  volunteer  in  the  Regular  Army,  and  son  ot  ex- 
Postmaster  Burnham.  He  died  of  wounds  and  disease  contract- 


628  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

ed  in  the  service.  Prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  J.  Boyden.  The 
grave  was  then  decorated,  and  excellent  addresses  were  made  by 
Revs.  S.  L.  Ilolman  and  E.  Donglas.  Benediction  by  Rev  E. 
H.  Hattield. 

Oak  Hill  Cemetery  was  next  visited,  where  repose  the  re- 
mains of  Lieut.  Henry  R.  Pierce,  of  the  Fifth  Rhode  Island 
Volunteers,  killed  at  Newbern  ;  Albert.  Ball,  of  the  Second  R. 
I.  Regiment,  who  died  of  wounds  received  at  Bull  Run  ;  Isaac 
Greenup,  of  the  Fifth  R.  I.  Regiment ;  Joel  F.  Crocker,  who 
died  from  hardships  in  the  service  ;  and  Nehemiah  R.  Sheldon, 
of  Battery  F,  Rhode  Island  Light  Artillery.  The  services  com- 
menced at  the  grave  of  Lieutenant  Pierce.  Prayer  was  made 
by  Rev.  E.  H.  Hatfield,  while  the  soldiers  decorated  the  monu- 
ment and  grave.  Remarks  of  a  stirring  and  pathetic  character 
were  made  by  Rev.  Messrs.  Ilattield  and  Boyden.  An  original 
Dirge,  by  F.  C.  Birtles,  was  here  sung  by  the  choir  with  fine 
effect.  Air.  Holman  pronounced  the  benediction.  The  other 
graves  then  received  the  floral  emblems.  The  procession  then 
proceeded  to  the  Catholic  Cemetery,  where  lie  the  bodies  of 
privates  Patrick  J.  Callahan,  of  the  Fifth  Rhode  Island  Regi- 
ment, and  Partick  Mnllaly  and  Win.  J.  Phipps.  The  graves 
were  profusely  bedecked.  Rev.  B.  O'Reilly,  of  St.  Charles' 
church,  ^ho  was  chaplain  of  the  famous  New  York  Sixty-ninth 
Regiment,  and  wounded  at  Bull  Run,  made  an  impassioned  and 
eloquent  address.  The  solemn  train  then  left  the  departed  he- 
roes to  sleep  peacefully  in  their  "  rests  "  until  the  resurrection 
reveille  shall  raise  them  to  the  final  roll-cal.  On  the  return  to 
the  village,  the  Grand  Army  and  citizens  were  addressed  by 
Rev.  John  Boyden,  in  the  Universalist  church. 

AT  PAWTUCKET,  RHODE  ISLAND. 

At  this  place  a  salute  was  fired  at  noon  by  the  Tower  Light 
Battery,  and  the  bells  of  the  several  churches  were  rung.  Soon 
after  noon  there  was  a  gathering  at  Armory  Hall,  including  the 
Tower  Light  Battery,  which  proceeded  to  Central  Falls  to  join 
Post  No.  3,  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  of  that  village,  where 
a  procession  was  formed  under  the  command  of  Col.  Lysander 
Flagg,  headed  by  the  Pawtucket  Cornet  Band.  Post  No.  3, 
with  a  Pawtucket  delegation  from  Post  No.  1  of  Providence, 
appeared  in  uniform,  and  carried  several  war-worn  battle-flags. 
The  procession  was  joined  by  others,  including  children,  and 
nearly  all  in  it  carried  boquets  for  the  graves  which  they  were 
to  visit.  The  Light  Battery  and  a  considerable  number  of  car- 
riages formed  the  rear  of  the  procession.  There  were  in  it  a 


AT   THE    SOLDIERS     GRAVES.  629 

• 

carriage  loaded  with  flowers  furnished  by  Major  Jacob  Dnnnell, 
and  two  other  vehicles  similarly  laden.  On  the  arrival  at.  North 
Bend  Cemetery  appropriate  exercises  were  held  in  the  presence 
of  a  large  number  of  persons.  Prayer  was  offered  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Miner  of  Central  Falls,  and  the  hymn  "America"  was  sung 
by  the  children  of  several  of  the  public  schools.  Addresses  were 
also  made  by  Rev.  Dr.  Blodgett,  Rev.  Mr.  Lyon  of  Central 
Falls,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Goodrich.  The  flowers  were  then  strewn 
upon  the  graves  of  the  deceased  soldiers  by  the  children  and 
near  relatives.  Flowers  were  left  inscribed  to  the  memory  of 
soldiers  whose  names  were  not  known.  The  procession  was  then 
reformed,  and  proceeded  to  the  Mineral  Spring  Cemetery,  were 
the  ceremonies  were  repeated.  Prayer  \vas  offered  by  Rev.  Dr. 
Blodgett,  and  remarks  were  made  by  Rev.  Mr.  Hyatt,  Rev.  Mr. 
Randall  and  Rev.  Mr.  Spalding.  St.  Mary's  (Catholic)  Ceme- 
tery was  afterwards  visited,  where  Rev.  Mr.  Delany  made  ap- 
propriate remarks  and  a  prayer.  While  the  flowers  were  being 
deposited  upon  the  graves,  minute  guns  were  fired  by  the  Bat- 
terv,  and  a  dirge  was  played  by  the  Band. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  the  soldiers  whose  graves 
were  decorated  at  the  several  cemeteries :  NORTH  BEND  CKMETE- 
BY  :  Captains  Joseph  Baxter,  Mass.  Vols.,  Charles  H.  Johnson, 
58th  Mass.  Vols. ;  First  Lieutenant  Albert  E.  Adams,  R.  I.  L.  A. 
Sergeants  Joseph  P.  Farnsworth,  9th  R.  I.  V.,  George  Perry, 
1st  II.  I.  L.  A. ;  Corporal  John  McKelvey,  2d  R.  I.  C. ;  Privates 
William  Davis,  Co.  B,  3d  R.  I.  A.,  Alonzo  F.  Salisbury,  12th 
R.  I.  V.,  Thomas  Fiske,  2d  R.  I.  V.,  William  II.  Baxter,  1st  R. 
I/L.  A.,  Vincent  Gardner,  29th  Mass.  Vols.,  Hazel  Matthewson, 
Albert  Fuller,  Co.  D,  3d  R.  I.  A.,  Eugene  Haswell,  N.  H.  Vols., 
Adin  B.  Hopkins,  4th  R.  I.  V,  E.  Warren  Goff,  U.  S.  N.,  H. 
Augustus  Binford,  3d  R.  I.  C.,  Nelson  Cook,  19  Mass.  Vols., 
MINERAL  SPRING  CEMETERY:  Captain  Pardon  Mason,  3d  R.  I. 
A  '  First  Lieutenants  John  E.  Moles,  10th  U.  S.  C.  T.,  Albert 
A.  Bolles,  7th  R.  I.  V. ;  Lieutenant  Samuel  McElroy,  7th  R.  I, 
V. :  First  Sergeant  Augustus  Hanna,  R.  I.  L.  A.  ;  Sergeant 
Elisha  Slocum,  1st  R.  I.  L.  A. ;  Corporal  Charles  Weeden,  3d  R. 
I  A. ;  Musician  Frank  Bliss,  llth  R.  I.  V.;  Privates  Renselear 
Horten,  llth  R.  I.  V.,  Jabez  E.  Jenks,  12th  R.  I.V.,  Charles 
Fessenden,  Iowa  Vols.,  H.  B.  Cotton  1st  Mass.  Cav.,  Henry 
Bowen,  R.  I.  V.,  Ballou,  R.  I.  V,  Edward  D.  Taylor,  3d 

It.  I1  C 

'  John  C.  Tower  has  two  grandchildren  entombed  in  the  ceme- 
tery, and  flowers  were  placed  in  front  of  the  tomb  in  honor  c 
the  memory  of  his  son,  Capt.  Levi  Tower    who  belonged   to 
the  Second   Rhode  Island  Regiment,  and  who  fell  at  the  first 


630  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

• 

battle  of  Bull  Run,  and  whose  remains  are  entombed  in  Provi- 
dence. 

The  grave  of  John  George  Curren,  a  French  Captain,  who 
came  to  this  country  with  Lafayette  during;  the  Revolutionary 
war,  was  beautifully  decorated  with  a  floral  tribute. 

ST.  MARY'S  CKMKTKUV  :  Si-recants  John  McNulty,  2d  R.  I. 
V.,  Patrick  II.  Gilligan,  3d  R.  I.  V. ;  Private  Peter  McGrath, 
R.  I.  V.  Bodies  of  the  following  named  were  buried  on  the 
field  where  they  fell :  Captain  Kimball  Tilton,  6th  N.  II.  V. ; 
Sergeant  Augustus  Mo  wry,  3d  R.  I.  C. ;  Privates  John  Nicker- 
son,  3d  R.  I.  A.,  Fred.  S.  Moies,  1st  R.  I.  L.  A.,  Charles  Crocker, 
2d  R.  I.  V. 

AT  NEW  ORLEANS,  LOUISIANA. 

The  Republican,  of  May  31,  published  the  following  account 
of  proceedings  at  Monument  Cemetery  :  Yesterday  was  devoted 
to  the  pious  duty  of  decorating  the  graves  of  our  patriotic  dead 
with  flower?,  and  commemorating  their  deeds  and  glorious  death 
in  suitable  speeches  and  other  ceremonies.  Two  steamers  were 
kindly  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  public — the  revenue  cutter 
Wilderness  by  Collector  W.  P.  Kellogg,  and  the  Ella  Morse  by 
Col.  R.  N.  Batchelder.  Both  boats  started  with  passengers, 
leaving  first  at  12  o'clock,  noon,  and  returning  immediately  for 
another  load.  The  last  boat  left  the  foot  of  Canal  street  about 
half  pa^t  two,  well  crowded  with  people.  A  large  number  of 
ladies  went  down  each  trip.  The  number  of  visitors  during  the 
day  was  very  large.  On  arriving  at  the  cemeteries  the  people 
laid  their  offerings  at  the  head  of  the  tombs,  and  afterward  in- 
spected the  grounds  with  feelings  of  deep  and  mournful  interest. 
They  stood  within  a  small  city  of  the  dead ;  around  them  were 
the  remains  of  twelve  thousand  true  men  who  had  braved  the 
perils  of  the  battle-field,  and  exposed  themselves  to  the  many 
dangers  of  a  soldier's  life.  They  now  sleep  in  peace  after  hav- 
ing so  nobly  performed  the  highest  duty  they  owed  to  their 
country.  Of  the  number  buried  in  the  cemetery  only  about  six 
thousand  five  hundred  are  known  byname.  The  rest  have  never 
been  identified.  When  the  task  of  sti%wing  the  graves  with 
flowers  was  completed,  the  people  assembled  upon  and  around  a 
canvas-covered  platform,  to  listen  to  the  speeches.  Capt.  W. 
B.  Armstrong  was  chosen  chairman.  He  stated  the  objects 
for  which  they  had  been  called  together  in  a  brief  and  forcible 
speech,  after  which  he  introduced  Rev.  N.  L.  Brakeman,  who 
addressed  a  prayer  to  the  Throne  of  Grace,  and  then  read  Gen- 
eral Orders  No.  11  of  Gen.  Logan,  and  commented  upon  it  in 
appropriate  terms  The  chairman  then  introduced  Gen.  L.  A. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  631 

Sheldon,  who  was  to  speak  on  behalf  of  the  Army  and 
Union.     The  General  spoke  as  follows  : 


SPEECH    OF    GEN.    L.    A.    SHELDOX. 

FELLOW-CITIZENS  AND  FRIENDS:  The  profoundest  sorrow  is 
said  often  to  be  manifested  by  muteness.  Therefore,  or  Tthis  oc- 
casion it  is  perhaps  not  becoming  to  indulge  in  any  elaborat, 
speech.  It  will  be  of  little  use  to"us  and  of°no  service  to  To  e 
who  are  here  interred.  1  cannot  help  remarking  the  appropri- 
ateness of  establishing  a  national  cemetery  up?n  this  historic 
field  It  has  been  the  custom  of  all  civilized  nations  to  respect 
the  dead;  m  ore  often  it  arises  from  relationship,  personal  ac- 
quaintance, or  other  ties.  From  the  earliest  times,  nations  have 
been  in  the  habit  of  perpetuating  the  memories  of  their  heroes 
m  history  and  m  song.  Many  who  sleep  here  are  nameless 
.But  their  virtues,  and  the  cause  in  which  they  fought  entitle 
them  to  go  down  to  posterity  by  the  side  of  the  most  honored  in 
history.  We  all  remember  well  the  feelings  with  which  we 
were  impressed  at  the  time  of  our  enlistment,  when  we  took  the 
contract  of  death.  When  we  swore  fealty  to  our  government 
wu  but  recognized  that  principle  which  was  instilled  into  the 
minds  of  the  Spartan  youths  when  they  went  out  to  war,  to  re- 
turn only  with  or  upon  their  shields.  "Those  of  us  who  survive 
returned  icith  our  shields,  while  those  who  are  buried  here  re- 
turned upon  their  shields  to  mother  earth.  They  were  actuated 
by  the  same  spirit  that  moved  Regulus  to  choose  imprisonment, 
torture  and  death  rather  than  advise  his  country  to  a  disadvan- 
tageous peace.  There  was  in  them  the  same  self-abnegation  that 
characterized  the  Decii,  when  they  devoted  themselves  for  the 

food  of"  Rome.  The  same  love  of  country  which  actuated 
asper  in  risking  and  losing  his  life,  to  prevent  the  flag  of  his 
country  from  remaining  in  the  hands  of  its  enemies.  The  same 
absence  of  all  venality  that  actuated  the  bosom  of  Col.  Morris 
of  the  Revolution,  who,  when  offered  power  and  possessions  to 
turn  against  his  country,  replied,  that  he  was  not  worth  pur- 
chasing, but  such  as  he  was  King  George  had  not  money  enough 
to  buy  him.  The  same  pertinacious  courage  which  characterized 
the  dying  Lawrence  when  he  said,  "Don't  give  up  the  ship!" 
The  same  spirit  which  actuated  that  brave  Philadelphia  general 
whose  name  I  cannot  now  recollect,  who,  when  dying  of  wounds, 
said  to  his  physician,  "  Doctor,  turn  me  over  that  I  may  die 
with  my  face  to  the  foe."  The  same  spirit  was  manifested  by 
an  officer  of  my  command,  who,  when  pierced  through  the  body 
with  a  rebel  bullet,  said  to  his  men  by  him,  "  Boys,  fight  on  to 
the  last.  I  have  lost  one  life  for  my  country,  I  wish  I  had  an- 


632  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

other  to  lose."  The  same  spirit  that  actuated  a  young  soldier 
whom  I  had,  on  the  k27th  day  of  April,  1863,  made  a  sergeant 
for  gallantry,  and  who,  on  the  1st  day  of  May  following,  fell 
mortal ly  wounded,  and  when  being  earned  past  me  desired  to 
speak  with  me.  Seeing  the  pallor  of  death  upon  his  counte- 
nance, I  asked:  "Gray,  are  you  wounded?'  He  replied: 
"Yes,  badly,  and  I  cannot  survive."  Said  1,  "Don't  despair; 
men  sometimes  die  for  want  of  the  will  to  live."  He  replied, 
"  I  cannot  live,  but  1  want  to  ask  one  question.  Colonel,  have 
I  been  a  good  soldier?"  To  which  I  replied:  "Yes,  you  have 
been  a  good  soldier,  Gray."  He  then  said,  "That  is  all  I  desire 
to  know.  Boys,  carry  me  on  ! "'  The  same  spirit  that  charac- 
terized another  soldier  of  my  command,  who,  after  receiving  a 
fatal  wound  in  battle,  said :  "  It  is  as  I  expected  when  I  enlisted 
— to  die ;  but  I  have  lived  the  life  of  a  Christian.  Tell  my 
grandfather  that  I  have  tried  to  do  my  duty  as  a  soldier." 

It  is  too  affecting  to  continue  a  recital  of  these  occurrences. 
They  may  be  carried  so  far  as  to  become  tedious.  These  illus- 
trate the  general  feeling  that  pervaded  all  minds :  and  when  I 
think  of  the  death  and  suffering  which  have  fallen  under  my 
observation,  it  so  harrows  up  my  soul  that  I  could  almost  wish 
that  treason  and  all  its  supporters  had  shared  the  fate  of  Satan 
when  he  was  cast  from  the  battlements  of  heaven.  But  it  does 
Dot  become  us,  victors  in  the  late  war,  to  indulge  in  feelings  of 
nnkindness.  It  will  not  restore  the  dead  to  us,  nor  will  it  heal 
the  wounds  that  have  been  made.  We  should  now  labor  for  the 
peace,  happiness,  and  welfare  of  our  common  country.  We 
should  manifest  a  spirit  of  charity,  and  cultivate  the  kindest 
relationships  possible.  Every  soldier  remembers  the  delight 
with  which  he  was  filled  when  the  flag  of  our  country  was  borne 
on  to  victory.  We  remembered  that  it  was  the  flag  which  Jas- 
per lost  his  life  in  attempting  to  save;  that  it  floated  over  Por- 
ter on  the  "Essex,"  and  over  Grant  at  Vicksburg,  Chattanooga, 
the  Wilderness,  and  Spottsylvania.  Two  millions  of  men  bore 
that  flag  to  victory,  and  among  them  were  our  fellow-comrades 
here.  "They  fought  not  alone  for  union,  not  alone  for  nationality, 
but  like  tne  patriot  fathers  of  the  Revolution,  they  contended 
for  the  rights  of  human  nature.  White  men,  remember  that 
you  stand  here  to-day  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  great  constitu- 
tional principle  of  free  speech  undisturbed,  that  you  are  now  re- 
lieved from  the  fear  of  a  grasping  and  intolerant  aristocracy. 
Black  men,  you  are  redeemed  and  disenthralled,  not  alone  by 
the  irresistible  genius  of  universal  emancipation.  You  stand  here 
with  the  hopes  and  privileges  of  men,  because  the  soil  of  the 
country  has  been  bounteously  saturated  with  the  blood  of  patri- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS  GRAVES.  633 

ots,  and  because  their  bones  whiten  upon  ?ix  hundred  battle- 
fields. Let  us  now  and  here  resolve  that  we  will  stand  by  our 
country  in  war  and  in  peace,  and  that  we  are  the  certain  and 
eternal  enemies  of  treason  under  all  circumstances.  We  were 
permitted  to  survive  to  aid  in  achieving-  the  victories  of  peace 
Let  us  now,  in  the  presence  of  these  graves  of  our  dead  com- 
rades, resolve  that  we  will  conduct  ourselves  in  all  future  time, 
both  in  war  and  peace,  in  such  manner  as  shall  leave  these 
sheeted  regiments  no  occasion  to  rise  up  and  rebuke  us. 

Captain  Armstrong  then  reminded  the  audience  that  they 
had  often  heard  of  a  man  who  had  one  foot  in  the  grave,  taken 
in  a  figurative  sense,  but  he  had  the  honor  of  introducing  one 
who  had  literally  buried  one  leg  in  his  country's  cause,  Henry 
C.  Dibble,.  Esq.,  who  would  speak  on  behalf  of  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic.  Mr.  Dibble  then  delivered  the  following  ad- 
dress : 

COMRADES  AND  FRIKNDS  :  It  is  made  my  duty  to  address  you 
on  behalf  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Kepublic,  under  whose 
auspices  this  day  was  "  designated  for  the  purpose  of  strewing 
with  flowers  or  otherwise  decorating  the  graves  of  comrades  who 
died  in  defense  of  their  country  during  the  late  rebellion,  and 
whose  bodies  now  lie  in  almost  every  city,  village,  and  hamlet 
churchyard  in  the  land."  It  seems  eminently  proper  that  the 
day  should  be  designated,  and  the  ceremonies  conducted  by  the 
organization  to  which  we  belong.  The  dead  were  our  comrades 
ana  friends.  We  cherish  the  same  principles  for  which  they 
died.  We  are  united  by  recollections  the  most  sacred  and  last- 
ing. We  are  gathered  together  by  a  common  impulse  to  cherish 
the'  memory  of  the  dead,  to  cultivate  those  ties  of  friendship 
amono-  ourselves  which  were  formed  in  the  bivouac,  in  the  camp, 
or  upon  the  battle-field,  and  to  care  for  the  widows  and  orphans 
of  those  who  lie  around  us  to-day.  But  there  is  in  our  organi- 
zation something  more  than  these  elements  of  strength  and 
unity  We  are  bound  together  for  the  purpose,  and  sworn  to 
"  see  that  no  harm  come  to  the  State,"  as  the  Korean  Senate  de- 
creed to  their  consuls  in  the  hour  of  sedition  and  danger.  And 
so  it  has  been  said  that  we  are  a  political  organization.  In  the 
sense  of  party  preference  for  men,  it  is  not  true.  But  the  war 
for  the  Union  was  a  struggle  for  the  ascendency  of  political 
deas  Our  armies  were  Raised,  our  battles  were  fought,  ou 
comrades  died,  and  our  victory  was  won  that  the  nation  might 
1^  tha 'liberty  mMit  prevail,  and  that  the  vestiges  of  slavery 
mi'ht  dtapp  S  iom  tl  face  of  the  land  These  were  the 
poH  ical  ideas  for  which  our  comrades  fought  and  suffered  and 
d fed  Here  they  lie  buried  around  us  now.  Do  you  expect  that 


634  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

the  Grand  Army  will  prove  recreant  to  those  principles,  politi- 
cal though  they  may  be  called  ?  No,  comrades,  our  organiza- 
tion is  looked  upon  by  the  nation  with  that  confidence  and  hope 
which  our  people  cherished  toward  their  soldiers  in  the  days  of 
war.  We  will  deserve  that  confidence,  and  warrant  that  hope, 
for  we  swerve  not  one  step  from  that  line  of  duty  in  which 

Four  hundred  thousand  men, 

The  brave,  the  good,  the  true ; 
On  battle-field,  in  s\vamp,  and  glen, 

Have  died  for  me  and  you. 

This  later  May  day  is  about  the  only  time  in  the  year  when 
all  over  our  broad  land  the  flowers  are  in  full  bloom.  Upon 
the  far  borders  of  the  North  the  chill  of  winter  has  but  just 
passed  away,  and 

The  verdure  of  the  meadow  lands 

Is  creeping  to  the  hills ; 
The  sweet  blue-bosomed  violets 

Are  blooming  by  the  rills. 

An  earlier  day  would  not  have  found  the  flowers  there  for 
the  graves.  Here  in  the  South  the  spring  flowers  are  fast  pass- 
ing away,  and  a  later  day  might  find  a  stint  of  these  emblems 
of  affection  which  we  bring  with  us. 

Comrades  and  friends,  pause  one  moment  and  think  that 
today,  aye!  at  this  hour,  in  the  ten  thousand  burial-grounds 
throughout  the  land,  more  than  a  million  men  and  women  are 
strewing  flowers  upon  the  graves  of  fallen  heroes.  Fathers, 
brothers,  and  sons ;  mothers,  widows,  and  daughters ;  friends 
severed  ;  lovers  heart-broken,  have  met,  bearing  sweet  tokens  of 
remembrance  to  the  graves  of  those  but  for  whose  death  our 
country  would  not  have  lived.  How  when  we  dwell  upon  the 
thought  it  expands ;  the  recollections  of  individuals  parting,  and 
suffering  and  death ;  the  story  of  a  thousand  battle-fields ;  the 
history  of  a  nation's  struggle ;  the  ransom  of  a  race  from  bond- 
age. 

If  we  could  only  hear  the  story  of  each  one  of  these  graves 
we  would  know  nearly  all  that  is  good  in  human  nature.  How 
the  old  man  left  his  grandchildren  and  came  away  with  his  sou. 
to  lie  down  here  in  a  grave  marked  "  Unknown."  How  the 
young  man  whose  quickened  mind  was  all  aglow  with  thought, 
and  whose  heart  was  throbbing  with  virtuous  ambition,  left  his 
wife  of  a  month,  she  who  dared  not  bid  him  stay  for  his  honor's 
sake,  to  meet  death  with  less  of  sorrow  than  hope,  and  with  no 
feelings  of  disappointed  ambition,  buC  rather  the  sense  of  glory 
achieved.  How  the  middle-aged  man  gave  up  the  pursuits  of 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  635 

business,  severed  himself  from  an  affectionate  family,  and  con- 


Wbich  he  could  spare  in  such  a  cause  without  a  sigh.     When 
among  the  dead  we  usually  experience  a  sense  of  gloomy  sorrow ; 
but   somehow  it  seems  to  me  to-day,  when  I  remember  how 
these  heroes  fell — died  that  a  victory  might  be  won  for  the  right 
-—that,  this  is  not  the  most  gloomy  place  on  earth,  for  I  only 
think  that  each  grave  is  surrounded  by  a  halo  of  glory  not  to  be 
likened  to  gloom.     It  is  the  purpose  of  the  Commander-in-chief" 
to  inaugurate  this  observance  with  the  hope  that  it  will  be  kept 
up  from  year  to  year  while  a  survivor  of  the  war  remains  to 
honor  the  memory  of  his  departed  comrades.     And  so  we  have 
come  to-day  to  perform  this  sacred  duty  for  the  first  time,  but 
let  us  hope  not  for  the  last  time.     We  meet  here  under  circum- 
stances differing  from  those  which  surround  our  friends  in  the 
distant  North  who  are  decorating  the  graves  of  those  comrades 
who    lie    in  the  churchyards  of  their  native   villages.      There 
every  heart  is  alive  with  sympathy  and  there  are  many  attend- 
ants at  every  tomb  ;  here  we  are  but  a  small  band  comparatively 
in  one  of  the  nation's  burial-places,  and  the  graves  far  outnum- 
ber the  hands  that  strew  the  flowers.     Ah,  comrades,  we  recollect 
to-day  how  we  came  away  from  our  Northern  homes,  many  of  us 
marching  side  by  side  with  those  who  lie  beneath  these  garlands. 
Does  it  not  almost  seem  that  it  is  our  duty  to  remain  here  in  the 
South,  if  for  no  other  purpose  than    to  watch  over  this  sacred 
spot,  and  come  to  it  and  bring  tokens  of  remembrance  from 
fear  to  year  ?     In  conclusion,  comrades  and  friends,  let  us  learn 
the  lesson  of  the  hour.     It  has  been  said  that  we  come  to  honor 
the  nation's  dead.     In  one  sense  of  the  term  that  were  impossible. 
Their  honor  and  glory  are  transcendent.     We   come  rather  to 
be  reminded    that    we    must   live   for   the    cause   for   which 
they  died.     They  gave  up  their  lives  that  the  Union  might  not 
perish      Let  us  see  that  they  died  not  in  vain,  and  in  passing 
awny  ourselves  let  us  leave  as  a  dying  wish  the  charge  to  our 
children      These  fallen   heroes  fought  the  good  battle  against 
slavery,  whose  policy  was  to  teach  that  ignorance  is  the  mother 
ot  virtue  and  bondage  the  basis  of  strength      It  we  forget  to 
etrn^le  on   and  perfect  the  work   which  they  began,  we  are 
SZSnt  to  the  cause  in  whose  behalf  they  fell.     We  are  here 
met  in  the  midst  of  the  scenes  of  the  conflict-in  the  heart  of 
the  South-which  was  saved  to  the  Union  and  regen erate d  by 
the  sacrifice  of  these  lives.     Our  people  are  knee  ing  to-day 
a  on  °  the  northern  lakes,  upon  the  shores  of  the  Atlantic,  and 


636  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES     , 

far  inland  at  the  graves  of  those  comrades  who  are  buried  there. 
Let  us,  in  unison  with  them,  dedicate  our  lives  anew  to  our 
country  and  to  the  work  of  Christian  civilization. 

Gen.  Hobart,  of  Wisconsin,  a  member  of  the  Ann}-  of  the 
Gulf  in  1862,  responded  to  the  call  of  the  chairman  in  a  short 
and  effective  speech.  At  the  request  of  the  chairman,  Mayor 
Heath  then  read  the  following  description  of  the  cemetery  : 
Monument  National  Cemetery  is  situated  at  Chalmette,  in  the 
parish  of  St.  Bernard,  Louisiana  ;  is  six  miles  below  the  city  of 
New  Orleans,  and  one  mile  below  the  United  States  (Jackson) 
barracks.  It  contains  thirteen  and  a  third  acres,  was  purchased 
by  the  city  of  New  Orleans  from  its  original  owner,  Mr.  Charles 
Resner,  in  1861,  and  has  since  been  ceded  by  the  city  to  the 
United  States.  It  was  commenced  by  Captain  N.  Constable, 
Assistant  Quartermaster,  in  May,  1864,  and  will  probably  be 
completed  by  the  latter  end  of  the  present  summer.  It  has  a 
frontage  of  250  feet  on  the  Mississippi  river,  and  a  depth  of  2317 
feet.  Young  cedar,  arbor  vitse,  and  other  trees  and  shrubbery 
have  been  obtained  with  some  difficulty,  and  planted  about  half 
way  on  each  side  of  the  main  avenue.  The  government  made 
no  appropriation  for  the  purchase  of  shrubbery,  and  the  only 
means  of  obtaining  it  was  by  procuring  shrubs  and  trees  from 
the  woods,  and  by  donation.  The  first  plan  has  been  carried 
out  until  the  supply  is  about  exhausted,  and  a  large  quantity  is 
still  required  to  beautify  and  decorate  the  cemetery.  If  the 
loyal  citizens  of  Louisiana  who  are  known  to  have  at  heart  the 
beautifying  and  decorating  of  this  cemetery,  where  so  many 
brave  defenders  of  the  Union  from  almost,  every  State  and  terri- 
tory therein  are  interred,  would  take  into  consideration  the 
great  want  of  shrubbery  for  this  purpose,  and  furnish  as  much 
as  possible,  it  would  be  one  of  the  most  acceptable  offerings  in 
the  way  of  decoration,  and  it  would  besides  be  a  lasting  memo- 
rial of  their  generosity,  and  would  permanently  beautify  and 
decorate  the  cemetery.  About  12,000  bodies  of  deceased  Union 
soldiers  are  now  interred  in  this  cemetery,  of  which  number 
about  6500  are  "  known,  "  and  the  remainder  "  unknown." 
About  1000  more  bodies  scattered  over  the  Teche  country  are 
yet  to  be  removed  and  interred  herein.  Fifteen  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  eighty  graves  is  the  entire  capacity  of  this  ceme- 
tery. There  were  formerly  about  7,000  bodies  of  colored  civil- 
ians interred  in  it,  but  they  have  all  been  removed  to  the 
Freedmen's  cemetery  adjoining.  The  ground  on  which  we 
now  stand,  on  which  this  national  cemetery  is  located,  will  ever 
be  memorable  in  the  annals  of  the  country,  it  being  the  scene  of 
General  Jackson's  greatest  triumph,'  recorded  in  the  history  of 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  537 

the  United  States  as  the  "  Battle  of  New  Orlea  is  »     S!v  i 

ci  «ii  j_  ctKciiiiam  lay  mortallv  wonnrioH  rli  ••'  •         <• 


face  and  patriotism  ;  the  receptacle  of  the  dust  of  two  genera 
6         Dd  eVei      e 


orthv  een  ffiaeto  ™er  t 

01  thy  ot  the  holy  purpose  to  which  it  has  been  consecrated 

Captain  Sheridan,  one  of  the  participators  in  the  struggle 
the  Union,  was  then  called,  and  responded  as  follows: 

SPEECH   OP   CAPTAIN  8HEEIDAN. 

So  much  has  been  said  here  to-day,  and  so  well  said,  in 
praise  of  the  silent  battalions  of  the  Union,  whose  green  graves 
spread  out  here  before  us,  that  to  add  anything  of  interest  I  feel 
almost  a  hopeless  task.  I  hold,  in  common  with  all  here,  and 
with  the  loyal  millions  of  the  North,  the  memory  of  our  dead 
sacred,  and  the  ground  where  they  slumber  hallowed.  And 
here,  as  elsewhere,  my  tongue  refuses  to  keep  silence  when  a 
word  is  asked  of  me  in  remembrance  of  comrades  whose  blood 
flowed  freely  that  the  flag  we  loved  might  not  go  down  in  disas- 
ter and  defeat,  that  the  nation  our  fathers  founded,  purified  of 
its  great  wrong  against  humanity,  might  endure  for  all  ages  to 
come,  and  prove  by  its  power  and  stability  the  falsity  of  all  who 
sa^v  man  is  incapable  of  self-government.  I  believe  that  Ameri- 
ca is  the  battle-ground  designed  by  God  for  the  overthrow  of  all 
forms  of  wrong  and  oppression.  A  land  where  the  broadest 
liberty  shall  exist,  the  only  test  of  a  man's  right  to  citizenship, 
loyalty  to  the  government,  a  devotion  to  his  principles  which 
impels  him  when  they  are  assailed  to  stand  boldly  forward,  and 
if  need  be,  give  up  his  life  as  freely  as  the  quiet  sleepers  around 
us  yielded  up  theirs.  Standing  to-day  in  the  presence  of  our 
dead,  memory  is  busy,  and  the  scenes  of  the  few  years  past 
crowd  thick  upon  us.  We  live  over  again  the  stormy  days  of 
the  war.  By  doing  this  we  more  fully  realize  the  deep-seated 
love  of  country,  the  strong  conviction  of  duty,  and  the  lofty 
courage  that  animated  the  soldiers  of  the  Union  when  summon- 
ed from  their  quiet  homes  by  the  thunder  of  hostile  guns  they 


63S  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

took  np  their  line  of  march,  and  never  paused  before  the  flag  of 
rebellion  went  down  before  their  advancing  columns.  And  who 
to-day  will  say  humanity  did  not  breathe  freer  when  the  smoke 
of  the  might}'  conflict  passed  away,  and  their  straining  eyes 
caught  sight  of  freedom's  flag  waving  over  every  foot  of  Ameri- 
ca ?  Thank  God,  we  all  in  some  capacity  or  other  helped  on 
the  grand  struggle.  Thank  God  so  many  of  us  are  permitted  to 
come  here  to-day,  and  pay  tribute  to  the  memory  of  our  depart- 
ed ones.  I  come  not  sadly  here  to-day,  but  rather  with  a  feeling 
of  joy  and  pride.  I  am  proud  of  the  valor  which  won  for  us  to 
speak  and  act  as  men  wherever  the  flag  of  the  republic  floats  ; 
proud  that  under  this  Southern  sky,  within  the  shadow  of  yonder 
mighty  city  which  our  dead  heroes  helped  to  win,  we  can  come 
and  crown  their  graves  with  flowers  ;  proud  to  feel  that  Ameri- 
ica,  through  the  efforts  of  the  quiet  sleepers  here,  stands  the 
mightiest  republic  in  the  world  ;  proud  to  look  upoii  these  graves 
and  say  they  are  the  mute  but  eloquent  index  of  how  well  our 
armies  fought,  and  how  lavishly  they  poured  out  their  blood 
when  called  upon  to  stand  by  their  G*od  and  nation.  There  is 
no  soldier  here  to-day  who  cannot  recall  some  glorious  recollec- 
tions of  the  war.  And  as  the  picture  flashes  into  view  how  the 
heart  thrills.  Proudly,  yet  with  moist  eye  and  trembling  lip, 
we  recall  the  forms  of  those  who  fell  by  our  side  on  some  battle- 
field of  the  rebellion.  We  hear  again  the  stern  commands, 
"  Close  up,"  "  Steady  on  the  right,"  "  G  uide  centre,"  "  Forward, 
march."  "Charge  bayonets !  falls  on  our  ear  with  the  olden 
power.  We  see  the  glistening  steel  come  down,  guns  grasped 
in  strong  hands,  teeth  shut  close,  eyes  of  flame,  every  chest 
heaving  as  the  mighty  line  sweeps  forward  over  ditch  and  para- 
pets, up  to  the  very  muzzle  of  the  thundering  guns,  the  solid 
earth  reeling  beneath  our  tread,  the  air  throbbing  with  the 
mighty  shout  that  bursts  from  our  victorious  ranks  when,  high 
over  the  stronghold  our  valor  Avon,  the  banner  we  bore  flashed 
out  its  stars  of  glory !  The  picture  fades  only  to  give  place  to 
others,  in  each  and  all  of  which  the  fallen  ones  stand  out  bold 
and  clear.  There  are  friendships  beautiful  and  lasting  in  almost 
every  walk  of  lite.  But  there  are  none  more  sincere  than  those 
formed  upon  the  weary  march,  and  knit  close  in  the  shock  of 
battle.  When  we  clasp  hands  with  one  who  stood  side  by  side 
with  us  on  many  a  field,  we  feel  toward  him  as  we  feel  toward 
none  other.  And  when  we  look  upon  the  graves  of  comrades 
there  steals  over  the  heart  a  thousand  recollections  that  make 
their  memory  dearer  than  that  of  others,  and  invests  the  spot 
where  they  sleep  with  an  interest  no  other  in  the  world  can 
have.  That  we  come  here  to-day  is  but  one  evidence  of  how 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  639 

fondly  we  love  the  memory  of  our  dead.  Lying  here  upon  the 
nks  of  the  mighty  river  their  strong  arms  wrested  from  a  race 
of  warrior^  are  the  representatives  of  nearly  every  State  in  the 
Union.  Many  graves  are  nameless.  We  only  know  that  some 
one  lies  there  who  fell  for  America,  and  we  crown  his  grave 
with  our  tribute  of  respect.  Many  a  mother's  darling  lies  in  an 
unknown  grave ;  all  she  knows  is  that  somewhere  her  boy  lies 
buried.  When  to-morrow  the  news  flashes  over  the  country 
that  we  have  here  decorated  the  graves  of  loyal  soldiers,  many  a 
heart  will  throb  with  joy  to  think  that  others  have  done  for 
their  dead  what  they  themselves  have  longed  to  do.  Many  a 
soul  will  be  stronger  for  the  knowledge  that  we  have  visited  the 
nation's  dead,  struck  palms  across  their  green  graves,  and 
pledged  anew  our  fidelity  to  the  country  they  laid  down  their 
lives  to  maintain.  But  not  alone  to  our  army  is  all  the  praise 
due.  Brave  men  are  sleeping  here  who  maintained  the  honor 
of  our  flag  upon  the  seas.  Some,  perhaps,  who  sailed  through 
storm  of  shot  and  shell  with  grand  old  Farragut  to  the  conquest 
of  the  empire  city  of  the  South.  The  army  spares  not  in  praise 
when  the  deeds  of  our  sailors  are  mentioned.  We  remember 
proudly  the  wondrous  circle  of  fire  in  which  our  navy  sailed  at 
.rort  Koyal,  we  bless  the  hardy  tars  who  manned  the  Monitor, 
our  hearts  swell  with  exultation  when  the  Cumberland  is  men- 
tioned, and  we  thank  God  that  America  had  sons  to  stand  by  the 
ship,  and  tight  her  till  she  sunk  beneath  the  waves  of  the  Chesa- 
peake, thundering  her  own  requiem.  We  glory  in  Winslow, 
who  near  the  sunny  coast  of  France  taught  all  Europe  to  respect 
our  navy,  and  in  presence  of  the  Continent  covered  our  flag  with 
glory.  We  remember  the  bay  of  Mobile,  where,  lashed  to  the 
ma-t,  America's  great  admiral  led  his  fleet  to  victory,  and  added 
new  laurels  to  our  navy.  A  thousand  other  recollections  cluster 
around  it,  dear  to  the  hearts  of  the  army.  The  glory  of  the  war 
belongs  alike  to  each.  The  war  is  over,  the  old  drum  stands 
silent^  the  bugle  has  sounded  its  last  charge  and  pealed  its  last 
recall.  The  sword  hangs  idly  in  its  scabbard,  the  musket  leans 
unused  by  the  tire-side,  the  banners-  that  gleamed  so  proudly  in 
the  front  of  battle  have  folded  their  riven  stars,  and  now  stand 
mementoes  of  glories  passed.  Our  armies  have  taken  their 
tents  and  silently  gone  ;  the  fields  where  they  struggled  gleam 
with  the  glory  of  peace,  and  another  than  death  gathers  the  rich 
harvest  that  springs  from  their  fruitful  bosom.  We  are  often 
asked,  now  that  the  war  is  over,  why  not  let  the  dead  rest  in  the 
graves  their  valor  won  ?  I  would  not  crush  one  flower  that 
grows  on  the  graves  of  the  Southern  dead.  I  only  ask  that  the 
graves  of  our  "dead  be  sacred — free  from  censure  and  unmanly 


640  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

reproach.  The  duties  we  owe  the  living  must  not  blind  us  to 
the  duties  we  owe  to  the  dead.  Let  us  yearly  crown  their 
graves  with  flowers.  Thus  shall  we  show  the  world  we  never 
let  the  memory  of  valor  perish.  Thus  shall  we  perform  a  duty, 
and  feel  that  when  we  are  gone  we  shall  have  a  right  to  claim  a 
wreath  of  flowers  from  companions  left  behind  us. 

SPEECH    OF  CAPTAIN  JORDAN   B.    NOBLE. 

Captain  Noble  having  been  introduced  as  the  "  Drummer 
Boy  of  Clialmette,"  said  : 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  AND  BROTHER  SOLDIERS  :  Though 
last,  I  hope  I  am  not  the  least  to  address  you  on  this  memorial 
occasion.  So  much  has  been  said  by  the  gentlemen  who  have 
preceded  me,  it  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  say  anything  concern- 
ing the  great  war  and  rebellion  that  was  concluded  by  the 
surrender  of  General  Lee  to  General  Grant.  I  hope  it  will  not 
be  out  of  place  to  make  a  few  remarks  respecting  this  sacred 
ground.  On  this  spot  and  not  far  from  here,  fifty -three  years 
ago,  1  had  the  honor  to  be  present  under  our  great  commander, 
Major-General  Andrew  Jackson.  There  stands  the  old  house 
where  he  made  his  headquarters,  and  where  I  often  served  him 
as  orderly  during  the  encampment  of  American  troops.  Here 
we  met  and  beat  back  one  of  the  proudest  and  most  daring 
enemies  that  ever  invaded  this  continent. 

Here  Captain  Noble  gave  his  hearers  a  vivid  and  interesting 
description  of  the  battle  of  the  8th  of  January,  1815,  and  pro- 
ceeded : 

Governor  Claiborne  then  came  to  the  camp  in  person,  and 
was  with  the  General  almost  every  .day  until  the  enemy  retired. 
Thus  you  see,  that  over  half  a  century  ago  the  poor  drummer 
boy  who  this  day  stands  before  you  in  this  honored  place,  sur- 
rounded by  the  honored  dead,  now  stands  the  only  living  being 
that  can  be  found  of  his  regiment.  There  are  many  of  the  old 
veterans  still  here  that  belonged  to  the  different  battalions  too 
old  and  feeble  to  be  present  on  this  occasion,  among  whom  I 
will  name  the  honored  Anthony  Fernandez,  and  a  number  of 
the  colored  battalion,  too  numerous  to  mention  at  present.  The 
roll  of  the  Seventh  regiment  was  called  on  the  eighth  of  Jan- 
uary, 1867  and  1868,  and  there  were  none  to  answer  to  their 
names  except  the  poor  drummer  boy  of  the  regiment.  I  would 
here  remark  that  I  hope  you  will  not  attribute  to  personal  vanity 
the  mention  of  my  services  to  my  country.  Enlisted  in  1813  in 
the  Seventh  regiment  as  drummer  during  the  war,  discharged 
on  the  eighth  of  May,  1816,  re-enlisted  the  same  day  for  five 
years,  and  honorably  discharged  at  Baton  Rouge ;  again  re- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  641 

enlisted  in  the  First  United  States  infantry,  and  served  as  a  sub- 
:itute  four  years  four  months  and  fourteen  days.  I  was  then 
honorably  discharged  from  the  United  States  army  in  1825  •  I 
came  to  Aew  Orleans  and  made  this  my  home  till  1836.  In 
that  year  at  the  time  Major  Dade  was  massacred  with  his 
troops  m  Florida,  the  call  was  made  by  General  Gaines  for  vol- 
unteers to  go  there.  I  then  volunteered  for  that  service,  under 
command  of  General  Persifer  F.  Smith,  and  was  present  at  the 
burial  of  the  murdered  men  of  Major  Dade.  Major-General 
Buchanan,  the  present  commander  of  this  department,  was  then 
adjutant  of  the  Fourth  infantry,  commanded  by  Major  Twiggs. 
To  him  was  assigned  the  duty  of  collecting  the  dead  bodies  and 
reporting  their  numbers.  He  did  this  by  counting  the  skulls  of 
the  dead  soldiers.  I  returned  to  New  Orleans  after  three 
months'  service  in  Florida,  and  was  placed  under  the  command 
of  Colonel  Cross  in  the  recruiting  service,  where  I  served  two 
years,  and  was  honorably  discharged. 

BEMARKS   OF   COLONEL   CASE. 

The  chairman  then  introduced  Col.  Charles  Case,  remarking 
that  he  would  read  an  original  poem,  written  for  the  occasion, 
and  precede  it  by  a  few  remarks. 

Colonel  Case  said  that  in  consideration  of  the  many  things 
which  had  been  said,  and  well  said,  he  should  not  detain  them 
long,  but  confine  his  remarks  to  a  single  point :  whether  the  im- 
mense sacrifices  in  valuable  lives  and  millions  of  treasure  we  had 
S'ven  for  the  Union  our  country  did  not  outweigh  its  real  value. 
e  had  considered  the  matter  seriously,  and  had  no  hesitation 
in  declaring  that  the  honor,  integrity  and  glory  of  our  beloved 
country  were  beyond  price,  and  more  than  worth  all  the  sacri- 
fices the  nation  had  made  for  it.  In  regard  to  the  poem  he  was 
about  to  read,  he  would  only  remark  that  it  had  been  written 
since  twelve  o'clock,  and  must  not  be  considered  a  thoughtful 
production.  He  then  read  the  poem,  as  follows : 

All  honor  to  the  patriot  dead, 

Who  fell  that  freedom's  cause  might  live ; 

"We  strew  above  each  grassy  bed 

The  sweetest  flowers  our  hands  can  give. 

And  thus  beside  each  hallowed  grave 

"We  tell  how  recollection  still 
Warms  with  those  memories  of  the  bravs 

Which  lapsing  years  shall  never  chill. 

And  here  above  their  sleeping  dust 
We  call  their  shades  from  spirit  land, 

To  seal  our  pledges  that  the  trust 

for  which  they  died  for  aye  shall  ataud. 
41 


042  MEMORIAL   CEREMONIES 

Dearer  than  anght  on  earth  beside, 

Sacred  as  all  our  hopes  of  heaven- 
That  for  the  flag,  wlmte'er  betide 

Our  lives  are  pledged,  and  shall  be  given. 

So  on  the  field  where  long  ago 

Brave  warriors  stayed  invasion  s  tread, 

We  swear  afresh,  cmne  weal  or  woe, 
We  will  be  faithful  to  the  dead. 

A  few  remarks  from  the  chairman,  and  a  prayer  by  Eev. 
Mr.  Plumb,  closed  the  interesting  ceremonies. 

AT  ST.  JOSEPH'S,  MISSOURI. 

At  an  early  hour  in  the  morning,  the  comrades  of  the  Grand 
Army  in  this  city  assembled  at  their  hall,  on  Edmond  street, 
and  at  nine  o'clock  the  line  of  the  procession  was  taken  up  in 
the  following  order:  First,  band  of  music  ;  2d,  officers  of  the 
post,  G.  A.  ft. ;  3d,  members  of  the  post;  4th,  members  of  the 
press ;  5th,  soldiers  of  the  army  not  connected  with  the  G.  A.  R. ; 
6th,  members  of  the  Turner  Society  ;  7th,  citizens  on  foot ;  8th, 
hulies  and  gentlemen  in  carriages.  Under  the  charge  of  Major 
Drumhiller,  as  Chief  Marshal,  with  Col.  John  Finger,  Major  I. 
B.  Halsey  and  Captain  Frank  Hopkins  as  assistants,  the  route 
of  the  march  was  taken  up.  "When  the  procession  entered  the 
cemetery,  the  band  played  the  dead  march,  the  men  in  line 
passing  the  portals  with  uncovered  heads. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  graves  of  the  fallen  soldiers  were 
scattered  throughout  the  cemetery,  it  was  determined  to  hold 
the  ceremonial  services  around  the  grave  of  Captain  Arthur 
J.  Devlin,  one  of  the  bravest  of  the  "  unreturning  brave." 
The  services  commenced  with  a  most  feeling  and  appropriate 
appeal  to  the  throne  of  grace  by  the  Chaplain  of  the  Post,  Rev. 
Mr.  Flowers.  A  most  suitable  song,  "  O'er  graves  of  the  loved 
ones  plant  beautiful  flowers,"  was  chanted  by  a  choir  of  ladies 
and  gentlemen,  under  the  leadership  of  Professor  James. 
During  this  song  the  graves  of  the  soldiers  were  decked  with 
flowers.  Gathered  around  the  sacred  remains,  they  covered 
the  passionless  moulds  above  them  with  the  choicest  flowers  of 
spring  time,  and  raised  above  them  the  dear  old  flag  they  saved 
from  dishonor.  An  address  was  then  delivered  by  the  orator 
selected  by  the  Post— Colonel  Green. 


ADDRESS   BY   COLOXBL  T.   A.    GREEN. 


FKI.LOW-CITIZKNS:      We   have   met  here   this   quiet,    holy 
morning,  in  this  beautiful  "city  of  the  dead,"  for  the  purpose 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  643 

of  decorating  the  graves,  and  honoring  the  memories  of  the 
departed  Union  soldiers,  who  are  here,  and  who  gave  up  their 
lives  that  our  country  and  our  liberties  might  endure.  During 
the  long  and  sanguinary  struggle  hetween  Slavery  and  Free- 
dom, through  which  our  unhappy  country  has  just  passed,  many 
of  our  brave  Union  soldiers  fell  on  distant  fields,  in  the  enemy's 
country,  far  from  home  and  friends,  and  often,  after  battles,  our 
dead  and  dying  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and  were 
wholly  denied  the  last,  sad  rites  of  burial,  and  their  bones  were 
left  to  bleach  on  the  fields  where  they  fell.  Many  others,  like 
Sir  John.  Moore,  were  buried  "  hastily  at  dead  of  night,"  or 
under  emergencies  which  compelled  their  cdmrades  to  give 
them  but  &  partial  burial,  without  having  time  to  make  their 
graves ;  and  they  now  sleep  their  last  long  sleep  in  unmarked 
and  unknown  beds  of  honor,  where  no  friends  or  grateful  coun- 
trymen can  decorate  their  tombs  with  flowers,  or  shed  over 
them  the  grateful  tears  of  gratitude ;  but  the  blessed,  unseen 
spirit,  of  liberty  will  ever  linger  near  and  guard  their  sacred 
resting-places.  Those  were  more  fortunate  who  were  gathered 
into  this  beautiful  cemetery,  and  around  whose  graves  we  have 
assembled  this  lovely  spring  morning,  to  pay  a  becoming  tribute 
to  their  memories.  It  has  been  said,  however,  that  the  most 
fitting  place  for  a  soldier's  grave  is  the  field  of  glory  on  which 
he  fails.  You  will  pardon  me  for  indulging  in  an  old,  patriotic 
Latin  sentiment  of  a  nation  that  is  past — Dulce  et  decorum  est 
pro patria  mori — "  It  is  sweet,  and  glorious  to  die  for  one's  coun- 
try. In  all  ages  of  the  world,  and  amongst  all  noble  nations 
of  the  earth,  love  of  one's  country  has  been,  and  still  is,  re- 
garded as  a  great  virtue  ;  nor  has  it  only  been  held  to  be  a 
great  virtue,  but  a  man's  duty  to  his  country  has  been  regarded 
as  next  to  his  duty  to  his  God.  On  the  other  hand,  treason  to 
a  good  government  has  always  been  held  to  be  the  basest  and 
most  infamous  of  all  crimes.  It  has  been  generally  thought 
that  it  is  a  man's  sacred  duty  to  stand  by  his  Government,  no 
matter  whether  it  be  right  or  wrong ;  but  believing,  as  I  do,  in 
the  higher  law  doctrine  of  the  paramount  obligations  of  the 
eternal  and  immutable  principles  of  right  and  justice,  I  am  not 
willing  to  recognize  the  principle,  that  it  is  the  duty  of  a  subject 
to  support  his  government  in  perpetuating  an  act  that  is  clearly 
wrong,  as,  for  instance,  selling  a  little  child  from  its  mother, 
like  a  brute,  for  paltry  gold,  which  was  often  the  case  under 
the  institution  of  slavery  as  it  existed  in  this  country.  Under- 
stand me.  I  simply  say  it  was  not  a  man's  duty  to  support  his 
government  in  that  particular  wrongful  act ;  but  because  our 
Government  tolerates  such  a  wrongful  act,  did  not  absolve  its 


MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

fn.m  supporting  it  in  all  other  respects  ;  but  every  sub- 
had tin-  riirht  to  earnestly  protest  against  "  the  deep  dam- 
n"  »f  such  a  levelling  crime!  When  a  government  is 
l.ere.litarv,  and  its  ends  are  subverted  to  oppression  and  wrong, 
and  tin-re"  is  no  other  manner  of  righting  the  wrong,  revolution 
N  justifiable,  and  even  a  right  inherent  in  the  people  as  in  tlie 
case  of  our  revolutionary  fathers ;  but  in  our  Republic,  where 
all  power  is  in  the  people,  and  is  only  delegated  for  a  short 
time  to  our  rulers,  and  all  reverts  back  to  the  people,  rebellion 
or  revolution  is  a  crime.  When  a  government  is  in  the  right, 
and  is  attacked  by  its  enemies,  and,  in  self-defence,  is  engaged 
in  a  struggle  for  its  life,  or  is  engaged  in  a  righteous  struggle 
for  human  freedom,  then  I  endorse  the  principle  that  next  to  a 
man's  duty  to  his  God,  is  his  duty  to  support  his  country,  and 
if  need  be,  sacrifice  his  life  for.it.  Then  indeed  is  the  old  Latin 
maxim  true— that  it  is  sweet  and  glorious  to  die  tor  one's 
country — and  then,  too,  it  is  true  that  it  is  base  and  infamous 
to  desert  or  betray  one's  country.  Such  was  the  case  in  our 
late  war  for  the  Union.  Our  revolutionary  fathers  had  strug- 
gled hard  through  seven  long  years  of  privations,  hardships, 
toil,  suffering  and  bloodshed  to  establish  this  mighty,  free  Re- 
publican Empire  upon  this  western  continent,  and  in  a  short 
time  we  had  grown  to  be  a  great,  prosperous  and  happy  nation. 
Heaven  seemed  to  bless  us  above  all  other  nations  and  peo- 
ples of  the  earth ;  but,  alas !  our  fathers  in  laying  the  founda- 
tions, barely  tolerated  the  institution  of  Slavery,  believing  that 
it  would  iii  a  short  time  pass  away,  which  it  did  in  many 
of  the  States,  but  was  retained  at  the  South,  and  grew  to  be  a 
formidable  institution  ;  and,  as  it  was  soon  ascertained  that  there 
\\;is  an  irrepressible  conflict  between  freedom  and  slavery,  and 
that  it  was  impossible  for  the  two  to  exist  in  the  Government 
together,  the  slave  power  attempted  the  entire  overthrow  of  the 
Government  of  our  fathers,  and  the  establishment  in  its  stead, 
and  upon  its  ruins,  of  a  great  Slave  Empire ;  and  had  it  not 
been  for  the  Union  soldiers  now  living  and  dead,  our  Govern- 
ment would  have  been  blotted  out  from  amongst  the  nations  of 
the  earth  ;  and  the  sun  in  the  heavens  to  day  would  be  looking 
down  on  the  melancholy  ruins  of  a  once  mighty  nation.  Had 
the  slave  power  succeeded  in  the  destruction  of  the  Govern- 
ment, the  human  mind  cannot  conceive  of,  nor  can  the  imagina- 
tion picture  the  horrors  that  would  have  befallen  us.  Some  may 
think  that  the  Union  might  have  been  divided  into  two  govern- 
ments— one  slave,  the  other  free— and  so  remained  and  flourished 
fide  by  side,  but  this  is  a  fatal  delusion.  Had  this  Union  once 
been  severed,  disintegration  thus  begun,  would  have  continued, 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  645 

until,  instead  of  two,  there  would  soon  have  been  as  many  miser- 
able, wrangling  little  republics  as  there  are  now  States;  and  this 
would  have  been  equivalent  to  a  declaration  of  eternal  warfare; 
and  they  would  have  preyed  upon  and  desolated  each  other,  un- 
til the  people  would  have  been  compelled  to  have  sought  peace 
in  despotism.  Thus,  our  political  sun,  which,  in  the  morning 
3f  the  Republic,  rose  in  such  cloudless  splendor,  and  shone  so 
brightly  tor  so  many  years,  would  have  gone  down  in  anarchy 
and  blood,  and  finally  set  forever  in  a  long,  gloomy,  dreary 
night  of  absolute  despotism.  Webster,  in  his  great  speech  on 
the  importance  of  the  Union,  said :  "  I  have  not  allowed  my- 
self, sir,  to  look  beyond  the  Union  to  see  what  might  lie  hidden 
in  theadark  recess  behind.  I  have  not  coolly  weighed  the  chances 
of  preserving  liberty,  when  the  bonds  that  unite  us  shall  be  bro- 
ken asunder.  I  have  not  accustomed  myself  to  hang  over  the 
precipice  of  disunion,  to  see  whether,  with  my  short  sight,  I  can 
fathom  the  abyss  below.  !Nror  have  I  considered  how  tolerable 
might  be  the  condition  of  the  people,  when  the  Union  shall  be 
broken  up  and  destroyed.  While  the  Union  lasts,  we  have  high, 
exciting,  gratifying  prospects  spread  out  before  us,  for  ourselves 
and  our  children.  Beyond  that  I  seek  not  to  penetrate  the  vail. 
God  grant  that  in  my  day,  at  least,  that  curtain  may  not  rise. 
God  grant  that  on  my  vision  may  never  be  opened  what  lies  be- 
hind. 

"  When  ray  eyes  shall  be  turned  to  behold,  for  the  last  time, 
the  sun  in  the  heavens,  may  I  not  see  him  shining  on  the  bro- 
ken and  dishonored  fragments  of  a  once  glorious  Union — on  a 
land  rent  with  civil  feuds,  and  drenched  in  fraternal  blood. 

"  But  rather  let  their  last  feeble  and  lingering  glance  behold 
the  gorgeous  ensign  of  the  Republic,  now  known  and  honored 
throughout  the  earth,  still  full  high  advanced,  its  arms  and  tro- 
phies streaming  in  their  original  lustre,  not  a  stripe  erased  or 
polluted,  nor  a  star  obscured,  bearing  for  its  motto  no  such  mis- 
erable interrogatory  as,  What  is  all  this  worth  ?  nor  those  other 
words  of  delusion  and  folly,  Liberty  tirst,  and  union  afterward  ; 
but  everywhere  spread  all  over  with  characters  of  living  light, 
blazing  on  all  its  ample  folds,  as  they  float  over  the  sea,  and  over 
the  land,  and  on  every  wind,  and  under  the  whole  heavans,  that 
other  sentiment,  dear  to  every  American  heart,  '  Liberty  and 
union,  now  and  forever,  one  and  inseparable.' " 

If  the  Union  was  important  and  glorious  in  Webster's  day, 
how  much  more  important  and  glorious  is  it  to-day  \  Then,  its 
glory  was  obscured  by  the  deep,  dark,  and  damning  shame  of 
slavery,  and  .the  clanking  of  chains  mingled  with  all  our  songs 
of  freedom.  Now,  thank  God  I  there  is  not  a  slave  upon  all 


046  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

our  shores;  and  our  songs  of  freedom  ascend  to  heaven  un- 
ininirK''!  with  the  sighs  and  groans  of  the  oppressed.  Then,  the 
canker-worm  of  Slavery  was  gnawing  at  its  heart,  and  the  doc- 
trine of  State  Rights  threatening  its  destruction.  ^  Now,  the 
canker  has  been  extracted,  and  the  suicidal  doctrine  of  State 
K'i-hts  forever  crushed.  Then  a  large  portion  of  the  Union  was 
founded  on  the  quicksands  of  oppression  and  wrong;  and  when 
the  rains  and  fhe  floods  and  the  storms  came  and  beat  upon  it, 
it  fell,  and  terrible,  indeed,  was  the  fall  thereof.  Now,  that  part 
is  liciiii;  reconstructed  and  founded  on  the  eternal  and  immov- 
alile  rock  of  justice,  and  will  stand  firmly  as  the  everlasting 
hills.  Like  Mount  Athos,  "When  storms  and  tempests  beat 
upon  its  brow,  and  the  ocean  laves  its  billows  at  its  feet,  it  stands 
unmoved  and  glories  in  its  strength/'  In  Webster's  day  it  was 
tin-  a-ylum  of  the  persecuted  of  some  races  and  some  nations. 
To-day  it  is  the  asylum  of  the  down-trodden  and  oppressed  of 
all  people  and  nations  of  the  earth,  no  matter  of  what  color  or 
tongue  or  race.  Here,  every  human  being,  no  matter  if  he  bo 
from  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth,  if  he  have  the  upright 
form  of  man  and  the  image  of  God  in  his  soul,  may  now  find  a 
sure  refuge  from  oppression  and  wrong.  It  is  now  truly 

u  The  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the  brave." 

All  the  crushed  and  famishing  millions  of  earth  can  now 
find  freedom,  homes,  and  plenty  upon  our  happy  shores.  There 
are  bright,  exciting  and  glorious  prospects  spread  out  before  us 
in  the  future.  No  imagination  can  paint  the  coming  greatness 
and  glory  of  our  now  redeemed  and  regenerated  country. 

"  Great  Go<] !  we  thank  Thee  for  this  home, 

This  bounteous  birthland  of  the  free, 
Where  wanderers  from  afar  may  c-me, 

And  breathe  the  air  of  liberty  ; 
Still  inny  her  flowers  untrampled  spring, 

Her  harvests  wave,  her  cities  rise, 
And  yet,  till  time  shall  fold  her  wing, 

Remain  earth's  loveliest  paradise." 

Who  can  estimate  the  importance  of  the  Union  to  day,  freight- 
ed as  it  is  with  the  hopes,  the  happiness  and  liberty  of  millions 
of  our  fellow  beings — not  only  of  present  millions,  but  of  mil- 
lions yet  to  be.     For  all  that  our  country  now  is,  and  all  that  it 
is  destined  to  be  in  the  future,  we  are  indebted  to  the  Union  Sol- 
diers.    Although  I  believe  that  God,  in  the  beginning,  reared 
s  mighty  continent  from  the  waters,  that  Freedom    might 
jomewhere  on  earth  find  an  eternal  home;  and  that  the  same 
"\\i-r  sustained  our  fathers  in  their  revolutionary  struggle  and 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        647 

our  Union  Soldiers  in  their  struggle  with  the  gigantic  rebellion; 
jet  notwithstanding  I  believe  there  is  a  Providence  who  rules 
over  the  destinies  of  the  nations  of  the  earth,  yet  these  destinies 
are  worked  out  by  human  agencies;  and  a  vast  amount  of  hu- 
man suffering,  and  human  sacrifices  were  necessary  in  the  tear- 
ful struggle  through  which  we  have  just  passed,  to  preserve  and 
perpetuate  the  liberties  which  our  fathers  purchased  with  their 
blood.  Weary  marches  in  the  burning  sun,  and  pelting  storm; 
beds  on  the  cold  ground,  hunger,  thirst,  privations,  suffering,  toil, 
hardships,  sickness,  danger  and  death — these  for  four  long  years 
were  a  part  of  the  price  which  was  paid  by  the  Union  Soldiers  for 
the  inestimable  blessings  of  liberty  which  we  now  enjoy.  If 
there  ever  was  a  country  and  a  cause  for  which  it  was  noble  to 
suffer  and  to  die,  it  was  the  cause  for  which  our  brave  Union  Sol- 
diers suffered  and  died.  Reverence  for  the  dead  is  one  of  the 
noblest  sentiments  of  the  human  heart,  and  especially  should  all 
true  Americans  cultivate  this  sentiment  for  the  memories  of  our 
brave  Union  Soldiers  who  toiled  and  suffered  for  us  and  who 
have  now  gone  to  their  final  account.  They  have  worked  out 
an  imperishable  immortality  and  of  earthly  glory  that  will  only 
grow  brighter  and  brighter  with  time.  Their  memories  can 
never  perish  so  long  as  the  love  of  liberty  shall  continue  to  glow 
in  a  human  heart  in  any  part  of  the  earth. 

They  have  the  gratitude  of  all  the  present  generation  who 
love  liberty,  their  country,  and  all  that  is  heroic,  noble,  sublime, 
and  redeeming  in  human  action  and  in  the  human  soul;  and  un- 
born millions  will  bless  them!  The  grave  of  every  brave 
Union  Soldier,  in  our  whole  land,  is  a  shrine  of  liberty ;  and 
there  are  over  three  hundred  thousand  of  them  dotted  all  over 
our  country.  Let  him  whose  patriotism  is  growing  cold,  go  to 
the  graves  of  Union  Soldiers,  and  there  inhale  afresh  the  sacred 
inspiration  of  Freedom.  He  will  there  find,  in  the  silent  in- 
spirations of  these  graves,  a  power  far  surpassing  any  eloquence 
of  the  human  tongue.  And  let  us  all,  this  beautiful,  quiet,  holy 
Sabbath  morning,  listen  to  the  silent  eloquence  of  these  graves 
around  which  we  have  assembled,  and  ourselves  breathe  in  anew, 
from  these  sacred  shrines,  the  holy  inspirations  of  Freedom! 

"  Give  me  the  death  of  those 

Who  for  tlieir  country  die ; 
And  oh,  be  mine  like  their  repose, 

As  cold  and  low  they  lie. 
Their  loveliest  mother  earth 

Enshrines  the  fallen  brave ; 
In  her  sweet  lap  who  gave  them  birth, 

They  find  a  tranquil  grave. 


048  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

After  a  dirge  by  the  band,  the  benediction  was  said  and  the 
large  crowd  assembled,  slowly  and  quietly  returned  to  their 
homes. 

AT  ST.  Louis,  MISSOURI. 

In  St.  Louis  the  weather  was  gloriously  propitious,  an  ac- 
ceptable breeze  aiding  to  cool  the  temperature  of  a  fine  sunny 
dav.  The  national  flags  floated  at  half-mast  from  our  public 
buildings,  and  as  2  o'clock  approached,  the  hour  appointed  for 
leaving  the  Iron  Mountain  Railway  station,  crowds  of  men,  wo- 
men and  children  were  seen  with  floral  burdens  wending  their 
way  to  the  train.  Twelve  large  cars  were  filled  with  interested 
parties,  and  no  accident  prevented  their  safe  arrival  at  the  Na- 
tional Cemetery  of  Jefferson  Barracks,  where  eleven  thousand 
one  hundred  and  fifty-three  fallen  soldiers  already  repose  in  their 
last  earthly  resting-places,  and  were  visited  on  Saturday  by  about 
two  thousand  loving  devotees.  Here  were  surviving  officers  of 
every  grade,  to  do  honor  to  the  men  with  whom  they  had  stood 
side  by  side  in  the  conflict  of  battle.  Here  were  companions  in 
arms  who  toiled  and  struggled  with  the  fallen  in  the  weary  inarch 
and  in  the  deadly»strnggle  of  musket  and  sabre.  Here  were 
parents  whose  hearts  were  desolated,  lovers  whose  light  of  life 
had  been  put  out,  and  brother's  and  sisters  who  cherish  the  memory 
of  the  lost  in  swelling  pride  for  their  deeds  of  self-sacrifice. 
Here,  too,  were  the  patient  nurses  of  the  Hospitals,  who  had 
watched  over  the  wounded  and  the  sick  in  many  an  hour  of 
sad  foreboding,  only  to  close  their  eyes  at  last  and  follow  their 
remains  to  the  home  of  all  the  living.  All  had  gathered  upon 
the  same  touching  errand,  to  leave  fragrant  blossoms  upon  their 
tombs,  as  memorials  of  reverential  love.  The  cemetery  is  de- 
lightfully situated  upon  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  from  which 
it  rises  to  .an  elevation  of  about  two  hundred  feet,  and  spreads 
put  in  undulating  variety  with  forest  trees  interspersed  at  sparse 
intervals,  or  clustering  in  beautiful  groves.  Towards  the  west- 
ern centre  boundary,  two  ponds  of  water  lend  variety  and  fresh- 
ness to  the  spot.  The  grounds  are  in  form  of  a  parallelogram, 
731  by  1200  feet,  and  contain  20£  acres.  About  1£  acres  was 
originally  the  cemetery  tor  the  barracks,  and  several  handsome 
monuments  and  headstones  mark  the  resting-place  of  officers 
and  soldiers  of  the  army  of  old  times,  with  members  of  their 
families.  Mr.  Geo.  W.  Long  is  the  present  Superintendent,  work- 
ing under  the  general  direction  of  Col.  C.  W.  Thomas.  Much 
progress  has  been  made  in  beautifying  and  adorning  the  locality, 
walks  and  driveways  are  laid  out,  and  partially  macadamized, 
and  a  strong  force  is  at  work  to  complete  it.  The  view  is  fine 


AT   THE    SOLDIERS     GRAVES. 

from  the  summit,  and  the  place  one  of  great  natural  attractive- 
ness. Besides  the  white  soldiers  interred  upon  the  grounds, 
there  are  sections  devoted  to  colored  soldiers  who  fell  in  the  ser- 
vice of  the  country,  rebel  soldiers  who  died  as  prisoners  of  war, 
and  the  children  of  refugees.  All  are  carefully  entered  on  suit- 
able records,  and  the  graves  so  marked  and  numbered  that  any 
remains  may  be  easily  and  certainly  indentified.  On  the  arrival 
<>f  the  train  at  the  cemetery,  the  visitors  were  received  by  Col. 
P.  C.  Hains,  the  commander  of  Jefferson  Barracks,  and  by 
<  '|>any  E  of  the  Engineer  Battalion,  officered  by  Captain  Jas. 
W.  Cuyler  and  Lieutenants  E.  A.  Woodruff  and  Jos.  B.  Quinn, 
all  in  full  dress  uniform.  The  company  of  about  fifty  rank  and 
file  was  drawn  up  in  line,  and  on  the  procession  being  formed, 
with  the  ladies  in  front,  the  military  escorted  the  visitors  up  the 
hill  to  the  speaker's  stand,  a  band  playing  appropriate  dirge 
music.  The  platform  was  erected  from  portions  of  a  pontoon 
bridge  that  had  seen  service,  and  located  upon  the  highest  point 
of  the  ground,  in  a  shady  place,  overlooking  the  river.  As  the 
audience  gathered  about  it,  Colonel  Ledergerber  called  the  as- 
sembly to  order,  and  announced  that  James  E.  Yeatman,  Esq., 
had  been  selected  to  preside  on  the  occasion.  Mr.  Yeatman  im- 
mediately took  the  chair,  and  thanking  the  visitors  for  the  honor 
done  him,  introduced  Rev.  Dr.  \V.  G.  Eliot  as  the  first  speak- 
er. Dr.  Eliot  spoke  as  follows: 

Fi  i.Low-CrnzENs :  We  are  here  to-day  to  perform  a  duty  of 
patriotism,  of  gratitude,  and  of  love.  There  have  been  some 
to  a>k,  li  What  use  is  in  it?  what  good  will  it  do  the  dead?"  As 
well  might  you  ask,  what  is  the  use  of  loving  each  other  at  all  ? 
When  love  ceases  to  pay  let  our  friends  be  forgotten.  When 
our  children  are  dead  bury  them  and  forget  them.  As  well 
might  you  ask,  what  is  the  use  of  gratitude  ?  If  you  cannot 
pay  for  a  service  forget  it,  blot  it  out,  and  forget  the  benefactor. 
.Measure  everything  by  profit  and  loss.  Let  your  hearts  be  as 
cold  as  stone,  and  never  have  any  emotion  upon  any  subject 
however  sacred,  however  personal,  until  you  know  how  much  it 
is  worth  at  the  market  price  !  We  answer  no  such  questions. 
We  are  here  because  our  hearts  led  us  here.  The  heartfelt 
gratitude  to  those  who  died  for  their  country  and  for  us  is  the 
least  tribute  we  can  pay,  and,  if  it  does  them  no  good,  it  will  do 
good  to  our  own  souls.  It  will  quicken  our  own  patriotism,  and 
perhaps  strengthen  us,  if  need  be,  for  the  faithful  performance 
of  our  own  duties  at  the  country's  call.  But  why  this  expense  ? 
Why  was  not  this  money  given  to  the  poor?  Why  not  show 
our  gratitude  to  the  dead  by  our  care  of  the  living?  So  in  the 
Sacred  Book  we  read  that  when  Mary,  whose  brother  had  been 


650  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 


raised  from  the  dead  to  live,  came  into  the  house  where  Jesus 
was,  with  an  alabaster  box  of  precious  ointment,  and  anointed 
his  head.  One  of  those  who  sat  with  him  said  :  "  Why  was  this 
waste  2  Whv  was  not  this  ointment  sold  and  given  to  the  poor  ?" 
But  who  was'it  that  asked  that  question  ?  Was  it  the  husband 
John?  Was  it  the  warm-hearted  Peter?  Was  it  James,  the 
brother  of  the  Lord  ?  No  ;  but  it  was  Judas  Iscariot.  He  was 
the  disinterested,  careful  man,  so  fearful  lest  the  money  should 
be  wasted.  The  history  may  teach  us  something.  And  it  may 
be  now  that  those  who  did  not  rejoice  at  the  victory  are  most 
ready  to  forget  the  martyred  dead,  by  whose  sacrifice  the  vic- 
tory was  won.  They  who  hated  the  cause  have  no  tears  for 
those  who  died  in  its  defence.  And  how  did  Jesus  answer  the 
complaint?  "Inasmuch  as  she  hath  done  it  for  me,  she  hath 
done  it  for  my  burial."  And  in  like  manner  we  would  bring 
our  humble  offerings  to  lay  upon  the  graves  of  our  dead,  and 
our  hearts  are  full  of  thanksgiving,  for  their  sakes,  while  we 
strew  their  lowly  beds  with  flowers.  The  widow  and  the  orphan 
—yes,  we  would  take  care  of  them,  and  we  acknowledge  the 
sacred  obligation  to  do  so,  as  long  as  we  have  a  crust  of  bread 
to  eat  or  a  cup  of  cold  water  to  share  with  them.  But  to  whom 
would  we  appeal  for  the  means  to  do  this  effectually?  To  the  cold- 
hearted  and  calculating  men  ?  or  to  you  whose  hearts  are  warm 
with  gratitude  ?  I  venture  to  say  that  more  money  may  be  ob- 
tained from  those  who  engage  with  us  in  this  day's  commemora- 
tion, from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other,  than  from  the 
united  wealth  of  all  who  find  fault  with  ns  for  so  doing.  The 
feature  that  interests  me  the  most  on  this  occasion  is  that  we 
have  come  to  commemorate  not  the  great  and  distinguished, 
but  the  common  soldiers  of  the  great  war ;  the  nameless  dead, 
who  are  by  a  thoughtless  world  so  apt  to  be  forgotten.  The 
leaders  of  a  cause  are  sure  to  be  remembered.  To  them  the 
monuments  rise.  To  them  the  nation's  thanks  are  sure  to  be 
given.  Great  and  glorious  names  they  are !  Reynolds,  and 
Schofield,  and  Sheridan,  and  Thomas,  and  Hancock,  and  Sher- 
man and  Grant,  and  the  time  would  fail  me  to  name  them  all. 
But  let  me  not  forget  him,  the  first — not  the  least — General 
Nathaniel  Lyon.  Great  and  glorious  names  they  are  !  Living 
may  they  always  be  honored,  and  dying  may  the  inheritance  of 
their  virtues  be  to  us  and  our  children.  But  this  day  is  espe- 
cially sacred  to  the  memory  of  those  who  in  lowlier  places  died 
an  equally  honorable  death.  By  hundreds  and  thousands  they 
came  from  their  peaceful  homes — from  the  plow-handles,  from 
the  work-bench,  from  colleges  and  schools — poor  men  who  had 
nothing  but  themselves  to  give.  And  they  came  cheerily,  as 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  651 

one  going  to  a  banquet,  to  offer  health  and  strength,  and  life 
itself,  lor  their  country's  salvation.  Of  that  glorious  martyr 
band  eleven  thousand  are  here  around  us  asleep.  "We  thank 
God  that  they  lived  to  do  their  work  so  well,  and  we  honor  our- 
selves by  honoring  them. 

An  offering  at  the  shrine  of  power, 

It  is  not  ours  to  bring; 
A  garland  on  the  car  of  pomp, 

Our  hands  shall  never  fling  ; 
Applauding  in  tlie  conqueror's  path, 

Our  voices  ne'er  shall  be; 
But  wo  have  hearts  to  honor  those  ' 

Who  made  our  country  free. 

.Praise  to  the  men,  the  lowly,  great, 

Who  made  us  w  hat  we  nre ; 
Who  lit  the  flame  which  yet  shall  glow 

With  radiance  brighter  far. 
Glory  to  them  in  coining  time, 

And  through  Eternity, 
Who  burst  the  captive's  galling  chains, 

And  made  our  country  free. 

Here  let  me  tell  you  an  incident  in  the  early  history  of  the 
war,  closely  connected  with  this  day's  commemoration.  Soon 
after  the  battle  near  Springfield,  Mo.,  a  soldier  from  Illinois, 
wounded  there,  was  brought  to  St.  Louis,  where  he  died  in  hos- 
pital, and  was  buried.  Ilis  friends  from  the  country — from  his 
country  home — came  down  to  disinter  his  remains,  and  carry 
them  hack  to  be  buried  among  his  kindred.  They  found  that 
he  had  been  placed  in  a  city  hospital  coffin,  buried  at  public 
charge  among  paupers  and  criminals,  without  name  or  record, 
so  that  they  were  unable  to  identify  his  body,  and  they  returned 
home  indignant,  and  sadly  disappointed.  From  that  painful 
incident  came  all  the  arrangements  subsequently  carried  out  for 
the  burial  of  our  dead.  For  when  the  facts  became  known  one 
of  our  own  citizens,  whose  presence  prevents  me  from  naming 
him  here — the  President  of  the  Western  Sanitary  Commission* — 
carried  the  facts  to  Major-Gen.  Fremont,  and  an  order  was  im- 
mediately obtained,  under  which  suitable  burial-grounds  were 
set  apart,  and  proper  arrangements  made  for  a  decent  burial  of 
every  one  who  died  in  our  hospitals  or  camps,  with  a  careful 
registry  of  name  and  date,  so  that  every  grave  is  distinctly 
marked,  and  the  remains  of  the  dead  can  be  certainly  identified. 
And  let  it  be  remembered  here,  that  this  was  the  first  order 
issued  in  the  whole  country  to  the  like  effect.  Congress  had  as 
yet  taken  no  action  on  the  subject,  and  no  array  regulation 

*Mr.  Jam 06  E.  Ycatman. 


652  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

fully  met  the  case.  .And  one  word  more  let  me  say,  for  I  love 
to  speak  well  of  those  who  have  been  unjustly  censured,  whether 
present  or  absent.  Among  all  the  commanding  Generals  in 
Missouri,  and  in  the  West,  there  was  never  one  who  paid  so 
much  attention  to  the  private  soldier  or  did  so  much  for  the 
sick  in  hospital,  or  to  provide  for  the  comfort  of  the  wounded 
on  the  battle-field  as-  John  C.  Fremont.  If  that  is  praise  it 
belongs  to  him,  and  no  small  part  of  it  belongs  to  her — Jessie 
Bentoii  Fremont — who  gave  her  personal  attention  to  the  suffer- 
ing soldiers,  visiting  them  in  hospital,  and  protecting  them  from 
neglect.  I  care  nothing  about  what  politicians  say,  nor  for  the 
strifes  of  parties  and  party  men,  but  I  speak  of  what  I  know ; 
and  I  believe  that  however  high  a  man  may  be  he  is  made 
higher  by  works  of  loyalty  and  love.  Look  now  over  this  field 
of  death.  It  is  God's  vineyard.  How  sad  a  record  of  suffering 
and  pain  preceded  that  obscure  burial !  Through  the  five  years 
of  fearful  strife  it  was  rny  duty  to  spend  many  hours  of  every 
day  among  the  sick  and  dying  in  the  hospitals,  and  among  them 
all  scarce  a  murmur  of  complaint  was  ever  heard  ;  no  word  of 
regret  that  they  had  enlisted  was  ever  spoken.  Some  men  will 
tell  you  they  fought  for  pay  or  the  love  of  strife.  I  tell  you, 
No  I  They  fought  for  freedom,  for  their  country,  for  the  Union, 
for  the  maintenance  of  law  and  order ;  for  the  nation's  safety 
and  for  God.  Let  them  be  freshly  remembered.  Scatter  flowers 
over  their  graves,  and  say,  God  bless  them  !  And  not  only 
those  who  lie  here,  but  all  over  the  land — many  of  them  in  un- 
known graves,  numbered  only  among  the  dead  and  missing — 
the  nameless  martyrs,  wherever  they  may  be.  On  the  battle- 
fields of  Virginia  or  Missouri,  buried  in  the  changing  sand-bars 
of  the  Western  rivers,  or  in  the  burial-grounds  of  the  accursed 
prison,  may  they  rest  in  peace. 

Flung  to  the  heedless  winds, 

Or  on  the  waters  cast, 
Their  ashes  shall  be  watched, 

And  gathered  up  at  last; 
And  from  that  scattered  dust, 

Around  us  and  abroad, 
Shall  spring  a  plenteous  seed 

For  freedom  and  for  God. 
To  save  the  nation's  life, 

They  gave  their  latest  breath  ; 
V»dn  was  the  rebel  boast 

Of  victory  in  their  death. 
Still,  still,  though  dead  they  speak, 

And  trumpet-tongued  proclaim, 
From  North  to  South,  from  East  to  West, 

Freedom,  in  God's  great  name. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  653 

Upon  the  close  of  Dr.  Eliot's  remarks,  Gen.  Carl  Scburz  was 
introduced,  and  spoke  as  follows ; 

MY  FRTEXDS  :  We  stand  here  among  eleven  thousand  sol- 
diers' graves — soldiers  who  received  their  wounds  on  the  rough 
edge  of  battle,  soldiers  who  sunk  down  under  the  burden  of 
fatigue  and  toil,  or  who  inhaled  the  fatal  breath  of  disease  from 
the  deadly  vapors  raised  by  the  Southern  sun,  or  amidst  the  in- 
human torments  of  captivity.  To  say  that  they  died  a  glorious 
death  would  be  saying  little,  for  the  same  is  said  of  those  who, 
following  -the  lead  of  vain  and  greedy  conquerors,  found  their 
graves  among  enslaved  nations,  slaves  themselves  to  the  selfish 
and  despotic  will  that  ruled  them.  For  our  dead  we  have  a 
higher  praise.  It  was  not  forced  obedience  to  the  command  of 
a  tyrant  that  dragged  them  from  their  homes ;  not  the  lust  of 
conquest,  nor  the  scarcely  nobler  thirst  for  glory.  "When  the  life 
of  the  nation  was  attempted,  when  the  cause  of  liberty  and  hu- 
man rights  called  for  their  aid,  they  rushed  forth  to  rally  under 
the  banner  they  loved,  with  grand  singleness  of  purpose  and  he- 
roic devotion,  leaving  house  and  home,  wife  and  child,  father 
and  mother — leaving  all  behind  them,  to  meet  toil  and  danger, 
hunger,  sickness,  wounds  and  death,  for  nothing  but  the  sublime 
satisfaction  of  doing  their  duty  to  their  country  and  to  mankind. 
Other  soldiers  have  fought  as  well  as  ours ;  but  proudly  may  we 
say,  that  no  soldier  ever  battled  with  more  unselfish  zeal  for  a 
nobler  cause  than  the  American  volunteer.  That  is  his  un- 
matched glory. 

Honor  to  those  who  returned  home  from  the  field  safe  and 
victorious!  Honor  to  them  !  But  they  have  already  received 
a  high  reward.  The  names  of  many  are  inscribed  upon  the 
rolls  of  renown,  and  all  are  left  to  rejoice  over  the  great  results 
of  their  struggles.  Theirs  is  the  happiness  to  read  the  praise  of 
their  sufferings  and  deeds  in  the  beaming  eyes  of  their  children. 
But  those  upon  whose  graves  we  stand  here,  and  many  thou- 
sands like  them,  have  gone  down  lonesome  and  nameless;  the 
hands  of  strangers  have  closed  their  eyelids,  and  most  of  them 
now  rest  forever,  far  away  from  those  to  whom  they  were  most 
dear.  Therefore,  you  have  come  here  to-day,  patriotic  men  and 
women,  to  adorn  these  mounds  with  the  offerings  of  your  affec- 
tion, of  gratitude,  and  to  prove  that  the  great  American  heart 
forgets  not  one  who  has  laid  down  his  life  that  the  republic 
might  live,  and  that  the  eternal  rights  of  human  nature  might 
be  safe. 

These  flowers  are  beautiful,  but  their  beauty  fades  over 
night.  To-morrow's  sun  will  wither  it.  What  would  this  offer- 
ing be  worth  if  the  spirit  which  brings  it  here  proved  as  perish- 


654  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

able  as  these  flowers?  If  we  could  forget  that  we  owe  a  higher 
duty  to  our  dead  than  the  mere  ornament  we  strew  upon  their 
graves?  Would  not  this  be  a  most  wanton  mockery,  if  our 
hearts  were  not  full  of  the  sacred  resolution  to  devote  our  lives  to 
that  tor  which  they  have  died  ?  We  shall  disgrace  their  mem- 
ories if  ever  we  prove  faithless  to  their  example. 

Then,  in  the  awful  presence  of  these  eleven  thousand  graves, 
let  us  pronounce  this  vow:  By  every  drop  of  blood  that  has 
been  shed  in  the  great  struggle ;  by  every  moan  and  sigh  of  the 
wounded  and  dying;  by  every  tear  that  has  moistened  the  pale 
cheek  of  mother,  widow  and  orphan ;  by  the  terrors  of  death 
that  swept  over  our  battle-fields  and  haunted  the  beds  of  agony 
in  our  hospitals — here  we  record  the  sacred  promise  that  these 
men  shall  not  have  died  in  vain  ;  that  no  prejudice  shall  move 
us  from  our  purpose ;  that  no  obstacle,  ever  so  formidable,  shall 
make  us  falter  in  our  resolve;  that  we  will  not  rest  until  we 
can  crown  their  graves  with  the  monument  of  the  final  victory 
of  the  right,  until  the  great  American  .Republic,  one  and  indi- 
visible, is  firmly  grounded  upon  impartial  justice  and  the  equal 
rights  of  all. 

Their  bodies  lie  mouldering  in  the  grave, 
Their  souls  are  marching  on! 

— Yes,  marching  on  with  the  van  of  the  grand  army  of  liberty, 
hovering  over  our  banners  as  they  advance  for  new  struggles, 
quickening  our  resolution  with  their  inspiring  presence,  striking 
confusion  into  the  hearts  of  our  enemies,  and  overwhelming 
those  who  have  proved  faithless  with  the  deep  damnation  of 
their  treachery.  So  we  will  march  on  together — on  and  on, 
united,  fearless,  irresistible,  until  the  grand  consummation  is 
reached,  so  that  when  we  lay  down  our  heads  mankind  may 
bless  us,  as  we  now  bless  those  who  have  preceded  us. 

This  is  the  offering  the  loyal  people  bring  to  the  soldiers' 
graves." 

The  Chairman  introduced  Mr.  Stanegel,  who  spoke  for  about 
ten  minutes  in  German,  to  the  great  acceptance  of  his  fellow- 
countrymen.  Dr.  Eliot  then  pronounced  the  final  prayer  and 
benediction : 

"  O,  most  merciful  God,  our  Father,  here  in  Thine  own  tem- 
ple, not  made  with  hands,  we  lift  up  our  hearts  to  Thee.  In 
the  midst  of  life  we  are  in  death.  To  whom  then  shall  we  seek 
for  succor  but  from  Thee  ?  O,  most  merciful  God,  we  thank 
Thee  for  all  the  faithfulness  of  those  whom  we  here  remember 
with  BO  much  gratitude  and  love,  who  gave  themselves  for  our 
country  and  for  us.  And  wilt  Thou  grant  that  the  sacrifice 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  655 

may  not  have  been  in  vain.  May  the  United  States  be  bound 
together  henceforth  and  forever  more  and  more  closely.  From 
North  to  South,  from  East  to  West,  may  we  all  come  together 
as  a  band  of  brothers,  knowing  that  we  have  but  one  interest, 
one  country,  one  God.  And  let  Thy  blessings  rest  upon  us  all 
now,  and  upon  these  loving  hearts  who  here  express  their  sym- 
pathy and  gratitude  for  the  departed ;  and  to  Thy  great  name 
we  render  thanks  and  praise  forever  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  May  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  love  of 
God,  and  the  communion  of  his  Spirit  be  with  us  forevermore. 
Amen." 

A  deputation  of  colored  people  were  in  attendance  to  pay 
their  tribute  to  the  dead  of  their  own  race.  Flowers  were  pro- 
vided for  them,  and  the  following  lines  were  handed  to  Col. 
Ledergerber  on  the  platform,  to  be  read  in  their  behalf,  but  the 
Chairman  had  announced  the  benediction  before  the  paper 
could  be  passed  to  him.  We  append  them,  as  appropriately  be- 
longing to  the  occasion : 

"  And  yon, 

"Whom  this  song  cannot  reach  with  its  transient  breath — 
Deaf  ears  that  are  stopped  with  the  brown  dust  of  death, 
Blind  eyes  that  are  dark  to  your  own  deathless  glory, 
Silenced  hearts  that  are  heedless  to  praise  murmured  o'er  ye — 
Sleep  deep!  sleep  in  peace  !  sleep  in  memory  ever  I 
Wrapt  each  eoul  in  the  deeds  of  its  deathless  endeavor, 
Till  that  great  final  Peace  shall  be  struck  through  the  world — 
Till  the  «tars  be  recalled  and  the  firmament  furled 
In  the  dawn  of  a  daylight  undying — until 
The  signal  of  Zion  be  seen  on  the  hill 
Of  the  Lord — when  the  /lay  of  the  battle  is  done, 
And  the  conflict  of  Time  by  Eternity  won !  " 

AT  WAUKESHA,  WISCONSIN. 

During  the  day  occasional  guns  were  fired,  and  flags  waved 
from  business  houses  and  private  dwellings'.  A  procession  was 
formed  at  the  Baptist  Church,  at  1  o'clock,  p.  M.,  under  the  di- 
rection of  Capt.  Farnham  and  Lieut.  Putney,  as  Marshals  of 
the  day.  The  procession  moved  through  the  principal  streets  of 
the  village  out  to  the  beautiful  cemetery.  Here  Capt.  E.  Enos, 
President  of  the  day,  addressed  the  gathered  people  as  follows : 

"  FELLOW-CITIZENS  :  We  are  assembled  in  this  city  of  the  dead 
for  the  purpose  of  doing  honor  to  the  memory  of  those  who 
sacrificed  their  lives  in  the  service  of  our  country.  We  come, 
bringing  with  us  evergreens  and  the  flowers  of  Spring,  to  de- 
corate their  graves.  It  is  fit  and  proper  that,  by  public  assem- 
bly of  loyal  people,  and  solemn  observance,  by  song  and  eulogy, 


656  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

we  commemorate  their  services  as  benefactors  of  mankind, 
extol  their  virtues,  and  render  thanksgiving  and  praise  to  God 
that  they  died  not  in  -vain,  if  we  remain  true  to  the  cause  for  which 
they  poured  out  their  life-blood.  We  are  here  to  bear  our  part 
in  these  manifestations  of  respect  and  gratitude  which  to-day 
go  universally  prevail  over  our  land. 

.hist  on  the  eve  of  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill;  the  youthful 
Warren  told  his  friends  that  he  had  determined  to  take  part  in 
the  coming  action  as  a  soldier  in  the  ranks.  Though  entitled, 
by  his  rank,  to  command,  he  had  resolved  that,  in  the  first  great 
battle  of  the  Revolution,  he  would  carry  and  use  a  musket. 
His  friends  remonstrated.  One  said  to  him,  u  As  surely  as  you 
go  there,  and  fight  in  the  ranks,  you  will  be  slain."  Warren 
replied,  with  enthusiasm,  "  dulce  et  decorum  est  pro  patria 
mori"  These  principles  were  sealed  with  his  blood.  He  fell 
on  that  bloody  field,  the  first  great  martyr  of  the  Revolution. 

In  yonder  grave  lie  the  remains  of  one  *  who,  eight  years 
ago,  in  the  full  flush  of  youth,  I  heard  address  a  public  assem- 
bly on  the  issues  then  before  the  people.  He  discussed  those 
issues  in  a  strain  of  unanswerable  logic  and  striking  eloquence. 
One  passage  of  that  oration  made  a  lasting  impression  upon  my 
mind,  and  memory  always  brings  it  form  whenever  I  think  of 
him.  It  was  substantially  in  these  words :  "  But  comes  to  us 
upon  ever}'  Southern  breeze  the  threat  that,  if  Abraham  Lincoln 
be  elected  President,  they  of  the  South  will  destroy  this  Gov- 
ernment ;  and  with  that  threat  comes  the  insulting  taunt,  that 
we  of  the  North  are  pusillanimous  cowards — that  one  Southern 
man  in  battle  is  more  than  a  match  for  three  Northern  men — 
that  there  is  not,  among  the  people'of  the  North,  patriotism  and 
bravery  enough  to  prevent  them  from  carrying  into  execution 
their  threats.  If,  after  Abraham  Lincoln  is  inaugurated  Presi- 
dent, they  attempt  to  make  good'  their  threat,  a  million  of  men 
will  respond  to  their  taunts  of  cowardice  and  want  of  patriot- 
ism, by  springing  to  arms,  and  inscribing  upon  their  banner  the 
words  of  the  immortal  Warren,  '  dulce  et  decorum  est  pro  patria 
inori.'1  '•  He,  too,  sealed  these  principles  with  his  youthful  blood. 
His  prophetic  words  were  more  than  fulfilled;  and  those  to 
whose  memory  we  are  this  day  paying  the  homage  of  grateful 
hearts,  did  go  forth  to  battle  for  their  country  with  these  senti- 
ments in  their  hearts ;  and  were  I  to  write  his  and  their  epitaph, 
I  would  inscribe  upon  their  tombstones,  "  dulce  ct  decorum  eat 
pro  patria  mori." 

At  the  close  of  his  remarks,  he  introduced  to  the  assem- 

*  Col.  S.  A.  Bean,  Fourth  Wisconsin  Infantry. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  657 

blage  Rev.  Mr.  Barnard,  who  offered  a  very  beautiful  prayer. 
A  touching  song  was  then  sung  by  the  "  Young  Vocalists,"  after 
which  an  address  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Rowe  was  delivered : 

SPEECH   OF   REV.    DR.    ROWE. 

FELLOW-CITIZENS  OF  THE  ARMIES  OF  THE  UNION  :  We  are  met 
here  to-day  at  the  graves  of  our  departed  heroes,  with  thirty 
millions  of  our  fellow-countrymen  all  over  the  empire,  on  a 
great  national  occasion.  The  object  that  assembles  and  unites 
us  is  dear  to  the  hearts  of  all  true  patriots.  We  are  here  to  do 
honor  to  the  names  and  memories  of  our  heroic  dead.  We 
come  to  adorn  their  graves ;  we  come  to  keep  green  in  our 
memories  the  history  of  their  noble  deeds ;  we  come  to  recall 
their  brave  defence,  even  unto  death,  of  this  beloved  and  imperiled 
Union — to  express  our  sense  of  gratitude  and  indebtedness  to 
them  for  the  peace  and  unbroken  nationality  we  now  enjoy,  and 
to  assure,  in  the  presence  of  their  sleeping  ashes,  their  weeping 
widows,  orphans,  and  bereaved  families,  that  their  deeds,  dar- 
ing, sacrifices,  and  sufferings  in  this  noble  cause  will  be  held  by 
us  in  everlasting  remembrance,  embalmed  in  our  love,  our  sym- 
pathies, and  our  tears. 

I  can  hardly  imagine  why  my  townsmen  have  put  this  honor 
upon  me  to-day,  unless  it  is  because  they  know  I  am  the  sol- 
dier's friend,  having  been  in  the  army  of  the  Union  myself,  and 
having  given  two  sons,  a  nephew,  and  brother,  to  this  cause — 
unless  it  be  that  they  know  1  can  well  sympathize  with  the 
deeds  and  the  sufferings  of  those  who  have  bared  their  breasts 
to  the  steel  and  the  bullets  of  the  foe,  as  I  have  stood  in  the 
line  of  battle  with  my  men,  have  seen  them  in  the  hospital, 
have  tended  them  when  wounded,  have  been  a  prisoner  with 
them  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and  have  buried  our  dead  in 
the  far-off,  inhospitable  cemeteries  of  the  South  ;  vindicating  the 
cause  in  which  they  willingly  laid  down  their  lives,  in  the  teeth 
and  under  the  frowns  of  their  indignant  adversaries. 

Yes,  fellow-citizens,  you  know  that  there  is  scarcely  one  field 
of  conflict,  of  success  or  revers'e,  where  the  regiments  of  Wis- 
consin or  Illinois  have  proved  their  manhood  and  purchased 
their  laurels  with  their  hearts'  blood,  on  which  I  have  not  stood 
and  marked  the  scenes  of  their  struggles — know  well  every  spot 
where  our  heroic  dead  fell,  their  faces  to  the  foe.  At  Antietam, 
where  Hinton  fell,  I  looked  on  as  a  prisoner  paroled,  almost  dis- 
tracted that  eight  thousand  of  us,  wickedly  sold,  were  unable  to 
lift  a  sword  or  discharge  a  gun  fro  aid  in  that  terrible  conflict. 
At  Donelson  and  Shiloh  I  passed  over  the  blood- drenched 
fields  where  our  raw  recruits,  fresh  from  their  quiet  homes^  per- 
42 


658  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

formed  deeds  of  incredible  valor  and  endurance.  In  fact,  from 
Hrlmont  to  Vick>lnirir  and  Port  Hudson,  where  the  gallant 
Colonel  Bean  laid  down  his  lite;  from  Memphis  to  Corinth, 
Nashville,  Franklin,  Chattanooga,  Chickamauga,  Lookout  Moun- 
tain, and  Missionary  Ridge,  every  scene  and  spot  is  familiar  to 
me,  down  to  Mohile,  Gaines,  Morgan,  Spanish,  and  Blakely, 
which  closed  the  conflict.  I  have  passed  over  the  whole  of  the 
W.-.-t.-rn,  and  maiiy  of  the  Potomac  and  Southern  fields,  and 
can  assure  you,  from  the  mouths  of  rebel  commanders,  as  well  as 
rank  and  file,  that  our  Western  troops  have  left  a  high  character 
engraved  in  the  scars  and  the  consciousness  of  their  bravest  and 
most  worthy  foes.  Perhaps  it  is  because  I  know  our  brave.  I 
know  our  brave  boys — what  they  did,  what  they  endured,  what 
they  suffered  in  their  horrid  prison-pens,  where  died  the  noble, 
pious,  honored  boy  of  my  Rev.  brother  Foote — that  I  am  placed 
m  this  honorable  position.  Perhaps  it  is  because,  not  content 
with  meeting  our  foes  in  the  field,  I  went,  in  1863,  to  Great 
Britain,  and  there  lectured  in  defence  of  the  North  and  the  War 
in  several  of  the  large  towns  and  cities  to  my  old  friends  and 
countrymen,  thus  contributing  my  quota  to  hinder  the  sailing 
of  the  two  vessels  fitted  out  at  Liverpool  and  Glasgow  to  prey 
upon  our  commerce,  and  thus  materially  aided  to  stop  the  war 
on  the  verge  of  breaking  out  between  us  and  England.  If  this 
interest  in  the  country,  the  Union,  and  the  armies  that  defended 
and  delivered  it  in  the  hour  of  its  peril,  be  a  passport  to  this 
honor,  then  the  place  is  honestly  mine  to-day,  and  I  accept  it 
with  thanks,  and  enter  upon  its  duties  heartily.  And  now  let 
me  say,  we  come  together,  not  like  heathen,  to  gloat  over  the 
havoc  our  brave  boys  made  of  their  foes,  the  injury  they  inflict- 
ed on  them,  their  country,  and  their  families  in  the  late  awful 
struggle ;  nor  are  we  here  at  their  graves  to  vow  eternal  re- 
venge and  enmity  to  the  cruel  authors  of  their  deaths  and  our 
own  bereavements  and  sorrows ;  but  as  Christians,  in  sorrow  to 
be  sure,  but  with  forgiving  hearts,  in  pity  for  the  misguided  fel- 
low-citizens who  made  this  fearful  attempt  to  destroy  our  LTnion 
and  break  up  our  nation.  We  are  here  to  adorn  their  graves — 
not  to  perpetuate  or  further  to  embitter  the  hostile  sections  and 
their  enmities,  but  to  bless  and  heal — to  express  our  readiness 
to  welcome  back  to  our  hearts,  homes,  and  franchises,  every  re- 
stored foe.  We  come  to  excite  each  other  to  devout  gratitude 
to  the  God  of  our  fathers  for  the  victories  He  enabled  their  sons 
to  achieve,  by  which  our  honor  and  our  country  were  saved  ; 
gratitude  to  God  that,  in  the 'darkest  hour  of  the  conflict,  He 
gave  us  such  leaders  as  Sheridan,  Sherman,  arid  Grant,  to  con- 
duct our  valorous  hosts  to  triumph  ;  gratitude  to  God,  who  gave 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        659 

to  our  people  such  indomitable  courage  in  battle,  and  such  a 
placable,  merciful  spirit  in  the  hour  of  victory,  to  forgive  their 
cruel  foes  and  brave  opponents,  and  welcome  them  back  to 
peace  and  Union.  And,  now  that  the  God  of  battles  has  de- 
cided forever  the  great  questions  which  agitated  and  alienated 
North  and  South  so  long,  we  may  become  stronger,  a  more 
united  and  prosperous  nation,  than  if  it  had  never  occurred. 
Our  mettle  as  well  as  our  principles  have  been  tried  and  proved 
by  this  terrible  war.  We  have  learned  mutual  respect ;  and  the 
white  heat  of  this  furnace  will  fuse  us  together  more  indissolubly 
than  before.  We  ought  especially  to  laud  and  magnify  our  God 
to-day,  that  the  struggle,  in  which  these  our  townsmen  fell,  has 
settled  for  all  time  the  great  question,  whether  entertained  on 
this  continent  or  in  Europe,  of  the  integrity  of  this  Union.  All 
on-lookers,  as  well  as  participants  in  our  conflict,  are  and  must 
be  fully  assured  that  so  genuine  has  been  our  patriotism,  so  vast 
our  sacrifices,  so  superhuman  our  efforts  to  maintain  our  national 
Union,  that  all  efforts  to  destroy  it  will  be,  in  the  future,  abor- 
tive. Our  expenditure  of  blood  and  treasure  are  well  repaid  by 
the  peaceful,  secure,  and  proud  position  our  nation  holds  to-day 
amid  the  first-rate  powers  of  earth.  Once  more  we  have  cause 
for  a  mournful  joy  in  this  resting-place  of  our  lamented  sons, 
brothers,  and  friends,  that  their  blood,  so  freely  shed,  has  washed 
out  from  our  national  flag  and  escutcheon  the  foul  stain  of 
American  slavery,  the  last  great  cause  of  internal  division, 
weakness,  and  external  reproach.  Justice  will  now  be  meted  out 
to  the  down-trodden  and  oppressed ;  freedom  is  national ;  our 
hands  are  washed  ;  our  constitution  and  character  are  redeemed. 
And  now  be  it  ours  to  maintain  with  unsullied  integrity  the 
honorable  position  gained  at  such  costly  sacrifices.  Young 
America,  self-asserting  and  somewhat  boastful,  has  now  become 
a  man.  He  has  gone  through  an  awful  process  to  attain  the 
position  now  freely  accorded  to  him  ;  let  him  keep  it  with  the 
sober  dignity  of  a  veteran  returning  from  the  well-fought  field. 
We  know,  by  costly  experience,  the  expense  of  war ;  let  us  be 
cautious  to  avoid  all  that  produces  it.  If  we  wish  others  to  re- 
spect us  and  our  rights,  let  us  be  careful  to  respect  them,  and 
thus  give  no  excuse  to  those  noisy  talkers  who  try  to  stir  up  ill- 
blood  between  peaceable  nations,  and  then,  like  vultures,  fatten 
on  the  spoil,  and  enrich  themselves  by  the  tears  and  woes  of 
their  victims.  We  can  now  live  in  peace  with  all  the  world  ; 
let  us  cultivate  the  arts  of  peace ;  let  us  develop  the  vast  re- 
sources of  our  country,  make  it  a  pleasant,  cultivated,  religious 
home  for  the  needy,  s'uifering,  liberty-loving  of  all  lands.  Let 
us  honor  God,  and  keep  His  Sabbaths  holy  ;  let  our  word  be  as 


660  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

reliable  as  our  bond ;  and  let  truth  and  integrity  in  business 
prt-vail  wherever  an  American  merchant  or  citizen  is  found. 

On  the  conclusion  of  Dr.  Rowe's  remarks,  the  decoration  of 
the  LMM\ v-  took  place,  after  which  the  company  again  assembled, 
whu;i  Rev.  Mr.  Foote,  who  lost  a  son  in  the  army,  was  called 
out.  and  made  the  following  touching  address  : 

It  tails  to  my  lot  to  offer  those  who  have  made  these  beauti- 
ful <>(}'< Tinirs  the  thanks  of  those  whose  loved  ones  here  lie  bu- 
ried. Eighteen  graves  of  the  noble  dead  in  this  cemetery  you 
have  honored  by  strewing  upon  them  the  flowers  of  affection. 
They  are  touching  mementoes  to  the  departed,  and  they  are  re- 
ceived by  many  stricken  hearts  here  to-day  with  peculiar  grati- 
tude. The  moistening  eyes  of  many  before  me  testify  to  this, 
and  are  more  eloquent  than  any  language  I  can  utter.  When  a 
beautiful  wreath  was  this  day  laid  upon  our  own  table,  as  a 
tribute  to  our  dear  boy-  who  died  for  his  country,  and  lies  buried 
in  an  unknown  grave,  the  tears  of  the  home-circle  gave  expres- 
sion to  the  emotions  of  the  heart,  and  we  blessed  the  hand  that 
brought  such  an  offering  to  our  "  loved  and  lost."  So  these 
parents,  and  wives,  and  children  feel,  as  they  view  your  offer- 
ings this  day.  No  act  of  yours  could  so  affect  our  hearts.  We 
would  not  dwell  upon  our  loss,  or  their  sacrifices.  They  have 
not  been  made  in  vain.  Again  from  our  heart  of  hearts  we 
thank  you  for  the  precious  mementoes  you  this  day  offer  to  the 
memory  of  our  departed  ones. 

The  "  Young  Vocalists "  again  favored  us  with  another 
patriotic  song,  after  which  the  benediction,  patriotic  and  elo- 
quent, was  pronounced  by  the  Rev.  George  Fellows. 

Ax  BERLIN,  WISCONSIN. 

The  announcement  that  the  members  of  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic  would  strew  flowers  on  the  graves  of  such  of 
their  comrades  as  lie  in  Oakwood  Cemetery,  drew  a  large  num- 
ber of  people  from  the  country,  while  hundreds  of  citizens  wit- 
nessed the  impressive  ceremony.  The  burial  of  Comrade  Wil- 
liam ^  Gardner  which  took  place  at  the  same  time,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Post,  added  solemnity  to  the  occasion.  The 
funeral  services  were  conducted  by  Rev.  Ira  D.  Clark,  at.  the  F. 
B.  Church,  commencing  at  half-past  12  o'clock.  The  procession 
trum  the  church  to  the  grave  was  large,  the  body  being  pre- 
ceded by  the  brass  and  martial  bands,  and  followed'  by  the°mera- 
bere  of  the  Post,  each  with  a  profusion  of  flowers,  and  a  long 
concourse  of  people,  in  carriages,  and  on  foot.  In  one  wagon 
we  noticed  a  banner  inscribed,  "  Our  Fallen  Heroes." 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  661 

After  depositing  the  remains  of  'their  comrade  in  their  last 
resting-place,  the  members,  in  procession,  visited  the  grave  of 
each  fallen  comrade  lying  in  the  cemetery,  and  each  member 
deposited  a  portion  of  his  memento  on  each  grave — Mr.  Vedder 
announcing  the  name  and  rank  of  the  comrade,  whom  they  thus 
remembered.  The  ceremony  being  over,  the  crowd  gathered  in 
a  central  spot,  and  were  addressed  successively  by  Colonels 
Bugh  and  Carleton,  Rev.  Messrs.  Clark  and  Bennett,  and  Rev. 
Capt.  Zickerick.  All  the  addresses  were  appropriate  and  full 
of  interest,  that  of  Rev.  Mr.  Bennett,  P.  E.,  being  especially  full 
of  interest.  Air.  Vedder  was  called  out,  and,  after  a  few  perti- 
nent remarks,  announced  that  one  year  from  that  day,  and  on 
each  succeeding  anniversary,  the  surviving  members  of  this 
Post  would  meet  here  for  this  purpose,  and  the  sympathizing 
.public  were  invited  to  be  present. 

AT  BEAVER  DAM,  WISCONSIN. 

At  8  o'clock,  A.  M.,  the  soldiers  assembled  at  their  Hall  on 
Front  street.  Every  one  was  furnished  with  an  appropriate 
badge  and  a  beautiful  bouquet  or  other  floral  device,  and  at 
half-past  8  they  formed  a  procession,  under  command  of  Col. 
A.  J.  McCoy,  P.  C.,  and  Leiut.  J.  H.  Douglas,  Post-Adjt.,  pre- 
ceded -by  the  Cornet  Band,  which  had  kindly  volunteered  to 
take  part  in  the  observance.  The  national  flag  was  borne  at 
halt-mast,  draped  in  mourning,  and  the  officers  of  the  Post  bore 
tiieir  side-arms.  The  procession  moved,  with  the  band  playing 
sacred  music,  and  accompanied  by  a  large  concourse  of  citizens, 
on  foot  and  in  vehicles.  On  arriving  at  the  cemetery,  the  col- 
umn of  soldiers  formed  in  open  order.  The  Chaplain  of  the 
.day  offered  an  appropriate  prayer,  the  band  playing  a  funeral 
dirge,  and  the  column,  preserving  its  line,  then  moved  from 
grave  to  grave,  until  each  one  had  received  its  memorial  of  floral 
offerings,  interspersed  with  appropriate  remarks  when  any  thing 
noteworthy  was  known  of  the  occupant's  military  record. 


U8T   OP   GRAVES. 


Lieut.  "Wm.  II.  Lander,  Adjt.  14th  Wis.  Inf. ;  was  aj 
Judge  Advocate,  Dept.  of  Ky.  and  Tenn.,  and  died  at  Nashville, 
of  dysentery,  in  1865.  Robt.  McLaughlin,  Co.  — ,  17th  Wis. 
Inf.  ;  was  burned  in  barracks  at  Camp  Randall,  Madison,  be- 
fore the  regiment  was  mustered  into  the  U.  S.  service;  was 
brought  home,  and  died  in  a  few  days,  in  1862.  Capt.  James 
Ordway,  Co.  D,  5th  Wis.  Inf. ;  killed  in  action  at  Rappahan- 
nock  Station,  Ya.,  Nov.  7,  1863,  while  bravely  leading  his  men 


662  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

over  the  enemy's  breastworks.  Lieut.  Kichard  Scovill,  Co.  D, 
5tli  Wis.  Inf.  ;  died  in  1865,  of  chronic  diarrhoea,  contracted  in 
a  forced  march  to  the  battle  of  Gettysburg.  Henry  Douglas, 
Go.  D.  5th  Wis.  Inf. ;  died  in  1862,  in  hospital  at  Philadelphia, 
of  typhoid  fever.  Benjamin  Faringer,  Co.  D,  oth  Wis.  Inf.  ; 
served  throughout  the  war,  was  five  times  wounded  in  battle, 
and  came-home  well  and  hearty  ;  he  was  instantly  killed  by  the 
accidental  discharge  of  a  gun  while  out  hunting,  in  1866.  Lieut. 
Thomas  R.  Stafford,  Co.  D,  5th  Wis.  Inf. ;  died  of  consumption, 
in  1865.  Wilkes  Crocker,  Co.  C,  1st  Wis.  Cav. ;  died  of  dis- 
ease, in  1866.  Eobinson  Bailey,  Co.  C,  1st  Wis.  Cav.  ;  died  of 
chronic  dfarrhoea,  in  1864.  Capt.  H.  D.  Patch,  Co.  C,  16th 
Wi>.  Inf.  ;  was  wounded,  and  contracted  diarrhoea,  at  the  battle 
of  Shiloh  (Pittsburg  Landing),  in  1862,  and  died  in  a  few  weeks 
after  the  battle.  Jesse  Hollingswofth,  Co.  H,  29th  Wis.  Inf.  ; 
died  of  chronic  diarrhoea,  at  Memphis,  in  1864.  E.  Reed,  Co. 
Iv.  1st  Wis.  Inf.  ;  was  killed  in  battle  at  Atlanta,  Ga.,  in  1864, 
and  his  remains  lie  on  the  battle-field  ;  his  name  and  record  are 
inscribed  on  a  cenotaph  over  the  grave  of  his  wife.  Robt.  Long- 
s-talf,  Co.  B,  1st  Wis.  Cav.  ;  died  in  1866,  of  inflammation  of 
the  lungs.  Win.  Blackman,  Co.  — ,  17th  Wis.  Inf. :  contracted 
chronic  diarrhoea  in  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  in  1862  ;  came  home, 
and  died  in  a  few  days.  Lieut.  Charles  A.  Searles,  Co.  G,  1st 
Wis  Inf. ;  killed  in  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  Sept.  19,  1863. 
Lieut.  Abel  Howard,  Co.  C,  1st  N.  Y.  Engineers;  died  of 
chronic  diarrhoea,  in  1865.  Korman  Evarts,  Co.  A,  98th  X.  Y. 
Inf. ;  died  of  consumption,  in  1867.  D.  S.  Thurston,  Co.  L,  1st 
Wis.  Cav. ;  died  of  typhoid  pneumonia,  in  1863. 

AT  RACINE,  WISCONSIN. 

A  large  number  of  the  citizens  repaired  to  Mound  Cemetery 
—  the  ladies  having  previously  prepared  bouquets,  wreaths,  and 
garlands  of  flowers— to  decorate  the  graves  of  those  noble  men 
who  laid  down  their  lives  that  the  nation  might  live.  The  ob- 
ject of  the  mustering  of  our  citizens  at  that  time  was  stated  by 
Colonel  Bartlett  in  a  few  appropriate  remarks,  after  which  Rev. 
W.  S.  Alexander  made  an  exceedingly  touching  and  eloquent 
prayer.  Rev.  A.  C.  Barry  followed  in  a  short  address,  full  of 
patriotism,  interspersed  with  some  of  the  painful  incidents  of 
the  late  war.  Very  appropriate  remarks  were  also  made  by  Col. 
J.  G.  McMynn  and  Mr.  H.  G.  Winslow.  During  the  interval, 
the  Racine  Glee  Club  came  in  with  their  sweetly-sung  odes  and 
songs,  adding  intensity  to  the  feelings  which  seemed  to  pervade 
the  audience. 


AT    THE    SOLDIERS     GRAVES.  663 

When  nil  the  graves  had  been  duly  visited,  the  column  again 
formed  in  open  order,  at  a  •*  parade  rest"  position,  and  Colonel 
McCoy  addressed  them  as  follows  : 

COMRADES  :  We  have  now  performed  the  sad  but  pleasing 


flag 

which  to-day  we  drape  in  mourning,  in  grateful  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  price  they  paid,  that  it  might  forever  wave  over  the 
entire  length  and  breadth  of  our  land.  The  lives  of  these  com- 
rades were  freely  laid  upon  their  country's  altar.  What  more 
could  they  bestow  ?  While  we  deck  the  last  resting-places  of 
tln.se  win)  lie  here,  let  us  not  forget  those  noble  comrades  who 
fell  on  the  battle-field  in  the  distant  South,  where  no  friend  will 
come  to-day  to  sprinkle  the  early  flowers  of  Spring  over  their 
heads.  Let  them  quietly  sleep  in  their  soldiers'  graves,  where 
they  bravely  fell.  Let  them  not  be  forgotten  by  us,  or  a  nation 
they  nobly  loved.  I  now  have  the  pleasure  of  introducing  to 
you  the  orator  of  the  day,  Comrade  Reid. 

MR.   H.   A.   REID'S   ADDRESS. 

COMRADES  OF  THE  GRAND  AKMY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC,  AND  LA- 

PIKS  AND  (iKMu  MI:X  :  We  are  assembled  here  on  this  beautiful 
Spring  morning  to  inaugurate  the  annual  ceremony  of  decorat- 
ing with  flowers,  and  memorials  of  fraternal  and  affectionate 
regard,  the  graves  of  those  who  served  in  the  National  army 
during  the  war  of  the  great  Rebellion.  And  though  no  relative 
or  friend  be  present,  and  though  even  the  name  be  not  known, 
the  grave  is  known  as  a  soldier's  grave,  and  will  be  marked  as 
such,  and  reverently  strewn  with  flowers  on  each  annual  return 
of  this  Memorial  Day.  Thousands  of  our  comrades  lie  moulder- 
ing in  the  wildernesses  and  waste  places  of  the  war-ravaged 
South,  and  thousands  of  them,  where  no  friendly  hand  will  ever 
strew  floral  offerings  upon  their  uncoffined  remains,  and  no 
friendly  eye  ever  come  to  drop  the  tear  of  sympathy  and  hal- 
lowed remembrance.  Yet,  my  comrades,  while  we  sprinkle 
these  few  graves  here  in  our  midst  with  this  fresh  and  living 
baptism  of  memorial  gratitude,  we  do  likewise,  in  our  hearts, 
hallow  the  grave  of  every  man,  wherever  he  fought  and  wher- 
ever he  fell,  of  whom  it  is  recorded  in  the  great  white  registry 
of  immortal  deeds,  that  he  periled  his  life  to  save  our  country — 
to  save  those  free  institutions  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  which 
are  proclaimed  in  our  national  Declaration  of  Independence,  and 
of  which  our  national  banner,  the  glorious  Stars  and  Stripes,  is 
the  perpetual  and  triumphant  symbol. 


664  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

The  Apostle  says,  "  Charity  hideth  a  multitude  of  sins." 
So  also  let  patriotism  cover,  as  with  a  radiant  mantle  of  light, 
all  human  frailties.  And  on  this  sad  yet  proud  memorial  day, 
let  the  one  noble  record  of  these  silent  sleepers — that  they  served 
our  country  in  her  hour  of  need — blot  out  from  our  human  re- 
membrance all  the  faults  and  foibles  of  their  lifetime,  leaving 
only  emblazoned  over  each  sleeper's  untimely  tomb,  and  there 
written  in  sweet  Spring  flowers,  the  alphabet  of  the  angels,  this 
thrilling  and  eloquent  epitaph,  "  He  was  a  Soldier  of  the  Re- 
public. War  is  no  part  of  our  business,  nor  of  the  nation's ; 
yet  it  is  wise  to  keep  alive  and  vigorous  the  spirit  of  patriotism. 
"  Eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of  liberty  ;  "  and  it  is  not  im- 
possible that,  in  the  future  as  in  the  past,  the  fair  goddess  of 
freedom  may  be  stricken  down,  and  her  starry  banner  trailed  in 
the  dust.  But  we  point  out  to  posterity,  through  this  memorial 
service,  the  bloodmarks  of  the  foulest  rebellion  that  blackens 
the  pages  of  a  thousand  years.  And  we  give,  year  by  year,  a 
fresh  reminder  that,  when  the  slave-power  raised  its  hideous 
black  hand  and  brandished  its  bloody  knife,  threatening  the  life 
of  the  nation,  a  million  of  freemen,  sturdy  sons  of  toil  and  in- 
dustry, left  their  peaceful  avocations,  and  leaped  into  bristling 
ranks  of  armed  soldiery  ;  and  every  sword  and  bayonet  was  the 
centering  point  of  high  resolve  to  save  the  nation,  and  hand 
down  her  free  institutions  to  all  future  time,  or  die  at  the  post 
of  duty  in  the  mighty  conflict.  Let  the  rising  generation  be 
thrilled  and  inspired  with  the  living  sentiment  of  this  great 
lesson  of  the  age,  and  be  imbued  with  its  spirit,  and  hand  it 
down,  renewing  and  renewed,  from  generation  to  generation  ; 
and  we,  who  still  survive,  can  join  our  comrades  in  the  silent 
tomb,  with  a  restful  trust  in  Almighty  God,  by  whose  gracious 
Providence  we  and  our  nation  exist — that  our  labors  and  sacri- 
fices, our  marches,  our  battles,  and  our  victories,  shall  not  have 
been  in.  vain. 

AT  KENOSHA,  WISCONSIN. 

A  little  after  3  o'clock,  a  procession  was  formed  on  Main 
street,  headed  with  martial  music,  and  under  the  supervision  of 
Col.  Lovell.  Capt.  Frantz  commanded  the  armed  Union  sol- 
diers ;  Capt.  Timme  took  charge  of  the  unarmed  soldiers  and 
citizens  ;  Capt.  Capron,  Marshal  of  the  Day.  In  the  meantime 
cannon  were  being  fired  at  intervals  on  the  Park.  The  pro- 
cession having  reached  the  Cemetery,  and  being  formed  in 
order,  Rev.  W.  T.  Smithett  delivered  'a  brief  and  eloquent  ora- 
tion, highly  appropriate  to  the  occasion — closing  this  part  of  the 
exercises  with  an  impressive  prayer ;  after  which  a  volley  was 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        665 

fin>(l  over  each  soldier's  grave  in  the  Cemetery,  in  succession, 
and  a  profusion  of  fragrant  flowers  were  strewn  upon  the  green 
sod  beneath  which  sleep  the  remains  of  the  dead. 


MR.   8MIT1IKTT  6   REMARKS. 


After  the  celebrated  battle  of  Marathon,  by  which  was 
secured  the  liberties  of  ancient  Greece,  and  in  which  was  struck 
tiie  first  blow,  by  the  Republic,  successfully,  in  arresting  the 
progress  of  Persian  tyranny  and  power — precursor  of  its  utter 
overthrow — Miltiades,  the  victorious  Athenian  commander  there 
was  rewarded  by  being  represented  in  the  front  of  a  picture  sur- 
rounded by  his  generals  and  animating  his  troops  by  look  and 
gesture  to  fight  with  courage  and  intrepidity.  This  was  the 
only  honor  paid  to  the  hero  for  his  splendid  achievement — the 
only  public  recognition  of  his  valuable  services  to  the  State. 
To  other  statesmen  and  patriots  of  that  day  the  Senate  of 
Athens  had  decreed  the  highest  honors,  and  columns  of  marble 
were  raised  to  immortalize  their  virtues,  to  proclaim  their  cour- 
age and  devotion,  and  to  recognize  and  commemorate  their 
public  services  to  the  grateful  commonwealth.  But  with  the 
jealousy  and  caprice  characteristic  of  the  ancient  Republics, 
these  enduring  memorials  were  destined  soon  to  perish — at  the 
end  of  a  single  generation  they  were  cast  down  and  destroyed 
us  the  wave  of  political  feeling  rolled  back  and  the  tide  of  popu- 
larity turned — as  the  hero  and  patriot  became  the  victim  of 
public  ingratitude  and  scorn,  and  ostracized  by  enemies,  were 
driven  into  exile  or  condemned  to  a  traitor's  death.  The  monu- 
mental memorial  by  legal  statute  was  overthrown,  and  every 
mark  of  honor  religiously  obliterated.  Not  so  in  Athens  with 
the  memory  of  Miltiades.  The  simple  picture  remained  there 
from  age  to  age.  and  its  beautiful  story  of  lofty  patriotism  was 
handed  down  from  generation  to  generation,  telling  of  its  hero's 
worth  and  prowess,  even  when  he  was  groaning  in  a  dungeon, 
as  the  victim  of  popular  fury,  and  under  condemnation  of  death. 
So,  by  parity  of  reasoning,  with  our  work  to-day,  and  what  this 
record  of  tlie  patriotic  past  serves  to  illustrate.  These  monu- 
mental tablets  by  which  we  are  surrounded  will  fall  to  ruin  and 
crumble  into  dust,  but  this  simple  tribute  of  affection  we  now 
otter  in  memoriam  to  the  honored  dead,  with  its  priceless  lesson 
for  God  and  country  graven  deep  in  the  hearts  of  a  grateful 
people,  will  live  on  from  generation  to  generation,  in  imperish- 
able freshness  and  unimpaired  vigor.  When  the  red  hand  of 
treason  was  raised  to  strike  the  flag,  and  the  demon  of  rebellion 
wafl  loosed  o'er  the  land,  the  spirits  of  these  noble  dead  around 
us  were  roused  to  do  and  die  for  the  sacred  cause.  They  went 


606  MEMORIAL   CEREMONIES 

forth  as  the  tocsin  of  war  sounded  from  hill  to  vale,  and  echoed 
hack  airain  from  sea  to  sea.  There,  beneath  the  green  sod, 
mouldc'rimr  in  the  dust,  is  the  fruit  of  their  devotion — and  there 
in  v.'nder^banner  proudly  floating  over  us,  "  with  not  a  stripe 
filaced,"  and  every  star  undimmed,  is  the  price  of  their  blood 
— the  reward  of  their  labors.  To  their  memory  we  owe  this 
<h-!>r  of  gratitude,  this  simple  recognition  of  their  services,  the 
offering  of  patriotic  hearts  to  the  memory  of  the  patriot  brave. 
And  we  coine  to-day,  not  only  to  garnish  their  sepulchres,  but 
to  remember  and  celebrate  their  deeds,  to  proclaim  their  disin- 
terested virtue,  their  sacrificing  devotion  to  the  world.  And 
what  are  the  lessons  of  the  hour — the  teachings  of  this  sad  and 
solemn,  and  yet  beautifully  touching  occasion  fi  To  sympathize 
with  the  bereaved  ones,  to  make  the  widow  and  orphan,  the 
children  of  the  Republic,  the  honored  charge  of  a  common 
country — to  stand  by,  succor  and  protect  them,  as  their  lost 
ones  bravely  rallied  around  our  imperilled  nationality,  and  in 
life  and  in  death  defended  the  nation's  symbol  from  desecration 
— the  glorious  old  flag,  and  so  secured  to  us  and  our  children,  an 
inheritance  of  peace  to  the  latest  generation.  And  that  other 
lesson — the  precious  boon  they  have  so  secured — how  ought  we 
to  value  and  treasure,  how  ought  we  to  love  and  preserve  it ! 
Redeemed  from  shame  by  the  blood  of  so  many  thousands,  how 
pure  and  stainless  ought  we  to  maintain  its  honor  among  the 
nations,  and  make  our  land  a  praise,  a  joy  and  an  excellency  in 
the  world.  With  a  God -given  destiny,  for  who  dares  dispute  or 
question  the  recognition  of  the  hand  of  heaven  in  all  the  past, 
let  us  live,  as  a  people,  for  the  elevation  of  the  race,  for  the 
happiness  of  a  common  humanit}7,  and  for  the  enfranchisement 
of  the  nations  of  the  earth.  Never,  with  such  an  experience  in 
the  past,  and  such  glorious  hopes  in  the  future — never  let  it  be 
recorded  in  the  hand-writing  of  God  upon  the  page  of  our  his- 
tory— Mene,  mene,  tekel,  upharsin — "Weighed  in  the  balance 
and  found  wanting."  We  come  here  then,  to-day,  as  we  honor 
the  memory  of  these  martyred  dead,  to  renew  our  patriotic 
vows— to  plight  our  strength  and  faith  in  the  mission  and 
permanency  of  the  Republic,  and  to  resolve,  God  helping  us, 
that  it  shall  be  a  Union,  indissoluble  and  forever.  In  one  of 
Cicero's  celebrated  orations  against  the  traitor  Catiline,  the  fol- 
lowing sentiment  occurs  :  "  If  to  Romulus  was  decreed  divine 
honor*  because  he  founded  the  city,  what  honor  shall  ^e  decreed 
to  him  who  saved  and  preserved  the  city  ? "  As  then  we  shower 
these  peerless  beauties  of  nature  around  the  graves  of  the  de- 
parted, who  have  bled  and  died  to  preserve  our  institutions  and 
save  us  a  country,  let  this  be  our  sentiment— this  our  high 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        667 

resolve,  that  to  them,  under  God,  we  accord  the  highest  honors, 
the  richest  meed  of  praise.  But  this  is  not  all.  The  fathers 
have  founded  the  Republic,  and  have  committed  to  us  the  trust 
to  preserve  and  keep,  if  necessary,  to  save,  the  Republic.  This 
is  our  work,  our  mission.  In  the  hour  of  the  perilous  past  these 
have  done  their  duty,  have  fulfilled  their  obligations.  In  the 
oncoming  future,  when  need  arises,  American  fellow-citizen, 
Go,  and  do  thou  likewise." 

AT  DETROIT,  MICHIGAN. 

In  Detroit  little  was  done  until  Wednesday,  May  27.  An 
energetic  committee  then  set  to  work  and  perfected  some  hur- 
ried arrangements.  On  Saturday  afternoon  the  ceremonies  took 
place.  The  morning  dawned  cold  and  threatening,  but  in  the 
afternoon  the  prospect  brightened  and  the  weather  was  delightful. 
It  then  seemed  as  though  the  drenching  rains  of  the  preceding  day 
had  washed  oft'  the  adieus  of  flowery  May  and  revealed  the  de- 
licious greetings  of  the  laughing  month  of  June.  Elmwood, 
ever  picturesquely  beautiful  in  spring-time,  was  resplendent  with 
luxuriant  verdure. 

Over  the  entrance  to  the  Cemetery  an  arch  of  evergreens 
had  been  erected,  from  the  centre  of  which  was  suspended  a 
wreath,  composed  of  evergreens,  white  lilies,  chromotella,  and 
lamarque  roses.  To  the  left  of  the  gateway,  inside  the  ceme- 
tery, several  tiers  of  seats  had  been  erected  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  the  band  from  Fort  Wayne.  Directly  opposite  the  en- 
trance the  speaker's  stand  was  erected.  Several  national  flags, 
surmounted  by  a  stuffed  eagle,  formed  the  background,  while  in 
front  of  the  rostrum  was  tastefully  arranged  a  number  of  rare 
and  costly  plants,  among  which  were  two  large  specimens  of  the 
cactus,  the  California  pine,  century  plant,  lilies  of  different 
varieties,  etc.  Several  seats  for  ladies  were  placed  opposite 
those  of  the  band. 

By  2  o'clock  a  large  concourse  of  people  had  assembled,  and, 
half  an  hour  later,  as  the  orator  of  the  occasion,  the  Hon.  Theo. 
Romeyn,  entered  the  grounds,  the  band  struck  up  a  solemn,  in- 
strumental piece,  after  which  they  played  the  national  anthem 
"  America,"  which  was  immediately  afterward  sung  by  a  choir 
composed  of  the  Philharmonic  Society.  Col.  Phelps,  the  chair- 
man, then  rose,  and  said : 

COMRADES,  FELLOW-CITIZENS,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN:  It  is 
meet,  right,  and  our  proper  duty  at  all  times  to  confess  our  de- 
pendence upon  the  Almighty  God.  We  will  now  be  led  in  our 
intercessions  at  a  Throne  of  Grace  by  the  Rev.  Chaplain  Seage. 


668  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Allow  me  to  say  that  Chaplain  Seage  bears  marks  of  honorable  - 
service.     I  can  bear  testimony  to  the  zeal  and  faithfulness  of  the 
chaplains  of  our  army.     Among  the  faithful  I  have  the  pleasure 
of  introducing  to  you,  and  who  will  lead  us  in  our  devotions, 
the  Ilev.  Chaplain  Seage. 

After  a  fervent  prayer  by  Mr.  Seage,  who  was  chaplain  of  the 
Fourth  Michigan,  Col.  Phelps  again  rose  and  said  :  That  it  was 
due  to  the  speaker,  and  to  the  committee,  to  state  that  the  cere- 
monies had  been  inaugurated  since  Wednesday  last,  therefore 
they  had  had  little  time  to  prepare.  A  little  incident  which 
occurred  on  Friday  afternoon  had  thrilled  his  heart.  A  little 
girl  had  brought  a  bouquet  to  comrade  Sheley,  and  presenting 
it,  said  :  "  Mrs.  Sheley,  my  mother,  has  sent  this.  It  is  all  she 
has  got."  The  gallant  colonel  closed,  by  saying  :  "  Allow  me  to 
introduce  to  you  the  orator  of  the  occasion,  the  soldiers'  friend — 
the  Hon.  Theodore  Romeyn." 

Mr.  Romeyn  then  rose  and  spoke  as  follows  : 
"  Less  than  one-third  of  the  average  life  of  a  single  genera- 
tion has  passed  since  we  were  called  to  arms  to  defend  the 
nation's  honor  and  life.  History  will  tell  how  Michigan  re- 
sponded to  that  call.  She  sent  to  the  conflict  more  than  90,000 
of  her  sons.  They  went  forth  with  unbroken  ranks,  in  the  full- 
ness of  strength  and  hope.  Of  these,  more  than  13,000  died  on 
the  battle-field,  or  from  wounds  and  sickness.  Many  lie  in  un- 
traceable  localities.  The  resting-place  of  others  are  marked  and 
known.  It  is  proposed  that,  on  this  day,  these  graves  be  visited 
and  decorated  by  those  who  loved  their  tenants  in  life  and  who 
honor  them  in  death.  For  this  purpose  we  are  met  in  this  place 
of  quiet  beauty,  consecrated  to  most  of  us  by  thoughts  of  the 
kindred  and  friends  that  lie  in  its  bosom.  Our  arrangements 
for  this  city  could  not  embrace  more  than  this  locality.  But  it 
is  not  to  be  forgotten  that  it  is  proposed  everywhere  through 
the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  that  patriotic  men  and 
women  will,  on  this  day,  visit  the  graves  of  our  soldiers,  and 
"  deck  the  turf  that  wraps  their  clay."  In  the  flush  of  the  per- 
fect beauty  of  full  spring-time,  while  the  verdure  of  tree  and 
grass  is  unstained,  and  the  bloom  or' flowers  is  nnfacled,  we  have 
gathered  some  of  these  to  place  upon  the  graves  of  our  heroes  as 
tokens  of  our  remembrance  of  them.  The  offering  is  simple, 
but  it  is  appropriate.  God  has  given  us  flowers  to  gratify  our 
sense  of  beauty.  They  grow  in  the  wilderness  and  on  the  wide 
prairie,  as  well  as  in  the  garden  and  on  the  lawn.  Their  fra- 
grance, their  bright  hues,  their  graceful  forms,  waken  and  reiine 
our  tastes.  Jewels  of  nature,  they  are  sweet  adornments  on  all 
occasions — at  the  feast  and  the  funeral,  at  the  bridal  and  the 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        669 

burial.  They  fade  and  pass  away,  as  do  all  earthly  things,  for 
time  sweeps  the  column  from  the  tomb  as  certainly  and  resist- 
lessly  as  it  does  the  flower  from  its  stem  or  the  leaf  from  the 
tree.  But  their  bestowal  betokens  kindly  regard  and  tender 
recollection.  And  in  this  spirit  we  have  come  this  day  on 
this  occasion.  Our  dead  fell  for  their  country.  They  died  for 
her  and  for  us.  The  cause  which  led  them  to  leave  friends  and 
home  and  give  their  lives,  was  to  save  the  very  life  of  the  nation. 
Not  in  vain  did  they  live  ;  not  in  vain  have  they  died.  Though 
dead,  they  speak.  They  will  ever  live  in  history — not  as  indi- 
viduals, but  as  the  patriot  soldiers  and  sailors,  who,  without  dis- 
tinction of  party,  enlisted  and  fought  together  in  the  common 
cause  of  the  assailed  and.  perilled  Constitution  and  integrity  of 
their  country,  constituting,  in  truth,  the  '  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic.' 

The  monument  at  the  Pass  of  Thermopylae  bore  the  inscrip- 
tion, '  Go,  stranger,  and  tell  at  Lacedsemon  that  we  died  for 
our  country,  and  in  obedience  to  her  laws."  The  memory  of 
the  heroic  deeds  and  of  the  heroic  men  lives  in  immortal  green- 
ness, though  the  names  have  not  been  recorded.  And  so  will  it 
be  with  our  heroes,  though  they  have  passed  from  our  sight. 

'  The  muffled  drum's  sad  roll  has  beat 

The  soldier's  last  tattoo; 
No  more  on  life's  parade  shall  meet 
The  brave,  but  fallen,  few. 

On  Fame's  eternal  camping  ground 

Their  .silent  tents  nre  spread, 
And  Glory  guards  with  solemn  round 

The  bivouac  of  the  dead! ' 

Friends,  let  us  remember  that  for  every  added  burial-stone 
there  is  a  vacant  chair  at  the  hearthstone;  and  that,  pleasing 
and  grateful  as  our  attention  to  the  memory  of  their  dead  may 
be  to  the  bereaved,  there  is  a  higher  duty — to  visit  the  fatherless 
and  the  widows  in  their  affliction,  and  by  our  aid,  if  that  be 
needed — by  our  sympathy  in  all  cases — to  sustain  and  cheer 
them.  Let  them  remember  that  there  is  consolation  in  the 
respect  and  gratitude  that  attach  to  the  memory  of  the  fallen 
brave ;  and  that  a  better  heritage  than  lands  or  money  will  be 
the  pride  of  being  connected  by  ties  of  kindred  with  the 
men  who  fought  and  won  the  great  battle  for  the  preservation 
of  the  Union^  Let  all  of  us  show  that  we  appreciate  the  im- 
portance of  the  principles  involved  in  the  conflict,  and  the  value 
of  the  triumph ;  and  let  us  strive  as  brethren — differing  as  to 
means,  when  we  do  differ,  honestly  and  with  kindly  feeling — to 


670  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

secure  the  substantial  results  of  the  objects  for  which  our  heroes 
fought  and  fell — a  vindicated  Constitution,  a  purified  and  con-- 
firmed Union,  and  the  restoration  of  fraternal  feeling  through 
all  the  extent  of  the  truly  United  States." 

On  the  conclusion  of  the  address  the  band  played  a  dirge, 
and  meantime  the  citizens  visited  the  graves  to  bestrew  the 
flowers.  The  chief  point  of  interest  was  the  plot  where  seventy 
or  more  soldiers  are  buried.  The  graves  were  linked  together 
with  evergreens,  and  bedecked  with  lilies  and  other  flowers. 
Only  two  ladies  assisted  the  committee  in  the  delicate  oflice  of 
decoration.  While  the  citizens  were  surrounding  the  hallowed 
spot,  the  sun  broke  forth  and  smiled  upon  the  scene.  Until  late 
in  the  afternoon  the  visitors  lingered  in  the  sacred  precincts,  and 
it  was  nightfall  before  the  cemetery  had  resumed  its  wonted 
quietude. 

AT  MARSHALL,  MICHIGAN. 

The  procession  formed  at  the  Court  House,  at  half-past  ten 
A.  M.,  in  the  order  as  announced.  The  Marshall  Cornet  Band 
led  the  way,  discoursing  appropriate  music.  A  delegation  of 
Marshall  Commandery  of  Knights  Templar  (Masonic),  mounted, 
acted  as  escort.  Deluge  and  Liberty  fire  companies,  and  a  dele- 
gation of  Masons,  were  prominent  in  the  procession.  Following 
the  civic  societies,  a  long  parade  of  carriages  occupied  the  place 
assigned  to  citizens.  Nearly  one  hundred  vehicles  were  in  the 
procession. 

Upon  entering  the  cemetery,  the  band  played  the  beautiful 
air,  "  Come,  ye  Disconsolate"  and  the  procession  filed  in  and 
assembled  around  the  stand.  The  exercises  were  as  follows : 

1.  Music.  2.  Prayer  by  the  chaplain,  Rev.  H.  A.  Read. 
3.  Music.  4.  Address  by  the  orator,  J.  C.  Patterson. 

ADDRES8   OF  ME.    PATTERSON. 

ME.  PRESIDENT,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  :  We  have  met,  in 
this  consecrated  spot,  to  honor  our  country's  dead.  Many  yre 
mouldering  far  from  home — a  few  lie  here  with  their  kindred ; 
and  while  we  scatter  garlands  over  these,  may  patriot  hands 
decorate  those  distant  graves.  It  is  befitting  on  this,  the  anni- 
versary of  the  great  decisive  battle  of  the  rebellion,  to  offer 
some  tribute  to  the  martyrs  of  our  Union,  and  to  estimate  the 
importance  of  their  achievements. 

The  destiny  of  Athens  was  determined  on  the  plain  of  Mara- 
thon. Miltiades,  with  his  few  Athenians,  checked  the  invading 
Persians,  turned  their  advance  into  a  retreat,  and  not  only 
Athens,  but  the  independence  of  all  Greece  was  secure.  At  the 
battle  of  Waterloo,  the  destiny  of  Europe  was  in  the  scale. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  671 

( Waterloo  is  the  hinge  of  the  nineteenth  century.'  The  disap- 
pearance of  Xapoleon  was  necessary  for  the  advent  of  the  great 
century  and  the  peace  of  the  continent.  His  dictatorship  was 
ended,"  his  conquests  ceased,  the  cause  of  liberty  triumphed,  and 
a  new  era  dawned  upon  Europe.  At  the  battle  of  Gettysburg^ 
the  destiny  of  America,  the  success  of  the  Republican  form  of 
government,  were  in  the  balance.  Three  long  days  our  gallant 
soldiers,  champions  of  freedom,  fought  the  desperate  foe  ;  three 
anxious  days  the  momentous  issues  oscillated  in  the  balance ; 
but,  at  the  close  of  the  third  day — just  five  years  ago  to-day — 
our  destiny  was  sealed,  the  Confederates  were  driven  back  in 
dismay,  the  backbone  of  the  rebellion  was  broken,  its  destruction 
decreed,  Philadelphia  and  Washington  were  safe,  the  Union  was 
secured,  and  liberty  triumphant ! 

The  destinies  of  nations  and  ages  are  often  decided  in  a  day. 
Who  can  estimate  the  results  of  decisive  battles  between  con- 
flicting armies  and  opposing  ideas?  In  the  Punic  wars,  had 
Carthage  been  successful,  instead  of  her  rival,  Rome,  the  im- 
perial city  would  have  been  razed  to  its  foundations,  the  theatre 
of  civilization  would  have  been  shifted  from  Europe  to  Africa, 
and  the  history  of  the  whole  world  would  have  been  changed. 
Had  the  Persians  been  victorious  at  Marathon,  Athens  would 
have  fallen,  and  the  world  would  never  have  known  the  classic 
glory  of  Greece.  Had  Napoleon  triumphed  at  Waterloo,  the 
thrones  of  Europe  would  have  been  shaken,  and  the  balance  of 
power  lost.  And  had  the  Confederates  been  victorious  at  Get- 
tysburg, and  the  rebellion  triumphant,  "the  Government  of  the 
people,  by  the  people,  and  for  the  people,"  would  have  perished 
from  the  earth,  our  nation  would  have  been  blotted  out,  liberty 
would  have  died,  and  the  history  of  all  succeeding  ages  been  re- 
volutionized !  Such  were  the  calamities  averted  by  the  gallant 
men  whom  we  have  met  to  honor.  It  becomes  us,  as  de-voted 
citizens,  on  this  historic  day,  to  repair  to  the  silent  city  of  the 
dead,  and  strew  the  graves  of  our  fallen  soldiers  with  choicest 
flowers  ;  and,  chanting  grateful  peans,  shed  the  tears  of  patriotic 
remembrance,  and  thank  God  for  such  noble  men,  martyrs  for 
freedom,  who  sutfered  that  posterity  might  rejoice,  who  blcd^ 
that  liberty  might  be  perpetual,  who  died,  that  our  country 
might  live  !  It  would  be  base  ingratitude,  dastardly  meanness, 
to  pass  them  by  unnoticed,  and  consign  their  deeds  and  their 
memories  to  the  cold  waters  of  oblivion. 

AVhen  the  fearful  prelude  of  civil  war  was  sounded,  and  the 
guns  upon  Sumter  announced  to  the  world  that  the  old  flag 
had  been  insulted,  these  valiant  men,  loving  their  country,  ana 
kindred  or  comrade,  alone,  entered  the  chilly  flood  !  Some 


MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 


appreciating  the  worth  of 


' 


geneations  and 
ident  ised 


let  and  home  m  response  to  the  1 


finished;  the  divine  H^Bitog  to  the  stars, 

his  sublime  researches,  hw  tele^Pe  ™  cPatl  fit  the  anguish 
and  hastened  to  the  conflict  What  pen  *  *  &  i}  bade 
of  these  brave  hearts,  as  th  ough  ^  hen  g  d  thejr  little 
their  dear  ones  a  ^W  ^od-bye^whU  ^>  ^  tiiro  hout 

ones,  as  if  they  would  take  a  look  toat  wot  that  could 

eternity  !     What  tongue  can  de  ^ciibe  the  .  p  ^  the  ^ 

nerve  the  heart  to  sunder  ^£*£*£  and  /  will  go  !" 
old  flag,  and  exclaimed  .  ^  '  count  i  j  ,  A  d  cho  re. 
How  often  was  the  parting  ^SSforS-timel  The  regi- 

peated!     ^^^-S^^S^Kj   by    u£ 

mental   colors   have   le  orneo,   i  firgt     rondly 

battles,  borne^  by  a  ,few  of  ^b^ve   bojs  ^  ^  ^ 

carried  them  into  the  tie  Id  Lj^SSS-  from  foul  malaria 

return!    .Some  diec    in  the  gloomj  ^o  JP       »       d    unattended 

"ndWdtfin   tlfe^e  prison-pen,  iVom  neglect  and 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  673 

.starvation;  taunted  by  their  captors,  and  demented  by  their 
sufferings  !  Some  fell  on  the  "  dead  line,"  seeking  a  breath  of 
pure  air,  or  a  ray  of  God's  sunlight!  Some  fell  on  the  field  of 
battle,  facing  the  foe,  while  the  clashing  of  arms,  the  groans  of 
the  wounded,  the  terrific  moan  of  the  dying  War-horse,  the 
whistling  ball  and  the  cannon's  roar,  sounded  the  requiem  to 
their  departing  spirits.  Oh  !  the  sacrifices  made  !  Oh  !  the 
sufferings  experienced  !  Oh  !  the  agonies  endured  for  country 
and  humanity  ! 

Never  did  a  soldier  fight  for  a  nobler  end,  bleed  for  a 
grander  idea,  or  die  for  a  better  cause.  On  the  field  of  Gettys- 
burg no  new  issue  was  contested.  It  was  the  same  old  conflict 
that  has  been  waged  in  all  nations  and  in  all  ages.  "  History 
repeats  itself."  The  same  spirit  of  oppressive  oligarchy  has 
often  deluged  the  nations  in  blood.  It  was  the  irrepressible 
conflict  of  antagonistic  principles.  It  was  the  mad  effort  of 
the  minority  to  rule  or  ruin  the  majority.  It  was  the  marshal- 
ing of  treason  against  loyalty,  of  aristocracy  against  democracy, 
of  slavery  against  freedom.  The  rebels  received  the  sympathy 
of  the  world's  despots  ;  the  Union  cause,  the  sympathy  and 
prayers  of  every  lover  of  liberty.  Tyranny  desired  to  crush, 
humanity  to  sustain  our  Government.  The  Confederates  sought 
to  destroy  theTJnion,  and  to  raze  this  grand  temple  of  liberty — 
the  refuge  of  the  oppressed, — to  its  foundation.  But  their  cause 
was  tried  before  the  Infinite,  and  their  FAILURK  DECREED. 
Under  the  blessing  of  God,  our  soldiers  have  demonstrated  to 
the  world  that  our  Union  is  not  a  rope  of  sand,  that  the  Repub- 
lican form  of  Government  is  not  a  failure ;  that  our  Govern- 
ment has  strength  to  put  down  mighty  rebellions,  and  that  the 
people  are  capable  of  governing  themselves.  All  honor,  then, 
to  our  soldiers,  who  fought,  with  more  than  Spartan  bravery, 
the  wicked  forces  of  disunion,  who  saved  the  Republic  and  lib- 
erated a  race  ! 

On  the  third  day  of  July,  1776,  ninety-two  years  ago  to-day, 
the  Continental  Congress  at  Philadelphia  was  perfecting  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  the  great  Magna  Charta  of  our 
liberties,  which  was  proclaimed  to  the  world  on  the  day  follow- 
ing. Five  years  ago  to-day,  at  Gettysburg,  the  sons  of  those 
revolutionary  fathers,  amid  metallic  hail  of  shot  and  shell,  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet  maintained  the  very  principles  of  justice 
and  liberty  that  the  pen  of  Jefferson  had  announced  nearly  a 
century  before,  and  again  proclaimed  them  to  the  world.  These 
principles  were  tried  in  the  fiery  crucible  of  rebellion,  and  they 
came  forth  with  a  renewed  lustre,  and  never  before  were  we  so 
free  a  people  as  to-day. 
43 


674  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

The  Declaration  of  Independence  again  triumphed.  The 
bitter  cost  of  that  triumph  is  attested  by  countless  graves,  scat- 
tered all  over  our  land,  and  by  the  bleeding  hearts  of  unnum- 
bered kindred.  And  while  we  weave  the  chaplet  of  flowers  and 
strew  the  graves  before  us,  let  us  not  forget  those  who  are  slum- 
bering beneath  the  orange  groves  and  the  magnolia  trees  of  the 
South,  nor  those  who  were  denied  Christian  burial,  and  whose 
bones  are  bleaching  beneath  the  Southern  sky.  Heroes  all! 
OUR  COUNTRY'S  GALLANT  DEAD  !  Let  us  cherish  their  memories 
and  treasure  up  their  deeds  !  Let  us  gather  their  ashes  into  the 
urn  of  immortality,  and  write  every  name  on  the  national  roll 
of  honor !  Our  country's  soil  gives  them  all  sepulture.  They 
sleep  beneath  the  stripes  and  stars,  revered  by  a  race  freed  from 
bondage,  and  the  liberty-loving  masses  of  the  whole  world. 

"Each  soldier's  name 

Shall  shine  untarnished  on  the  roll  of  Fame, 
And  stand  the  example  of  each  distant  age, 
And  add  new  lustre  to  the  historic  page." 

The  weary  march,  the  lonely  watch,  the  gloomy  hospital,  the 
bloody  field,  and  the  horrible  prison,  all  prove  the  devoted  pat- 
riotism and  heroism  of  our  soldiers.  On  many  a  missive  sent 
to  friends,  on  many  a  musket  was  it  engraved  as  the  soldier's 
motto,  ^  Dulce  estpro  patria  mori"  and  how  many  brave  boys, 
in  the  embrace  of  death,  repeated  that  sentiment,  "  It  is  sweet 
to  die  for  our  country  ! "  It  is  said  the  swan,  when  dying,  utters 
its  sweetest  notes.  Thus,  the  Union  soldier  in  his  expiring 
breath,  utters  the  purest,  noblest  sentiment  of  exalted  patriotism. 

Ancient  history  regards  the  retreat  of  the  ten  thousand 
Greeks  under  Xenophon  as  a  great  military  success,  but  how 
much  greater  was  the  advance  of  Sherman  from  Atlanta  to  the 
Bea !  Ancient  times  can  boast  of  many  wonderful  cavalry  con- 
flicts, but  how  much  grander  was  the  dashing  exploit  of  Sheri- 
dan in  the  Shenandoah,  when  he  sent  the  enemy  whirling 
through  the  Valley!  Ancient  history  looks  upon  the  battje  of 
Salamis  as  a  sublime  naval  achievement ;  but  when  Farragut, 
lashed  to  the  topmast  of  his  flagship,  passed  the  guns  of  the 
enemy,  how  much  sublimer  the  achievement !  In  ancient  bat- 
tles, no  Minie  rifle  sent  the  missile  of  death,  no  rifled  cannon 
hurled  the  irresistible  shot,  no  mortars,  volcano-like,  belched 
forth  the  destructive  shell,  and  no  monster  iron-clad  lit  up  the 
waters  with  its  fiery  breath.  The  great  rebellion,  the  conflict  in 
which  our  heroes  fell,  was  the  sublimest  contest  the  world  ever 
witnessed.  The  world  never  before  saw  such  engines  of  war, 
and,  what  is  grander  still,  the  world  never  saw  so  much  iutelli- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  675 

gence,  so  much  culture,  and  so  much  refinement  marshalled 
together  on  the  field  of  battle.  The  Union  army  contained 
America's  choicest  spirits  and  noblest  sons. 

"  Go,  strangers,  and  tell  at  Lacedaemou  that  we  died  for  oiir 
country,  and  in  obedience  to  her  laws,"  was  inscribed  on  the 
rocks  at  Thermopylae,  to  commemorate  the  deeds  of  Leonidas 
and  his  three  hundred  Spartans,  who  fell  so  bravely  at  that  fatal 
JM-S.  Though  the  deeds  of  our  three  hundred  thousand  fallen 
heroes  may  not  be  engraved  on  granite,  yet  they  have  reared 
monuments  to  their  memories  more  enduring  than  brass.  They 
have  stamped  their  impress  on  the  tablets  of  progress,  and  their 
influence  on  the  civilization  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

The  heroism  of  Leonidas  was  often  surpassed  by  these  brave 
men.  When  a  regiment  of  Michigan  Cavalry  was  near  Pitts- 
burg  Landing,  in  an  ambuscade  of  rebels,  a  young  lad  was  taken 
prisoner.  Said  they  to  him,  "Now,  we  have  you  ;  if  you  shout 
or  raise  any  alarm,  we  will  shoot  you.  Silence,  till  they  come 
here,  and  we  will  capture  them."  "  Silence  ! "  said  he,  scorn- 
fully, and,  turning  toward  his  unsuspecting  comrades,  he  shouted 
at  the  top  of  his  voice,  "  BOYS,  THE  REBELS  ARE  HERE  ! "  and 
quick  as  lightning  a  score  of  rebel  bullets  were  buried  in  his 
heart.  "  Better  die  than  betray,"  was  his  motto.  The  alarm 
was  given,  and  his  regiment  was  saved.  He  died!  and  a  nobler, 
braver  patriot  never  jell.  This  is  but  one  of  the  countless  inci- 
dents of  lofty  courage  exercised,  and  self-sacrifice  made  by  our 
patriot  dead.  Words  are  incompetent  to  describe  their  heroic 
virtues.  Numbers  are  inadequate  to  estimate  the  value  of  their 
gallant  services,  and  the  importance  of  their  victories.  How 
weak  and  how  insipid  are  our  most  expressive  tributes  to  their 
memory ! 

As  tempests  and  tornadoes  in  the  physical  world  remove 
malaria  and  purity  the  air,  so,  in  the  political  world,  does  agita- 
tion ventilate  wrongs  and  lead  to  reform.  Our  country  has 
passed  through  the  whirlwind  of  rebellion,  her  strength  has  been 
tried,  her  patriotism  tested,  the  cankering  curse  of  slavery  re- 
moved, and  she  has  made  a  half  century's  progress  in  the  last 
decade.  "  Eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of  liberty,"  union,  and 
country.  To-day,  as  we  assemble  with  the  stripes  and  stars 
floating  over  every  inch  of  American  soil,  the  republic  safe,  the 
Union  preserved,  the  nation  free;  let  us  remember  the  cost  of 
these  blessings.  The  lives  of  three  hundred  thousand  of  Ame- 
rica's noblest  sons,  and  the  limbs  of  as  many  more,  paid  the 
price.  Our  country  owes  them  a  debt  of  gratitude  that  can 
never  be  paid,  and  this  is  the  only  national  debt  that  she  can 
not  pay. 


MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 


In  former  times  to  be  a 
highest  honor.     But,  now, 
of  Christian   civilizati™ 
greater  honor.     k'The 
clean  age  of  Greece ; 


• 


s  a 

'  tlie  Peri' 
A 


for  America 


ready  to 


e  the  birds  will 


the  homes  made  desolate  ,  am   maj  ;bli     the  Union  and 


an  kle  Thegr^  idea  of  liberty 
Was  desperate.  The  nat.on's  te«t 
sympathy  did  all  in  its  power  to  rel  .e%e  i 
andfchriitian  Comm.ss.ons  alienated  nntold 
women  did  their  part  nobly.  1  Ley  t™  ted, 
fered,  that  humanity,  in.ghtrejmce.  Wher 
were  bringing  their  j 


• 

American 
^^ 

Eome 
d  f       the 

two  sons  A  the 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  G77 

of  patriotism,  as  her  own  hands  filled  the  knapsack  and  from  her 
heart  gushed  the  earnest  God-speed.  Cheerfully  did  phe  send 
her  sons  forth,  following  them  through  the  dangers  and  tempta- 
tions of  the  camp,  the  battle-field  and  prison,  with  a  mother's 
agonizing  prayer.  In  view  of  such  patriotism,  and  such  sacri- 
iices,  can  we  doubt  that  our  flag  shall  forever  wave  in  triumph  ? 
To-day,  though  the  march  is  ended,  the  camp  has  di.vippeared,  the 
hospital  is  closed,  the  din  of  battle  is  hushed,  and  the  prison  pen 
is  empty,  the  same  Christian  mother  brings  her  offering  to 
the  altar  of  country,  honoring  the  fallen  soldier  with  her  tears 
of  remembrance,  and  with  woman's  devotion,  strewing  his 
grave  with  choicest  flowers.  And  as  each  spring-time  comes  and 
goes,  as  the  flowers  are  fresh  and  fragrant  in  vernal  beauty  ;  so 
forever  fresh  and  vernal  be  the  memory  of  the  brave  boys, 
who,  in  the  hour  of  death,  thought  of  mother  and  country,  and, 
from  cold  and  dying  lips,  sent  back  the  message — "  Tell  my 
mother,  I  die  happy  !  "  "  It  is  sweet,  to  die  for  country  !  " 

There  is,  in  every  human  heart,  a  natural  desire  to  be  re- 
membered. At  the  bloody  battle  of  Jena,  Napoleon  saw  a 
faithful  plume  go  down  in  his  body-guard.  He  hurried  to  the 
wounded  soldier  and  asked  him  how  he  could  minister  to  his 
wants.  The  veteran  of  many  battles,  while  his  heart's  blood 
oozed  from  a  mortal  wound,  requested  in  his  expiring  breath, 
that  his  name  might  never  be  stricken  from  the  muster-roll  of 
t!ie  old  body-guard,  but  at  roll-call  a  sergeant  might  respond  to 
his  name.  " u  He  fell  at  Jena!"  The  soldier's  request  was 
granted,  and  ever  after  when  the  muster-roll  of  the  body-guard 
was  called,  a  sergeant  responded,  "  He  fell  at  Jena." 

Thus,  fellow-citizens,  let  not  the  names  of  our  gallant  dead  be 
stricken  from  the  muster-roll  of  the  Nation's  body-guard,  but  a" 
every  roll-call  let  the  grateful  sergeant  of  memory,  with  un- 
covered head,  salute  the  flag  and  respond,  They  fell  in  ili'fjrea^ 
conflict !  They  fell  at  their  post !  Martyrs  to  Freedo  <  /  t  > 
whom  all  posterity  and  all  ages  shall  be  indebted! 

*  "All  honor  to  the  fallen  brave! 

"With  lofty  paeans  greet ttie  dead! 
Let  garlands  wreathe  each  lowly  grave  1 

Let  laurel  crown  each  honored  head! 
'Mid  slmt,  and  shell,  and  sabre  stroke, 

They  bore  our  colors  through  the  strife, 
'Till  stricken,  'add  the  battle  smoke, 

They  died  to  save  our  country"1*  life ! 

Though  nngry  skies  in  blackness  bent, 
And  shook  the  shrinking  world  in  wrath ; 

*  Written  for  the  occasion,  by  Mrs.  J.  C.  PATTERSON. 


678  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Though  lurid  lightnings  madly  spent  , 

Their  unchained  fury  in  their  path, 
Through  wilderness  of  woven  pine, 

Through  slimy  pool,  and  tangled  hriar, 
They  marched  in  brave,  unbroken  line, 

Or  sunk  beneath  the  clogging  mire  1 

O'er  scorching  rocks  that  cut  their  feet, 

In  hospital  and  prison-pen, 
Some  sank  with  hunger,  thirst,  and  heat, 

But  died,  no  less  like  Patriot-men. 
Though  spices  may  not  wrap  our  dead, 

Nor  lofty  pyramid  arise, 
Where  justice  triumphed  while  they  bled, 

Their  names  breathe  incense  to  the  skies  I 

Dust  may  return  to  dust,"  but  deep 

Within  the  hearts  of  Freedom's  sons, 
Embalmed  forever,  Love  shall  keep 

The  memory  of  these  faithful  ones ! 
And  coining  time  shall  swell  our  lays, 

And  weave  new  laurels  for  each  head; 
While  grateful  freemen  shout  the  praise,     . 

And  glory  of  COLUMBIA'S  DEAD." 

"With  the  conclusion  of  the  address  the  procession  re-formed 
and  marched  to  the  Catholic  Cemetery,  where  is  buried  Dennis 
Cronin,  a  member  of  the  20th  Infantry,  whose  grave  was  strewn 
with  flowers.  The  Chaplain  then  pronounced  a  benediction,  and 
the  procession  then  returned  to  the  city  and  disbanded. 

AT    COLDWATER,    MICHIGAN. 

A  procession  of  over  a  mile  in  length  formed  at  the  Court 
House  Square  at  the  appointed  time,  and,  headed  by  the  Cold- 
water  Brass  Band,  proceeded  to  the  Cemetery,  where  the  order 
of  exercises  were:  First,  a  dirge  by  the  band,  followed  by  a 
touching  prayer  by  Rev.  Mr.  Porter,  after  which  the  Quartette 
Club,  consisting  of  Misses  Mason  and  Andrews,  Messrs.  Conkling 
and  Huffstadder,  sang  a  beautiful  and  appropriate  piece  of 
music.  Then  came  the  eloquent  and  instructive  address  by  J. 
H.  McGrowan,  which  was  followed  with  sweet  and  solemn  an- 
dante by  the  band.  The  next  in  order  was  the  solemn  exercise 
of  strewing  the  graves  with  flowers,  Dr.  Beech  giving  a  brief 
sketch  of  all  whose  history  he  could  learn,  and  closing  with  some 
eloquent  remarks  on  the  bravery  and  fidelity  of  all.  After  a 
few  remarks  from  Rev.  J.  W.  Ray,  the  Quartette  Club  sang 
that  excellent  piece  of  music  entitled,  "  Wrap  the  Flag  around 
me,  Boys,"  the  exercises  closing  with  a  benediction  by  Rev.  E. 
Curtis. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        679 


BEMAEK8   OF   DE.    J.    H.    BEECH. 


FELLOW-SOLDIERS  AND  CITIZENS:  It  is  not  simply  convenient 
that  we  commence  our  mournful  jet  honorable  and  pleasant 
duties  here,  but  it  is  a  fitting  tribute  to  the  first  independent 
military  organization  in  the  State  which  offered  itself  to  the 
"  General  Government "  to  redeem  the  stars  and  stripes  from 
the  insolence  of  treason. 

1.  Capt.  G.  W.  Yanpelt,  Co.  A,  1st  Mich.  Artillery,  who 
was  killed  whilst  commanding  his  battery  at  the  battle  of 
Chickamanga.  This  brave,  cheerful,  and  zealous  officer  having 
won,  in  an  unusual  degree,  the  affections  of  all  who  knew  him, 
and  golden  honors  in  every  position  which  he  was  called  upon 
to  fill,  fell  a  costly  offering  for  the  perpetuity  of  the  Union.  2. 
Peter  Budawa,  also  1st  Michigan  Artillery.  He  shared  dangers 
with  the  gallant  Captain  Vanpelt,  let  him  share  in  our  feeble 
tribute  of  respect.  3.  Luther  S.  Millard,  1st  Mich.  Infantry, 
killed  in,  that  memorable  struggle  against  greatly  superior  force, 
at  Gaines  Mills,  Ya.,  July  22J  1862.  4.  Here  lies  Captain  B. 
F.  Knappen,  Co.  B,  44th  111.  Vol.  Infantry,  and  commanding 
officer  of  that  regiment.  This  brave  young  officer,  mortally 
stricken  at  the  inhospitable  Kenosaw  Mountain,  was  a  most 
honorable  member  of  the  community  and  a  true  patriot.  He 
expired  on  the  4th  day  of  July — a  fitting  day  of  glory  for  a  sol- 
dier's spirit  to  be  set  at  liberty.  Himself  and  his  brother,  Albert 

5.  Knappen,  Co.  C,  llth  Mich.  Infantry,  who  died  at  Louisville, 
Ky.,  and  whose  remains  lie  by  his  side,  to  share  in  our  evidences 
of  esteem,  were  sons  whom  a  parent  may  feel  proud  to  embalm 
in  our  country's  history.     5.  Captain  J.  L.  Hackstaff,  llth  Mich. 
Infantry.     How  well  might  this  gifted  member  of  a  most  pat- 
riotic profession  have  claimed  that  the  pen  and  the  press  were 
the  weapons  of  his  warfare.     But  his  was  a  practical  patriotism ; 
seeing  that  the  rebellion  could  not  be  quelled  by  reasoning,  his 
"  good  right  arm  "  seized  the  sword  for  the  wager  offeree.     Let 
the  sweet  incense  of  flowers  and  of  praise  arise  to  his  memory. 

6.  As  we  approach  the  resting-place  of  the  earthly  remains  of 
Colonel  Henry  C.  Gilbert,  of  the  19th  Michigan  Volunteers,  I 
am  more  than  ever  impressed  with  the  feeling  that  my  words 
cannot  do  justice  to  the  sentiments  of  our  hearts.     Endowed 
with  energy  and  industry  by  far  too  exhausting  for  any  human 
organism,  he  had  before  the  irruption  of  the  rebellion  so  im- 
paired his  health  that  he  conside'red  himself  unfit  for  military 
duties.     When,  however,  it  became  apparent  that  the  whole 
patriotic  force  of  the  country  might  be  required  to  subdue  our 
malignant  foe,  he  could  no  longer  yield  to  the  claims  of  aged 


C80  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

and  enfeebled  parents,  nor  his  own  cherished  household,  but  left 
all,  to  be  numbered  with  that  "300,000  more."  His  quick  per- 
ceptions enabled  him  hastily  to  transform  the  star  of  the  forum 
to  a  leader  of  battles;  but  before  time  and  experience  had  ripen- 
ed the  enthusiasm  of  his  nature,  he  was  immolated  upon  the  altar 
of  Liberty.  "Whilst  leading  his  regiment  in  a  desperate  charge 
upon  a  rebel  stronghold  atResaca,  in  the  State  of  Georgia,  May 
15,  1864,  he  received  the  fatal  wound  of  which  he  died  at  Chat- 
tanooga, Tenn.,  May  24,  1864,  exhibiting  at  the  last  characteris- 
tic mental  vigor  and  activity.  As  a  friend  he  was  devoted  and 
firm,  but  never  flattered  ;  as  a  citizen  his  influence  was  always 
on  the  side  of  order  and  enlightened  liberality. 

In  domestic  relations  his  kindness  of  heart  smoothed  away 
what  might  have  seemed  asperities  in  his  ardent  nature.  Let 
bright  flowers  shine  upon  his  resting-place,  and  vesper-stirred 
evergreens  murmur  his  praise.  7.  Clark  W.  Criter,  Co.  D,  1st 
Mich  Artillery.  8.  Edwin  F.  Moore,  Battery  G,  1st  Mich.  Ar- 
tillery. War  works  its  unrelenting  mischief  by  privations,  ex- 
haustion and  disease,  with  no  less  certainty  than  by  its  mangled 
limbs  and  carnage.  The  worthy  boy  wrhose  remains  lie  beneath 
this  stone  performed  the  duties  assigned  to  him  at  the  battle  of 
Rogersville,  Ky.,  on  the  29th  of  August,  1862,  with  bravery 
and  alacrity  beyond  his  endurance ;  came  home  soon  after  by 
the  advice  and  assistance  of  an  officer  who  knew  him  well  j  but 
feeling  that  he  could  rot  remain  there  whilst  his  comrades  were 
facing  dangers,  started  for  the  army  against  the  remonstrances 
of  his  friends,  still  suffering  unmistakable  symptoms  of  inflam- 
mation of  the  brain.  He  was  soon  returned,  a  sad  evidence  of 
the  fatal  tendencies  of  a  disease  which  he  had  striven  to  conceal 
and  determined  to  disregard.  Let  sweet  flowers  cover  the  body 
which  briefly  outlived  the  noble  mind  that  once  inspired  it.  9. 
Charles  H.  Robinson,  llth  Mich.  Cavalry,  died  at  Lexington, 
Ky.  I  will  here  mention  the  name  of  a  comrade  of  this  soldier 
whose  mortal  remains  are  buried  at  Lexington,  Ky.,  but  whose 
grave  we  are  assured  by  letter  will  to-day  be  decorated  with 
floral  wreaths  woven  by  the  hands  of  strangers — I  refer  to  Smith 
Tibbits,also  of  the  llth  Mich.  Cavalry.  10  and  12.  J.  S.  Conk- 
ling,  44th  111.  ;  Fred.  Cutler,  llth  Mich.  Volunteers,  whose 
homes  were  but  a  few  rods  from  here,  have  answered  their  last 
"  roll-call,"  and  their  memories  should  be  precious  to  every  citi- 
zen and  soldier.  11.  Jeremiah  Yan  Kleek  Cudner,  Battery  A, 
1st  Mich.  Artillery.  A  native  of  Duchess  County,  New  York. 
He  was  a  noble  boy,  brave  and  generous  to  a  fault.  13.  Solo- 
mon Holbeu,  Battery  D,  1st  Mich.  Artillery,  died  at  Murfrees- 
boro,  Teen.  Flowers  distributed  by  his  sister.  14.  David  R. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.         681 

Leonard,  Co.  I,  49th  Ohio  Veteran  Volunteers.  15.  Charles 
Conrad,  9th  Mich.  Volunteers.  Captain  Mansfield  scatters 
flowers  upon  his  grave.  16.  Westlev  Preston,  Co.  M.  llth 
Mich.  Cavalry.  17.  George  Myers.  A  veteran  of  the  German 
army,  was  prompt  to  join  the  army  of  his  adopted  country,  al- 
though 50  years  old.  18.  Byron  E.'  Bates,  Co.  C,  8th  New  York 
Heavy  Artillery,  died  in  Salisbury*  Prison,  N.  C.,  January  7, 
1865, — a  victim  of  one  of  the  most  horrid  peculiarities  of  this 
unprecedented  outbreak  of  treason.  19.  Lieut.-Col.  J.  S. 
Hodges,  44th  Indiana  Volunteer  Infantry,  whose  brave  heart 
encountered  the  dangers  of  nine  different  battles.  How  feeble 
will  be  our  best  attempts  to  do  him  honor.  By  his  side  lie  the 
remains  of  his  brother,  George  H.  Hodges,  Co.  B,  20th  111. 
Infantry,  who,  as  the  representative  of  a  most  noble  regiment, 
deserves  additional  honors.  20.  Captain  Ebenezer  Butterworth, 
Co.  C,  1st  Mich.  Infantry,  mortally  wounded  at  the  first  battle 
of  Bull  Run,  Va.,  July  21st,  1861.  This  gifted  officer  died  at 
Charlottesville,  Va.  One  of  the  brightest  stars  in  the  galaxy  of 
heroes.  Possessing  remarkable  versatility  and  vivacity,  the 
noble  Captain  inspired  his  sprightly  zouaves  with  patriotic  devo- 
tion, and  led  them  with  the  foremost  to  the  "  field  of  honor." 
Our  tribute  to  his  manly  virtues  and  heroism  may  be  bestowed 
upon  this  tablet  to  his  memory,  while  his  dust  sanctifies  the  soil 
which  he  would  restore  to  loyalty,  and  his  spirit  abides  with  the 
assembly  whom  the  God  of  battles  has  called  to  Himself.  21. 
Lieut.  J.  Billingsly,  Co.  I,  17th  Mich.  Infantry,  a  joung  lawyer 
of  excellent  and  amiable  qualities,  proved  himself  no  less  meri- 
torious as  a  soldier,  and  sealed  his  devotion  to  his  country  with 
his  blood,  upon  the  bloody  field  of  Knoxville,  Tenn.  22.  John 
E.  Kenyon,  9th  Mich.  Infantry.  Cut  down  by  disease  in  hos- 
pital, before  he  had  opportunity  to  demonstrate  his  sterling 
qualities. 

23.  Colonel  Baldwin  J.  Cross  wait,  44th  Indiana  Volunteer 
Infantry — with  bitter  knowledge  of  the  trials  of  a  soldier's  life, 
having  served  in  our  war  with  Mexico — he  was  among  the 
first,  to  again  number  himself  with  the  vindicators  of  our 
National  honor,  and  among  the  earliest  victims  of  rapacious 
disease,  or,  as  has  been  believed,  of  murderous  poisoning  by  a 
rebel  cook.  Entering  the  service  as  a  Captain  he  was  soon 
promoted  to  Lieutenant-Colonelcy,  and  to  Colonel — his  last 
commission  reaching  hisf-iniily  at'rer  his  death,  which  occurred 
in  February,  1862.  Flowers  ;  trewn  by  one  of  his  soldiers. 
24.  Captain  Silas  Parker,  Sergeant  Chester  Craft,  Edwin  H. 
Benton,  Lucius  L.  Clark,  Julius  Hubbard,  Joseph  Newman, 
Luther  A.  Russel — Officers  and  soldiers  of  the  44th  111.  Infantry, 


682  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

killed  at  the  battle  of  Stone  River,  in  the  eventful  autumn 
of  1863.  If  Branch  County  had  no  other  names  than  these  in- 
scribed on  the  "roll  of  fame,"  she  would  deserve  honorable 
place  in  our  country's  history.  The  brave  Captain  Parker  and 
six  such  noble  boys  in  one  battle !  Oh  my  country  ! !  what  a 
costly  boon  ! ! !  Oh  war !  Thou  relentless  Demon,  to  wring  at 
a  single  grip  the  very  heart*  centre  from  seven  families  in  one 
poor  county.  Well  might  the  hand  of  affection  come  "  like  the 
Marys,  to  the  sepulchre  early  in  the  morning,"  to  pay  the  tribute 
of  love.  Let  there  be  no  stint  to  our  peaceful  offering.  25. 
Spencer  Mitchel — Cannot  give  his  regiment,  but  knew  him  to 
be  a  worthy  young  man  and  must  have  been  a  brave  and  good 
soldier.  26.  John  Sterling,  24th  Mich.  Volunteers,  who  died 
at  Culpepper  Court  House,  Ya.,  buried  in  Girard.  Richard 
Chamberlain,  George  Aiken,  Charles  Wainer,  Thomas  Jefferson 

Nichols,  Joseph  Newton, Tuttle, Burleson, Ball, 

whose  graves  we  have  not  been  able  to  find,  deserve  honorable 
mention,  for  though  their  bodies  may  moulder  like  common 
earth,  their  names  are  sacred  at  all  times.  We  strew  flowers  on 
both  sides  of  the  main  alley  in  honor  of  their  names.  What 
chaplet  shall  crown,  and  whose  hand  shall  weave  a  garland  to 
decorate  the  grave  of  those  who,  far  from  all  that  they  held 
dear  upon  earth,  not  amid  the  dangers  of  the  battle-field,  but  in 
the  midst  of  the  ten-fold  greater  horrors  of  the  hospital  or  prison 
— or,  crushed  in  spirit  by  the  ennui  of  an  inactive  camp, 
opened  the  long-wished-for  letter  to  read  of  almost  shoeless 
children — an  almost  breadless  house — an  almost  heartless 
neighborhood — an  almost  soulless  landlord — and  an  almost 
comfortless  wife  or  parent — then  let  the  missive  fall  from  the 
nerveless  hand,  the  eye  shrink  in  its  fleshless  socket,  and  the 
wearied  soul  depart  from  the  famished  body — seeming  to  perish 
a  useless  and  unprofitable  sacrifice,  wounded  far  away  in  the 
house  of  their  friends,  buried  in  a  hasty  and  solitary  grave,  never 
to  be  recovered  or  recognized  from  an  enemy.  I  have  seen 
death  hailed  with  joy  and  high  appreciation  of  glory  on  the 
bloody  field,  where  blue  "Minie"  and  "Enfield"  sang  a  thou- 
sand requiems,  and  each  screaming  bomb  announced  the  de- 
parture of  scores  of  glorified  souls,  but  these  had  no  sadness 
compared  with  the  death  of  the  fever-blanched  or  homesick 
soldier.  The  climax  of  agony  cannot  be  reached  by  ghastly 
wounds,  but  doubly  culminates  in  heart-stricken  woe.  For  such 
we  should  drop  tears  of  sj'inpathy  which  the  Almighty  may 
weave  in  a  bow  of  bitter  beauty  to  span  the  heavens  and  encir- 
cle them  all. 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  683 

AT  ADRIAN,  MICHIGAN. 

Arrived  at  the  cemetery,  the  procession  halted  near  the 
grave  of  Captain  Rodgers.  Captain  J.  H.  Feo,  Commandant 
of  the  Post,  then  briefly  stated  the  duty  which  had  called  his 
comrades  together,  and  announced  as  tirst  in  the  order  of  exer- 
cises the  singing  by  the  choir  of  the  tune,  "  America,"  request- 
ing all  to  join.  The  grand  old  tune  was  beautifully  rendered 
by  Mc-srs.  Bliss,  Moses  Rice  and  Russell,  and  Mrs.  Turner, 
Miss  Mattie  Graves  and  Mrs.  A.  L.  Bliss.  This  was  followed 
by  a  brief  and  impressive  prayer  by  Captain  Hadley,  after 
which  followed  a  quartette,  "  Let  me  die  with  my  face  to  the 
foe,"  sung  by  Messrs.  Russell,  Rice  and  Bliss,  and  Mrs.  Turner. 
It  was  composed  by  James  G.  Clark,  was  a  most  appropriate 
selection,  and  was  sung  with  good  taste  and  feeling.  Following 
this  was 

THE   ORATION. 

Captain  C.  R.  Miller  had  been  selected  as  the  orator.  He 
spoke  as  follows : 

COM  UA  in-:*  AND  FRIENDS  '.  We  meet  to-day  beneath  the 
shadows  of  this  still  home  of  the  dead  for  no  formal  parade,  to 
go  through  with  no  set  forms  of  address  or  ceremony,  but  to 
pay  a  loving  tribute  to  the  memory  of  men  whom  we  learned 
to  know  on  fields  not  smiling  with  flowers  or  grain,  but  where, 
instead  of  the  song  of  birds,  was  heard  the  thunder  of  hostile 
cannon  and  the  groans  of  stricken  men;  where,  instead  of  the 
harvester  with  his  sheaves  of  grain,  the  reaper  was  Death,  and 
his  sheaves  the  dead  bodies  of  men.  These  were  onr  comrades 
in  the  march,  in  bivouac,  in  camp,  in  hospital,  in  battle.  These 
went  forth  with  us  in  the  day  of  our  country's  peril,  to  meet 
the  common  foe,  but  with  us  they  came  not  back.  Victors  over 
treason  and  their  country's  enemies — vanquished  only  by  death. 
We  learned  to  know  them  better  in  the  brief  months  of  com- 
mon (hinger  and  common  suffering,  than  we  know  men  in  peace- 
ful days  at  home  in  scores  of  uneventful  years.  The  ties  of 
blood  are  strong  among  kindred,  but  the  tie  among  comrades, 
whose  blood  has  been  shed  in  the  same  great  cause,  is  as  strong, 
and  a  much  nobler  bond.  In  tender  memory  and  in  reverential 
honor  of  our  dead  comrades  do  we  now  stand  by  their  graves. 
I  can  here  mention  but  few  of  the  long  roll  of  brave  men  who 
went  forth  from  this  community  to  battle,  and  came  not  back, 
or  came  with  hands  crossed  over  pulseless  hearts  : 

WOODBTJKY — Dead  on  the  field  of  honor.  Dead  where  the 
hosts  of  Lee  were  at  last,  after  seven  dreadful  days,  shattered 
repulsed  on  the  bloody  field  of  Malvern.  SMITH — .Dead  on 


684  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

the  field  of  honor.  Dead  amid  the  valleys  and  the  mountains 
of  Tennessee.  COMSTOCK — Dead  on  the  field  of  honor.  Dead 
within  the  walls  of  beleaguered  Knoxville.  HOYT — Dead, 
doing  his  duty  skilfully  and  well  within  the  walls  of  the  crowded 
hospital.  LADD — Dead  on  the  field  of  honor,  where  Sherman 
marched  down  to  the  sea  VRKELAND — Dead  on  the  field  of 
honor.  Dead  in  the  Wilderness.  And  the  heroes  of  that  un- 
titled  host,  whose  names  emblazon  no  historic  page,  who  wore 
no  insignia  of  rank,  those  who  carried  the  musket,  where  are 
they  ?  KAMSDKLL — Dead.  Maimed  and  torn  by  rebel  shot, 
dead  at  last  in  his  father's  house,  and  in  the  arms  of  his  mother 
who  bore  him.  HORTON,  BAKER,  MOORE — Dead.  In  the  bed  of 
the  mighty  Father  of  Waters  they  sleep.  WHEELKR — Dead ;  dead 
of  starvation  and  disease  in  the  rebel  prison  at  Cahawba.  I  can- 
not further  call  the  roll  (though  their  names  come  to  my  lips  in 
companies)  of  the  rank  and  file  of  this  Grand  Army,  who,  for  no 
gain,  no  hope  of  renown,  met  hunger,  cold,  sickness,  wounds,  cap- 
tivity and  deatk.  In  nameless  graves,  wrapped  in  their  torn  and 
bloody  blankets,  on  hill-sides,  in  ravines,  in  trenches,  Vy  the  road- 
side, scattered  from  the  Potomac  to  the  Rio  Grande,  sleep  those 
who,  on  the  day  of  its  deadly  peril,  saved  this  nation,  and  all  you 
love  and  hope  for,  from  ruin  and  desolation.  You,  oh  men  of 
Lenawee,  bade  these  men  go  forth  to  battle  and  to  death.  They 
went  in  your  stead.  They  went  to  war  that,  you  might  stay  at 
home  in  peace.  No  more  truly  died  Jesus  of  Nazareth  for  man 
than  these  died  for  you  and  yours.  Have  you  paid  the  debt  you 
owe  them  f  For  their  wounds,  their  homes  made  desolate,  their 
lives  you  cannot  pay  ;  these  are  lying  on  their  country's  altar, 
priceless  sacrifices  to  freedom  and  to  God.  But  one  thing  you 
might  have  done — a  little,  little  thing,  to  show  that  you  remem- 
ber the  sacrifices  these  men  made  for  you.  You  might  have 
raised  some  stone,  somewhere,  to  show  that  you  at  least  do  not 
wish  to  forget  the  names  of  your  dead  soldiers.  Have  you  done 
tin's  ?  Tell  me  where  stands  the  lofty  shaft,  adorned  with  statues 
and  graven  deep  with  the  names  of  these  dead  heroes.  Tell  me 
where  stands  the  simplest  slab  to  keep  their  names  from 
oblivion.  There  is  none.  It  is  a  bitter  shame,  a  disgrace  that 
knows  no  equivalent  in  the  vocabulary  of  shameful  things,  that 
this  should  be  so.  You  intend  to  build  a  monument,  say  you  ? 
Three  years  have  come  and  gone  since  the  falling  banners  of 
the  rebellion  trailed  in  the  dust  and  we  came  home,  but  the 
monument  to  our  dead  brothers  in  arms,  where  is  it?  There  is 
not  yet  dug  the  trench  to  lay  the  first  foundation-stone  of  the 
monument  for  the  dead  soldiers  of  Lenawee  county. 

We  have  charity  to  believe  this  is  the  fault  not  so  much  of 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  685 

your  hearts  as  of  your  memories,  but  even  then  we  feel  that  for- 
getfulness  of  these,  our  dead,  is  black  ingratitude.  In  the  name 
of  the  living  members  of  that  Grand  Army,  I  demand  that  its 
dead  be  not  forgotten.  We  ask  of  the  people  of  this  commu- 
nity that  the  remains  of  our  noble  men  be  not  treated  like  dead 
dogs,  only  covered  in  earth  from  the  sight  of  men,  and  the  spot 
where  they  lie  and  their  names  alike  forgotten.  We  ask  that 
the  people  of  this  county  shall  somewhere  rear  a  fitting  memo- 
rial, graven  with  the  names  of  our  dead  comrades  and  conse- 
crated to  their  memories.  We  should  not  forget  their  names, 
but  we  wish  that,  after  us,  our  children  and  our  children's  chil- 
dren may  look  on  this  monument,  and  there  read  the  names  and 
learn  to  reverence  the  memories  of  the  men  who  fell  by  their 
fathers'  sides  in  the  great  war  for  the  preservation  of  the  Union. 
We  have  hoped  that  our  neighbors  and  friends  would  willingly, 
nay,  eagerly,  rear  this  monument,  but  if  it  shall  prove  that  in 
this  we  are  mistaken,  then  we,  the  living  soldiers,  will  see  to  it 
that  there  is  as  fair  a  memorial  reared  to  our  dead  comrades  as 
our  slender  purses  and  thinned  ranks  can  raise.  Not  in  anger, 
not  in  reproach,  do  I  say  these  things,  but  in  sorrow,  grief,  and 
shame.  Most  justly  is  the  memory  of  our  Revolutionary  fathers 
held  sacred  by  us  all.  Are  these,  our  brothers,  less  worthy  of 
remembrance  ?  If  braving  death  in  the  storm  of  battle  for  a 
just  cause  is  a  criterion,  then  are  these  men  more  worthy  than 
they.  For,  sum  every  battle  of  the  Revolution  into  one  despe- 
rate fight,  and  I  will  name  you  a  score  of  battles  of  this  rebel- 
lion, to  which  the  concentrated  Revolutionary  fight  would  be 
as  the  shower  of  spring  is  to  the  hurricane.  The  true  measure 
of  men's  patriotic  self-sacrifice  is  found,  not  so  much  in  the  dan- 
ger they  brave,  as  in  what  they  leave  and  lose  at  home  when 
they  go  to  battle.  The  Russian  serf,  when  he  is  driven  from  his 
miserable  hut  to  do  battle  in  the  armies  of  the  Czar,  loses  not 
much,  but  gains  rather  in  the  way  of  shelter,  comfort  and  care. 
The  negro  slave,  who  fought  under  the  national  standard  in  this 
rebellion,  left  chains,  stripes,  serfdom  on  the  old  plantation,  and 
found  freedom,  hope,  enlightenment  for  himself  and  his  family 
beneath  the  starry  flag.  It  was  no  sacrifice  for  him  to  leave  his 
hell  of  servitude  and  degradation,  but  it  was  a  boon,  longed  for, 
hoped  for,  praved  for  all  his  days — this  chance  to  win  his  man- 
hood by  the  cfieap  peril  of  his  miserable  life.  But  it  was  a  dif- 
ferent task  for  the  volunteer  who  went  to  the  nation's  rescue 
from  this  community.  He  left  sacrifices  at  home  more  than  serf 
or  slave  ever  dreamed  of  in  their  captivity.  He  left  a  home  filled 
with  beauty,  ease,  comfort,  intelligence,  freedom  and  friends.  His 
future  was  full  of  all  that  peace,  love,  and  plenty  could  bring. 


686  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Judging  from  this  stand-point,  no  class  of  men  were  ever  ani- 
mated by  a  higher  and  more  patriotic  devotion  than  the  volun- 
teers from  this  beautiful  city,  and  from  this,  the  garden  county 
of  Michigan.  Let  their  memory  be  honored  accordingly. 

The  simple  fact  that  our  volunteers  left  such  homes  and 
hopes  as  these,  to  fight,  suffer,  die,  for  the  country's  honor  and 
preservation  is,  in  itself  a  eulogy  npon  our  national  institutions, 
surpassing  all  that  can  be  said  by  politicians  or  statesmen  to  the 
end  of  time.  The  man  who  spends  his  breath  talking  lor  his 
country's  welfare  and  honor  does  well,  but  he  that  spends  his 
heart's  blood  fighting  for  it,  when  there  is  sore  need,  does  better. 
As  blood  is  more  precious  than  words,  as  life  is  more  costly  than 
sweat,  so  much  dearer  to  this  nation  than  the  sounding  praise 
of  the  orator  should  be  the  voiceless  eulogy  upon  her  institutions 
that  comes  from  the  silent  graves  of  our  dead  volunteers.  And 
if  the  genius  of  American  liberty  wished  to  prove  to  all  the 
world  that  the  American  government  is  not  only  the  best,  but 
the  best  loved  on  earth,  she  has  but  to  point  in  silence  to  the 
graves  of  300,000  volunteers  who  died  that  the  nation  might 
five.  History  makes  some  men  :  these  men  made  history.  They 
have  done  more.  They  have  made  a  future  of  progress  and  of 
glory  possible,  nay  sure,  for  this  great  Eepublic.  In  doing  this 
they  have  done  the  crowning  work  of  all  time,  for  they  have 
proved  the  strength  of  a  people's  government  and  the  progress 
of  righteousness,  of  freedom,  forevermore.  Comrades  of  the 
Grand  Army!  We  have  met  here  to-day  with  our  friends  to 
decorate  with  flowers  the  graves  of  our  brothers,  who,  having 
met  soldiers'  deaths  as  soldiers  should,  now  answer  to  the  roll- 
call  above.  Many  of  them  sleep  in  their  unknown  graves,  caved 
for  by  no  loving  friends,  but  over  these,  kind  nature  and  the 
sweet  influences  of  spring,  have  caused  the  grass  to  grow  with 
deeper  verdure,  and  the  nowers  to  bloom  in  richer  colors  and 
more  generous  profusion.  In  strewing  flowers  on  these  graves 
we  but  follow  humbly  in  the  path  already  marked  by  nature's 
own  hand.  Then  strew  your  flowers  on  the  resting-places  of  the 
heroic  dead,  and  with  each  flower  dropped  on  a  soldier's  grave, 
send  up  a  blessing  for  his  deeds,  and  a  prayer  to  the  soldier's 
God  for  his  hereafter. 

Then  followed  the  singing  by  Messrs.  Bliss  and  Turner  and 
Miss  Graves  and  Mrs.  Turner  of  a  quartette — "  The  Death  Knell 
is  Tolling."  The  decoration  of  the  graves  was  conducted  as  fol- 
lows :  The  members  .of  the  Grand  Army,  forming,  as  near  as 
possible,  a  circle  round  the  grave  to  be  decorated,  at  an  order 
from  the  Commandant  uncovered.  Major  Graves  then  an- 
nounced the  name  of  the  comrade  sleeping  below.  The  color 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  687 

bearer,  attended  by  comrades  bearing  wreaths  and  bouquets, 
advanced  to  the  grave,  the  floral  ornaments  were  deposited, 
colors  dipped,  the  order  was  given  "  Cover,"  and  the  procession 
moved  on. 

AT  MONROE,  MICHIGAN. 

The  decoration  was  carried  into  effect  by  a  procession  of  ex- 
soldiers  and  civilians,  headed  by  a  band  and  attended  by  a  large 
concourse  of  ladies  at  Woodland  Cemetery.  After  religious 
exercises  by  the  various  clergymen  of  the  city,  Judse  I.  P. 
Christia:ify  delivered  an  excellent  oration,  which  was  followed 
by  vocal  and  instrumental  music,  while  the  ladies  were  decorat- 
ing the  graves  of  the  heroic  dead. 

At  Hillsdale  the  soldiers  and  citizens  united  in  the  ceremony 
of  visiting  the  cemeteries.  The  procession  was  formed  at  the 
Court  House  at  9  A.  M.,  and  led  by  the  colors  and  the  "  Silver 
Band,"  proceeded  to  the  College,  where  they  were  joined  by  the 
faculty,  students,  and  citizens,  and  marched  to  Oak  Grove 
Cemetery.  The  graves  of  the  soldiers  were  all  visited,  and 
flowers  strewn  in  profusion  upon  them.  The  procession  then 
formed  a  hollow  square  around  the  burial-grounds  of  the  de- 
<"."i -i-d  soldiers,  and  joined  in  singing  "America."  Prayer  was 
offered  by  Prof.  W  hippie,  and  the  band  then  played  "  The 
Star  Sp  uigled  Banner,"  in  which  all  joined.  The  "  Old  Cerne- 
was  also  visited. 

At  llomeo  a  procession  was  formed  at  the  liberty  pole  (on 
which  was  displayed  the  national  flag  at  half-mast)  under  the 
command  of  Col.  Wm.  Wilkinson,  who  was  assisted  by  Capt. 
Thompson  and  Lieut.  Selfridge.  The  procession,  headed  by  the 
bi-a-s  band,  marched  to  the  cemetery,  at  the  entrance  to  which 
was  an  arch  of  evergreens,  with  a  suitable  inscription.  At  the 
head  of  each  of  the  graves  of  these  fallen  heroes  was  a  cross  of 
evergreens  tastefully  decorated,  on  which  was  inscribed  the 
name  of  the  soldier  whose  ashes  reposed  beneath,  and  last  was 
the  finely-decorated  but  empty  tomb  erected  in  commemoration 
of  those  fallen  heroes  who  were  buried  upon  the  battle-field. 
The  long  procession  filed  past  each  of  these  tombs,  depositing 
upon  them  their  offerings  of  flowers  as  tliey  passed.  This  com- 
pleted, an  appropriate  prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  P.  R.  Hurd, 
and  brief,  solemn,  and  impressive  addresses  were  made  by  Col. 
Wilkinson,  and  Rev.  Messrs.  Hurd,  Bigelow,  Deering,  and 
Wooden,  when  the  ceremonies  were  closed  with  the  benediction. 

AT  NASHVILLE,  TENN. 

Decorations  were  made  at  the  National  Cemetery,  on  the  Gal- 
latin  Pike,  six  miles  from  Nashville,  by  the  citizens  of  that  place, 


688  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

assisted  by  delegations  from  Gallatin  and  the  vicinity.  Prayer 
was  said  by  Rev.  "W.  Bennett,  a  poem,  by  Mrs.  Judge  Mills,  was 
pronounced  by  one  of  the  young  ladies  who  were  present  to 
strew  flowers  upon  the  graves  of  the  soldiers,  and  the  following 
oration  was  delivered  by  Colonel  W.  A.  Prosser : — 

He  said,  we  are  assembled  this  day  for  the  purpose  of  strew- 
ing with  flowers,  or  otherwise  decorating,  the  graves  of  our  com- 
rades— those  who  made  their  breasts  a  barricade  between  the  coun- 
try and  its  foes.  Their  soldier-lives  were  the  reveille  of  freedom 
to  a  race  in  chains,  and  their  deaths  the  tattoo  of  rebellion's  ty- 
ranny in  arms.  We  should  guard  their  graves  with  sacred  vigi- 
lance. All  that  the  consecrated  wealth  and  taste  of  the  nation 
can  add  to  their  adornment  and  security  is  but  a  fitting  tribute 
to  the  memory  of  her  slain  defenders.  Let  no  wanton  feet  tread  • 
rudely  on  such  hallowed  grounds.  Let  pleasant  paths  invite  the 
coming  and  going  of  reverent  visitors  and  fond  mourners.  Let 
no  vandalism  of  avarice  or  neglect,  no  ravages  of  time  testify  to 
the  present  or  to  coming  generations  that  we  have  forgotten,  as 
a  people,  the  cost  of  a  free  and  undivided  republic.  If  other 
eyes  grow  dull,  and  other  hands  slack,  and  other  hearts  grow 
cold  in  the  solemn  trust,  ours  shall  keep  it  well  as  long  as  the 
light  and  warmth  of  life  remain  to  us.  Let  us,  then,  at  the  time 
appointed,  gather  around  their  sacred  remains  and  garland  the 
passionless  mounds  above  them  with  the  choicest  flowers  of 
spring-time ;  let  us  raise  above  them  the  dear  old  flag  they  saved 
from  dishonor;  let  us,  in  their  solemn  presence,  renew  our  pledges 
to  aid  and  assist  those  whom  they  have  left  among  us  a  sacred 
charge  upon  a  nation's  gratitude — the  soldiers' and  sailors'  widow 
and  orphan. 

It  is  not  only  right  and  proper,  but  it  is  peculiarly  n'tting 
and  appropriate,  that  we  should  weave  a  chaplet  of  roses  for  the 
last  resting-place  of  those  who  went  forth  with  us  but  a  few  years 
ago  in  all  the  pride  and  glow  of  manhood;  but  who  laid  down 
youth  and  hope  and  life  itself,  and  whose  gentle  souls  went  out 
in  the  smoke  of  battle,  that  the  principles  of  freedom  and  good 
government  might  be  extended  and  perpetuated.  The  garlands 
we  strew  upon  the  graces  of  the  dead  soldiers  of  this  cemetery 
are  not  only  a  tribute  of  respect  to  them,  but  to  all  those  who 
gave  up  their  lives  in  the  defence  of  their  country,  whether  they 
sleep  in  the  Xorth,  the  South,  the  East,  or  the  \Vest.  AVe  con- 
secrate this  day  and  these  ceremonies  not  only  to  the  memory  of 
the  sixteen  thousand  warriors  who  rest  within  the  limits  of  this 
burying-ground,  but  also  to  the  memory  of  the  seventy -five  thou- 
sand soldiers  who  were  born  under  the  glittering  stars  of  the 
frosty  North,  but  who  now  sleep  their  last  sleep  within  the  lira- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  689 

its  of  the  State  of  Tennessee.  We  consecrate  this  day  and  these 
ceremonies  not  only  to  these,  but  to  the  three  hundred  thousand 
men  of  every  race,  color,  and  condition  in  life,  who  loved  not 
their  lives  unto  the  death,  but  freely  gave  them  up  that  their 
country  might  live.  We  consecrate  this  day  and  these  ceremo- 
nies to  the  memory  of  Wadsworth  and  Kearney,  of  Reno  and  of 
Lytle  and  Harker,  of  Siel,  the  McCooks,  and  the  gentle  McPher- 
son,  of  each  and  all  of  that  ga_jnt  host,  to  whom  life  wa^>  once 
as  sweet  and  its  hopes  and  enjoyments  as  precious  as  to  ourselves, 
but  who  are  now  filling  a  soldier's  grave.  Their  names  are  im- 
mortal, and  their  deeds  are  written  with  a  pen  of  iron  and  the 
point  of  a  diamond  in  the  nation's  history,  while  the  grace  and 
beauty  of  their  lives  and  characters,  and  the  sublimity  of  their 
deaths,  will  be  an  honor  to  humanity  in  all  succeeding  ages  of 
the  world.  We  this  day  pay  the  tribute  of  our  esteem  and  ad- 
miration to  the  silver-tongued  Baker,  whose  eloquence  has 
charmed  multitudes  upon  multitudes  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
far-off  shores  of  the  Pacific,  whose  voice  and  heart  and  hands 
were  at  all  times  devoted  to  the  highest  and  best  interests  of  hu- 
manity, and  who  at  last  laid  down  his  life  foi  the  preservation 
of  the  country  he  loved  so  well.  We  cannot  forget,  if  we  would, 
the  youthful  heroism  of  Dahlgren.  or  the  untiring  energy  of 
Lyon,  of  the  West,  or  the  brave  and  modest  Gaische,  of  our  own 
Army  of  the  Cumberland,  with  hosts  of  others  whose  names  are 
inscribed  high  upon  the  roll  of  honor,  but  whose  highest  ambi- 
tion it  was  to  discharge  honestly  and  faithfully  the  duties  they 
owed  to  their  country. 

More  than  all,  we  this  day  crown  with  a  wreath  of  immortal 
freshness  and  fragrance  the  kingly  sepulchre  which  contains  all 
that  could  die  of  him  who  was  the  last  and  greatest  sacrifice  his 
country  could  offer  on  the  altar  of  patriotism,  and  who  made 
the  name  of  Abraham  Lincoln  a  precious  jewel  in  the  casket  of 
treasures  bequeathed  to  a  feeble  and  frail  mortality.  We  call 
up  to  our  remembrance  the  sad  lace  of  the  man  whose  great 
heart  was  able  and  willing  to  comprehend  all  of  the  deepest 
distresses  of  his  country,  and  whose  sacrifices  and  sufferings  in 
the  cause  of  humanity  were  second  only  to  those  of  the  Son  of 
God  himself.  We  look  in  vain  through  all  human  story  for  a 
parallel  for  that  marvel  of  faith  and  patience,  and  we  recognize 
the  hand  of  Providence  in  furnishing  us  with  a  leader  who  could, 
"  with  charity  for  all  and  malice  toward  none,"  guide  and  direct 
a  nation  successfully  through  the  labyrinth  of  difficulties  and 
dangers  attendant  upon  a  civil  war,  of  unexpected  and  unex- 
ampled magnitude.  But,  as  we  turn  aside  from  the  busy  scenes 
and  pursuits  of  life,  to  perform  these  reverential  ceremonies,  we 
44 


690  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

not  only  pay  the  tribute  of  our  respect  and  admiration  to  the 
memory  of  the  fallen  brave  who  were  once  our  comrades,  but 
we  also  honor  the  memory  of  all  those  who,  in  any  age  of  the 
world,  have  devoted  themselves  to  the  cause  of  republicanism, 
to  human  liberty,  progress,  or  justice. 

We  this  day  honor  the  names  and  deeds  of  the  Fathers  of 
the  Republic,  who  laid  the  foundations  of  the  temple  of  free- 
dom in  the  wilds  of  America.  The  war  of  the  rebellion  but 
concluded  the  work  which  they  commenced,  and  the  principles 
of  liberty  and  equal  rights  to  all  men  have  been  made  the 
ruling  and  cardinal  principles  of  government  throughout  the 
entire  territory  over  which  floats  the  stars  and  stripes.  We  ofier 
up  the  incense  of  our  Admiration  at  the  shrine  of  Hampden  and 
Sidney,  of  England;  of  William  Tell,  of  Switzerland  ;  of  Kosci- 
usko,  of  Poland — of  all  the  heroes  and  champions  of  liberty, 
whether  known  or  unknown,  throughout  the  world.  Their  cause 
is  our  cause ;  we  participate  with  them  in  their  shouts  of  victory, 
and  we  share  with  them  the  disasters  of  defeat.  The  cause  for 
which  they  labored  is  that  for  which  our  comrades  drew  the 
sword,  and  for  which  they  thought  it  happiness  to  die.  The 
Spartan  mother  who  received  her  son  upon  his  shield ;  Leonidas, 
with  his  three  hundred  men,  and  all  the  long  line  of  the  friends 
of  liberty,  from  their  day  to  our  own,  were  animated  by  the  same 
spirit  and  drank  their  inspiration  from  the  same  fountain  of  un- 
dying patriotism.  These  are  the  men  who  have  been  fighting 
the  battles  of  human  freedom  and  constitutional  liberty,  from 
their  earliest  inception  down  to  the  present  time.  Three  hun- 
dred years  ago,  when  the  civilized  world  lay  at  the  feet  of  roy- 
alty, and  no  rights  were  recognized  but  the  despotic  rights  of 
kings,  the  burghers  of  Holland  took  up  the  cause  afresh,  and, 
conscious  of  its  justice  and  strong  in  their  sense  of  right,  they 
organized  resistance  to  the  oppressive  tyranny  which  then  held 
in  complete  subjection  the  most  enlightened  nations  of  the  earth. 
Under  the  blighting  influences  of  the  dark  ages  civil  and  reli- 
gious liberty  had  alike  disappeared,  until  these  men  undertook 
to  restore  both  the  one  and  the  other.  Respectfully  asking  for 
a  redress  of  their  grievances  in  an  humble  petition,  they  were 
spurned  in  contempt  from  the  presence  of  arbitrary  power  with 
the  scornful  words,  "  What  do  these  beggars  want  ?  What  would 
they  have  ?"  They  were  the  wealthy  merchants  and  citizens  of 
Amsterdam,  whose  industry  and  genius  were  known  and  recog- 
nized throughout  the  world,  whose  commerce  had  enriched  their 
own  as  well  as  other  countries  of  Europe,  and  whose  opinions 
and  requests  should  have  commanded  the  respect  of  the  most 
powerful  monarch  that  ever  existed.  Knowing  their  rights  and 


AT    THE    SOLDIERS     GRAVES. 

daring  to  mainthin  them,  they  were  not  the  men  tamely  to  submit 
to  the  insults  of  royalty  or  the  exercise  of  despotic  authority.  De- 
nounced as  beggars,  they  were  proud  of  the  epithet,  and  inscribed 
upon  their  banners,  as  their  choicest  legend,  the  words,  "  Long 
live  the  beggars  !!'  For  seventy-five  years  they  waged  the  un- 
equal contest,  without  the  aid  of  the  ordinary  elements  of  power 
or  the  assistance  of  kings;  but  relying  upon  the  justice  of  their 
cause  and  the  support  of  that  Power  which  ever  protects  and  as- 
sists the  cause  of  right  and  truth,  they  pressed  forward  to  the  ac- 
complishment of  their  noble  purposes,  and  through  victoiy  and 
defeat,  in  sunshine  and  in  storm,  on  the  land  and  on  the  sea,  above 
the  roar  of  cannon  and  the  rattle  of  musketry,  the  cry  still  went 
up  of  "  Long  live  the  beggars  !"  Above  the  smoking  ruins  of 
two  thousand  towns  and  cities,  amidst  the  shouts  of  the  victors 
or  the  groans  of  the  vanquished,  amid  the  heat  and  dust  of 
battle,  the  cry  of  "  Long  live  the  beggars  !*'  went  up  to  heaven, 
until  the  Lord  of  Hosts  gave  the  victory  to  their  persevering  arms, 
and  the  foundations  of  constitutional  liberty  and  of  equal  rights 
to  all  men  were  laid,  broad  and  deep,  by  the  labors,  toils  and 
sacrifices  of  more  than  three  generations  of  freemen.  From  that 
hour  until  the  present,  that  cause  has  been  growing  and  prosper- 
ing, marching  forward  from  one  triumphant  contest  to  another, 
until  the  entire  civilized  world  recognizes  the  principles  for  which 
those  early  pioneers  of  liberty  devoted  years  of  sorrow,  and  for 
which  they  were  willing  to  die.  The  principles  of  free  thought, 
free  speech,  free  labor,  and  a  free  press  are  everywhere  known 
and  acknowledged  as  the  avenues  to  the  greatest  good  of  the 
greatest  number  of  the  human  family.  The  genius  of  free  labor 
enters  the  hovel  of  poverty  and  says  to  its  inmates,  "Come  up 
higher."  The  genius  of  tree  labor  nerved  the  heart  and  strength- 
ened the  arm  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  smd  four  millions  of  people 
were  lifted  out  of  the  darkness  and  oppression  of  slavery  into 
the  sunlight  of  freedom,  progress  and  intelligence,  and  were  in- 
vested with  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  American  citizen- 
ship. 

The  genius  of  free  labor  is  the  soul  of  all  the  triumphs  of  In- 
dustry and  art,  of  the  sciences,  of  invention,  of  literature,  philos- 
ophy, poetry,  and  song,  which  have  made  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury illustrious  among  the  ages.  The  genius  of  free  labor  has 
filled  our  towns  and  cities  with  an  industrious  and  enterprising 
population  ;  it  has  dotted  the  earth  with  schools  and  churches, 
cob  webbed  the  sea  and  air  with  the  telegraph  ;  it  has  spanned 
the  earth  with  railroads,  and  bridged  the  ocean  with  ships.  The 
genius  of  free  labor  first  planted  the  Tree  of  Liberty,  watched 
over  the  slowness  of  its  early  growth,  nourished  it  into  life  and 


692  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

vigor,  beauty  and  strength,  with  the  blood  of  unnumbered  brave 
and  gallant  men,  including  my  comrades,  until  to-day  millions 
upon  millions  delight  in  the  shadow  of  its  branches  and  the 
richness  of  its  fruit.  The  genius  of  free  labor  is  the  soul  of  all 
the  battles  which  have  been  fought  in  modern  times.  The  war 
of  the  Revolution  gave  to  the  principles  and  the  children  of  free 
labor  a  home  on  the  shores,  and  amongst  the  mountains  and  the 
prairies  of  the  New  World  ;  and  millions  of  freemen  find  room 
for  their  energies,  and  a  reward  for  their  enterprise  and  industry, 
in  the*  beautiful  landscapes  that  stretch  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  where  but  a  short  time  ago  were  only  the  wild 
beasts  of  the  forest,  or  shapes  in  human  form  more  savage  still. 
The  war  of  1812  gave  the  ocean  to  freemen,  and  the  white  sails 
of  commerce  were  wafted  into  every  sea  on  the  habitable  globe, 
bearing  to  the  breeze  the  motto  of  free  trade  and  sailors1  rights 
The  Mexican  war  added  millions  of  square  miles  to  the  area  of  free 
labor,  and  California  sprang  into  existence  an  empire  of  herself, 
complete  and  perfect  in  all  her  appointments,  like  Pallas  when 
she  sprang  from  the  brain  of  Jove,  and  more  beautiful  than 
Venus  when  she  rose  from  the  sea,  the  most  glorious  illustration  of 
the  power  and  genuis  of  free  labor  to  be  found  under  the  sun. 
There  men  of  every  race  and  nation,  color  and  complexion,  en- 
joy the  equal  protection  and  benefit  of  the  law.  The  State  has 
grown  rich  and  prosperous  because  her  government  is  just,  and 
the  commerce  of  the  world  has  been  enriched  by  the  hidden 
wealth  of  her  territory,  developed  by  the  agency  of  free  labor. 
The  war  of  the  rebellion  was  begun  in  the  interest  of  slavery, 
but  it  terminated  in  the  interest  of  freedom  ;  and  all  of  that  vast 
territory  extending  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  from 
the  lakes  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  has  been  consecrated  to  the  use 
and  service  of  freedom  forever  more.  If  we  were  placed  upon 
one  of  the  highest  of  our  mountain  tops,  and  were  to  see  passing 
before  us  in  one  grand,  solemn  and  awful  procession,  all  the 
great,  the  wise,  and  the  good  of  every  age  and  clime,  their  kings 
and  priests,  their  poets  and  philosophers,  their  heroes,  warriors, 
and  statesmen,  all  those  whose  names  are  distinguished  in  the 
arts  of  peace  or  the  stategy  of  war,  in  genius,  literature,  or 
statesmanship,  and  we  were  to  ask  them  one  by  one,  as  they 
passed  us  in  this  grand  procession,  what  is  the  greatest  boon 
which  could  be  conferred  on  mankind,  they  would  tell  us  with 
one  unanimous  heart  and  voice  and  soul,  in  tones  as  clear  as  the 
echoes  of  an  Alpine  horn,  that  constitutional  liberty  and  free 
labor  were  the  greatest  benefits  which  could  be  conferred  upon  the 
human  family.  They  would  tell  us  that  the  right  to  worship 
God  according  to  the"  dictates  of  our  own  conscience,  the  right 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  693 

to  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  the  right  of  every 
man  to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  own  labor,  to  reap  the  rewards  due 
to  his  own  energy,  were  the  greatest  blessings  that  could  be  con- 
ferred upon  the  human  race.  These  are  the  principles  for 
which  our  comrades  labored,  fought,  and  suffered,  and  for  which 
they  left  the  comforts  and  pleasures  of  home,  endured  all  the 
hardships  aud  privations  incident  to  a  soldier's  career,  and  for 
which  they  were  willing  to  sleep  in  bloody  garments  until  the 
morning  of  the  resurrection,  that  it  might  be  made  an  everlast- 
ing success.  Our  memories  to-day  are  full  of  the  scenes  of  1861,. 
when  a  nation  which  had  grown  rich  and  great  in  all  the  pros- 
perous arts  and  blessings  of  peace,  clothed  itself  in  the  stern 
panoply  of  dreadful  war,  that  the  principles  of  free  government 
might  be  madeperpetual,  and  might  be  preserved  to  all  future 
generations.  We  remember  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  men 
who  went  forth  to  battle  full  of  manly  vigor,  health,  and  energy, 
not  for  military  glory  or  renown,  nor  for  the  gratification  of  any 
feelings  of  malice  or  revenge,  but  that  the  last  experiment  of 
freedom  might  be  made  an  assured  success.  Before  us  pass  in 
solemn  procession  three  hundred  thousand  disembodied  spirits, 
whose  silence  is  more  eloquent  than  all  the  words  that  were  ever 
uttered  by  the  lips  of  the  most  gifted  of  mortals.  Not  one  of  all 
that  army  who  sleeps  in  the  most  sequestered  spot  of  the  sunny 
South,  who  was  not  once  the  pride  of  a  household,  and  whose 
vacant  chair  is  still  a  perpetual  reminder  of  the  sacrifices  made 
by  the  nation  to  secure  its  existence.  No  one  of  that  grand 
army  of  fallen  soldiers,  buried  though  he  be  in  the  most  lonely 
valley  or  unknown  spot  of  the  country  he  died  to  save,  but  there 
are  fairy  hands  to  ring  his  knell,  and  fairy  forms  to  sing  his 
dirge  in  every  sighing  breeze,  that  lingers  in  sad  sweetness  over 
the  mortal  remains  ol  one  who  died,  not  for  the  glittering  bau- 
ble of  earthly  glory,  but,  dying  for  his  country,  won  an  immor- 
tality of  fame.  His  grave  may  be  amongst  those  who,  seeking 
his  destruction  and  rejoicing  in  his  death,  were  unable  to  com- 
prehend the  purity  of  his  patriotism,  but  though 

"  Lightly  they'll  talk  of  the  spirit  that's  gone, 

And  o'er  his  cold  ashes  upbraid  him, 
But  little  he'll  reck,  if  they  let  him  sleep  on, 
In  the  grave  where  his  comrades  have  laid  him." 

Such  were  the  men  who  were  once  our  brothers  in  arms,  and 
our  comrades  in  the  field.  But  their  task  is  done,  their  work  is 
accomplished.  We  can  add  nothing  to  the  brightness  of  their 
glory  or  the  perfection  of  their  fame.  We  may  emulate  their 
virtues,  and  be  proud  of  their  deeds,  but  their  fame  is  as  wide  as 


694  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

creation,  and  will  endure  as  long  as  there  are  those  who  can 
breathe  a  sigh  of  sympathy  for  human  distresses,  or  labor  for 
the  cause  of  human  advancement.  No  narrow  boundaries  of 
sea  or  land  confines  their  glory,  and  time  will  only  add  to  the 
brilliancy  and  permanence  of  its  lustre.  The  friends  of  freedom 
aud  progress,  of  civilzation  and  Christianity,  in  .every  land,  are 
mourners  this  day  at  the  shrine  of  their  patriotic  devotion.  The 
Btory  of  that  devotion  is  not  confined  to  the  race  or  color,  com- 
plexion or  language  of  any  special  latitude,  but  is  the  heritage 
of  the  whole  brotherhood  of  man.  The  love  of  liberty  is  a  vir- 
tue implanted  in  the  human  soul  by  God  himself.  It  is  a  char- 
acteristic of  the  Laplander,  in  the  frozen  zones  of  the  north,  of 
the  English,  French,  German,  Italian,  Swiss,  and  all  other  na- 
tions of  the  more  temperate  climes,  and  the  indolent  people  of 
tropical  regions  delight  to  live  in  the  enjoyment  of  its  multiplied 
blessings. 

Without  liberty  there  can  be  no  progress  or  improvement ; 
and  without  human  freedom  Christianity  itself  would  be  useless 
and  unavailing.  In  defending  and  maintaining  the  unity  and 
nationality  of  the  American  people,  our  comrades  rendered  the 
highest  service  it  was  possible  for  them  to  do  for  the  human 
race.  In  so  doing  they  demonstrated  the  fact  that  the  people 
are  the  true  source  of  all  power  and  authority  in  human  govern- 
ment. They  furnished  the  world  with  an  illustration  of  the  fact 
that  a  government  of  the  people,  and  by  the  people,  was  the 
most  powerful  of  all  human  organizations,  and  that  resistance 
to  its  will  was  resistance  to  God  himself.  The  achievements  of 
our  comrades,  and  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  in  which 
they  served,  which  secured  America  to  Freedom,  and  Freedom 
to  America,  have  lifted  up  the  souls  of  the  friends  of  liberty  in 
every  part  of  the  world,  and  the  tide  of  Republicanism,  rising 
higher  and  higher  with  each  returning  year,  promises  soon  to 
sweep  away  every  element  of  opposition  to  the  right  of  every 
man,  however  poor  or  humble,  or  of  whatever  race  or  color,  to 
life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  The  nations  of  the 
old  world  take  heart,  and  are  inspired  with  fresh  courage  in  the 
struggle,  when  they  learn  or  remember  what  has  been  accom- 
plished in  America.  The  German  to-day  is  proud  of  a  united 
Fatherland ;  the  Italian,  \vherever  he  may  be,  takes  delight  in 
the  unity  and  the  nationality  of  a  regenerated  Italy,  and  the 
sons  of  Green  Erin  gather  fresh  hope  in  America  for  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  Gem  of  the  Sea.  The  banner  of  beauty  and 
glory  under  which  our  comrades  fought  and  fell  is  looked  upon 
with  pride  and  pleasure  by  every  nation  under  the  sun,  because 
it  is  the  emblem  of  all  that  is  precious  in  human  hope  for  the 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.         695 

progress  and  advancement  of  the  human  race.  It  excites  the 
admiration  and  the  enthusiasm  of  the  remotest  corners  of  the 
earth,  not  only  for  the  blood  which  has  consecrated  its  folds,  bnt 
because  of  the  principles  of  justice  and  of  equal  rights  to  all  men 
which  it  represent*.  No  other  banner  that  floats  oh  the  moun- 
tain or  the  plain,  or  that  is  unfurled  to  the  winds  over  the  briny 
dee|>.  is  v.orshipped  with  such  sublime  devotion,  simply  because 
it  is  the  emblem  of  those  principles  of  truth  and  right  which  the 
Great  Father  of  us  all  has  implanted  in  the  breasts  of  II  is,  chil- 
dren. Once  the  kings  of  the  earth  were  those  who  controlled 
the  lives  and  property  of  whole  nations,  and  whose  possessions 
were  the  diamonds  of  Brazil  and  the  wealth  of  the  Indies ;  but 
now  the  kings  of  the  earth  are  those  whose  labors  and  achieve- 
ments in  the  fields  of  genius,  invention,  science,  literature, 
poetry,  and  song,  have  contributed  in  the  highest  degree  to  the 
advancement  of  human  happiness.  Under  the  starry  flag  that 
waves  over  us  to-day  as  well  as  America,  every  citizen  is  a  king, 
and  there  is  no  avenue  to  wealth  and  fame,  position  and  power, 
that  is  not  open  to  every  child  of  the  Republic.  In  securing 
the  preservation  and  the  permanence  of  republican  institutions 
in  America,  our  comrades  made  those  institutions  possible  and 
practicable  in  all  the  length  and  breadth  of  their  unnumbered 
benefits  to  the  remaining  nationalities  of  the  civilized  world. 
The  lovers  of  freedom  everywhere  are  proud  of  the  achieve- 
ments of  our  comrades;  they  participate  with  us  in  the  tri- 
umphal procession  in  which  we  honor  their  memories  and  their 
deeds,  and  they  shed  with  us  a  tear  of  regret  this  day  that  a 
cause  so  noble  should  have  required  such  noble  sacrifices  to  se- 
cure its  success.  Ashes  to  ashes,  and  dust  to  dust ;  we  tenderly 
commit  to  their  last  resting-place,  as  to  the  bosom  of  God,  the 
mortal  remains  of  our  fallen  comrades,  resting  confident  in  the 
assurance  that  a  cause  will  grow  and  prosper  beyond  measure 
which  has  been  watered  by  so  much  of  the  precious  blood  of  the 
country.  They  are  with  us  no  longer,  but  they  have  left  us,  as 
a  priceless  legacy,  the  principles  for  which  they  fought,  and  the 
wives  and  children  which  they  loved.  We  bring  forth  this  day 
the  shattered  and  war-worn  banners,  upon  which  are  inscribed 
Shiloh,  and  Murfreesboro,  and  Gettysburg,  and  Franklin,  and 
Richmond,  and  ^Nashville,  and  a  hundred  other  fields  of  strife 
illustrious  in  the  nation's  story,  and  we  resolve  this  day  to  labor 
for  the  success  of  the  principles  for  which  they  died  as  long  as 
life  shall  endure.  While  we  strew  upon  their  graves  the  flowers 
of  spring,  let  us  resolve  that  their  wives  and  children,  as  long  as 
we  are  blessed  with  returning  seasons,  shall  "be  a  charge  upon  a 
nation's  gratitude  and  the  wards  of  a  nation's  trust. 


696  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Ah,  yes !  their  work  is  done,  and  they  rest  from  their  labors. 
For  them  there  are  no  more  weary  marches  to  be  made  nnder 
the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun,  or  the  silent  stars  of  the  night,  to 
do  battle  in  the  cause  of  human  rights  and  human  progress. 
Treason  has  done  his  worst,  and  they  no  more  tread  the  lonely 
beat  to  guard  the  white  tents  of  the  gleaming  camp,  while  they 
wistfully  turned  their  thoughts  to  the  distant  n' resides  which 
they  were  to  see  no  more  forever.  No  coming  conflicts  can  be 
to  them  a  source  of  anxious  solicitude,  because  they  are  beyond 
the  reach  of  cannon  and  musketry,  and  are  unmoved  by  the 
shouts  of  victory  or  the  distress  of  defeat.  They  poured  out 
their  life-blood  upon  the  field  of  battle  like  the  rain,  the  most 
precious  treasure  they  could  offer  upon  the  altar  of  duty  and 
patriotism,  while  their  immortal  spirits  were  carried  down  the 
long  aisles  of  Heaven,  and  hid  beneath  the  mercy  seat  until 
the  evil  days  are  passed,  and  the  angel  standing  upon  the  sea  and 
upon  the  land  proclaims  that  "  time  shall  be  no  longer,"  and  the 
strifes  of  mortality  shall  disappear  in  the  sunlight  of  everlasting 
peace.  Comrades  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  it  is  for 
us  to  see  that  the  fallen  brave  who  were  once  our  comrades 
shall  not  have  died  in  vain.  It  is  for  us  to  determine  that  the 
principles  which  they  so  gallantly  defended  shall  be  preserved 
in  their  purity,  and  perpetuated  in  their  strength.  Let  us  renew 
our  .allegiance  to  those  principles,  and  go  forward  in  our  work 
with  an  unfaltering  determination  that  we  will,  through  evil 
report  as  well  as  good  report,  honestly  and  faithfully  discharge 
the  duties  we  owe  to  our  country,  resolved  that  in  all  its  length 
and  breadth  it  shall  be  consecrated  to  the  principles  upon  which 
it  was  founded  in  1776,  and  that  those  principles  shall  rule  and 
govern  it  in  righteousness,  until  the  sinking  earth  shall  open  its 
soldered  seams,  and  sweep  the  world  of  humanity  out  of  exist- 
ence. Whilst  we  bind  up  the  scars,  and  the  wounds,  and  the 
broken  hearts  that  were  left  us  by  the  rebellion,  it  is  for  us  to 
see  that  free  thought,  and  free  speech,  a  free  press  and  free  labor 
are  the  corner-stones  of  a  regenerated  republic.  Our  cause  is 
the  cause  of  right  and  truth  and  justice,  and  in  laboring  for  its 
success  we  have  the  approval  of  our  own  consciences,  and  the 
support  and  blessing  of  Him  who  has  richly  prospered  it  hitherto, 
and  who  holds  the  nations  of  the  earth  in  the  hollow  of  His 
hand.  The  soldiers  who  marched  under  our  banners,  wear  upon 
their  brows  the  perpetual  garlands  of  victory,  and  each  return- 
ing season  of  spring-time  and  harvest,  summer  and  winter, 
brings  to  them  the  ever  green  laurels  of  triumphant  success. 
"We  survive  the  contest  in  which  our  comrades  fell,  but  sooner 
or  later  all  those  who  have  labored,  toiled  and  suffered  in  behalf 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        697 

of  a  fallen  humanity  shall  be  gathered  home  to  that  land  where 
the  flowers  bloom  in  immortal  beauty  arid  fragrance ;  where  no 
eye  is  ever  filled  with  tears  or  heart  with  sorrow,  and  where  the 
only  airs  that  are  breathed  are  the  breezes  that  blow  from  the 
k%  Isles  of  the  Blessed."  For  us  there  still  remains  the  toil  and 
strife  of  life's  unceasing  warfare,  until  we,  too,  shall  be  sum- 
moned to  appear  before  the  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  armies 
of  the  universe,  there  to  receive,  if  we  do  our  duty,  the  reward 
due  to  good  and  faithful  soldiers.  If  we  must  all  die,  let  us  enter 
the  portals' of  immortality  with  the  consciousness  that  the  starry 
flag  under  which  we  lived  and  fought  was  never  stained  or  dis- 
honored by  our  misconduct,  and  that  all  our  duties  and  obliga- 
tions as  soldiers  and  citizens  were  sacredly  met  and  performed. 
If  we  live  in  deeds  and  not  years,  and  we  till  the  measure  of  our 
usefulness  according  to  our  opportunities,  when  other  genera- 
tions shall  come,  in  future  years,  to  pass  their  judgment  upon 
us,  it  may  occasion  us  no  regret  to  remember  that 

"None  but  the  actions  of  the  just 
Smell  sweet  and  blossom  in  the  dust." 

AT  MEMPIIIS,  TENNESSEE. 

Upwards  of  five  thousand  persons  visited  the  Mississippi 
River  National  Cemetery  to  participate  in  the  Dedication  ex- 
ercises, and  to  strew  sweet  flowers  on  the  graves  of  those  who 
fell  lighting  in  defence  of  their  flag,  their  hearthstones  and  their 
country. 

A  large  number  of  persons  arrived  at  the  Cemetery  about 
eleven  o'clock,  among  whom  were  many  fair  ladies,  who  had 
charge  of  decorating  the  graves.  These  ladies  performed  the 
pleasing  and  melancholy  task  which  devolved  upon  them  most 
admirably.  Beautiful  crosses  clothed  in  evergreens,  and  studded 
with  flowers,  were  planted  throughout  the  grounds,  while  on 
many  a  grave  were  to  be  seen  bouquets  of  most  beautiful  flowers, 
which  had  been  laid  there  by  the  tender  hand  of  woman,  who 
doubtless  dropped  a  silent  tear  to  the  memory  of  the  brave  boy 
who  slept  beneath  the  green  sod,  far,  far,  from  the  home  where 
he  first  saw  the  light  of  day,  and  where  he  had  passed  the 
joyous  days  of  boyhood. 

Shortly  before  twelve  o'clock  the  troops  in  garrison  at  post 
marched  into  the  Cemetery,  headed  by  the  fife  and  drum  corps, 
and  under  command  of  Capt.  Estes.  The  soldiers  marched  up 
the  avenue  with  a  steady  martial  tread,  and  formed  in  lin«  close 
to  the  spot  where  the  soldiers  of  the  regular  army  lie  buried,  and 
planted  the  "  Stripes  and  Stars"  amid  the  graves. 


698  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

After  the  troops  came  a  large  detachment  of  the  Metropolitan 
police  force,  under  command  of  Captain  Symons,  and  presented 
a  fine  appearance.  Next  came  the  United  Sons  of  Ham,  the 
Social  Benevolent  Society,  the  Mutual  Relief  Society,  and  the 
United  Sous  of  Zion,  all  clothed  in  nice  regalia,  each  Society 
being  headed  by  a  fife  and  drum  corps.  Between  12  and  1 
o'clock,  a  dense  crowd  of  between  three  and  four  thousand  per- 
sons had  assembled  in  front  of  the  speaker's  stand,  and  about 
1  o'clock  the  exercises  commenced. 

The  President  of  the  day,  Hon.  J.  O.  Pearce,  *  called  the 
assemblage  to  order,  and  said :  The  time  has  now  arrived  to 
commence  the  mourtiful  ceremonies  of  the  day.  Before  the  exer- 
cises, however,  I  will  ask  the  Vice-Presidents,  and  other  officers 
of  the  day,  to  their  places  on  the  stand.  The  following  gentlemen 
responded  to  the  call :  Hon.  J.  T.  Swayne,  Col.  J.  L.  Chandler, 
Win.  R.  Moore,  Esq.,  Col.  Reuel  Hough,  Capt.  II.  S.  Lee,  Col. 
Joseph  Lenow,  Dr.  W.  H.  White,  Col.  W.  B.  Holbrook,  Rev.  T. 
E.  Bliss,  Maj.  J.  Hart  Purdy,  Col.  A.  P.  Curry,  Capt.  M.  Camp- 
bell, Capt.  L.  Horrigan,  Dr.  S.  J.  Qninby,  Rev.  A.  L.  Rankin, 
Hon.  J.  M.  Tomeny,  Capt.  Channing  Richards,  Col.  S.  B.  Beau- 
mont, Capt.  D.  C.  Pool,  J.  R.  Stebbine,  Esq.,  Prof.  J.  H. 
Barnum.  Major  Davies,  Commandant  of  the  Post ;  Dr.  W.  S. 
Tremaine,  Post  Surgeon;  Colonel  Palmer  and  Major  Fredericks 
of  the  45th  U.  S.  Infantry,  also  occupied  seats  on  the  platform. 

The  exercises  of  the  day  commenced  with  the  City  Band 
playing  the  beautiful  anthem,  "  Man  should  not  be  Proud." 

The  President  then  introduced  Rev.  T.  E.  Bliss,  Chairman 
of  the  General  Committee  of  Arrangements,  who  delivered  the 
following  Dedicatory  Address  : 

MR.  PRESIDENT,  LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  :  The  occasion 
which  has  brought  us  together,  is  one  of  no  ordinary  interest. 
A  great  army  is  sleeping  around  us,  no  more  to  engage  in  the 
conflict  of  battle,  no  more  to  be  roused  by  the  morning  drum, 
but  only  to  respond  when  the  Archangel's  trump  shall  awaken 
them  on  the  great  and  final  day.  The  Government  of  the 
United  States,  with  a  thoughtful  care  of  her  children,  has  pro- 
vided, at  great  expense;  in  various  places,  for  the  interment  of 
those  who  have  fallen,  or  may  do  so  hereafter,  in  her  defence. 
We  meet  to-day  to  consecrate  with  appropriate  religious  rites, 
this  National  Cemetery ;  to  plant  the  cross,  that  symbol  of  our 
faith,  in  which  is  all  our  hope,  to  deck  with  evergreens  and 
flowers  these  grounds  and  graves  ;  thereby  expressing  our  affec- 
tionate interest  in  our  friends  and  comrades  and  brothers  who 
are  lying  so  thickly  around  us,  and  pledging  here  before  God 
and  the  nation,  that  their  names  and  noble  deeds  shall  ever  live 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  699 

fresh  and  green  in  our  memories  and  in  the  memories  of  our 
children  who  shall  come  after  us.  In  no  spirit  of  rivalry  or 
emulation  of  party,  or  of  sectionalism  do  we  come,  but  with 
kind  and  fraternal  hand  would  extend  out  over  these  graves  the 
olive  branch  of  peace — even  to  that  cluster  of  graves  so  recently 
dedicated  at  Elmwood.  Laying  aside  the  implements  of  war 
and  burying  the  asperities  of  strife,  we  would  catch  the  spirit, 
and  attune  our  heart  to  the  sweet  harmonies  of  the  song  of  the 
angels,  as  .they  sang  in  full  chorus  to  the  Shepherds  of  Bethle- 
hem, "  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  Earth  peace  and 
good  will  towards  men" 

Of  the  noble  deeds  of  patriotism  and  fame  of  those  who  now 
peacefully  sleep  around  us,  of  their  virtues  and  sacrifices  for  the 
cause  of  liberty,  and  a  united  country,  of  their  aspirations,  and 
hopes  for  a  prosperous  and  happy  people,  of  their  longings  and 
previsions  of  a  great  and  glorious  Republic,  which  should  be 
free  from  every  stain,  and  become  the  light  and  joy  of  all 
nations — of  these,  other  and  more  eloquent  lips  than  mine  will 
speak  to  you  on  this  occasion.  The  inspirations  of  the  hour,  the 
thronging  memories  of  the  past,  the  scenes  recalled  of  other 
fields,  wherein  so  many  of  these  brave  men  laid  down  their 
lives,  amid  the  roar  of  battle  and  the  surging  tide  of  war,  can- 
not fail  to  thrill  the  whole  soul  of  the  orator  anew  as  he  recounts 
the  high  resolve  and  heroic  action  of  so  many  of  those  who 
fought  under  the  same  command.  But  while  we  cheerfully 
accord  the  preeminence  on  this  occasion  to  their  late  comrades 
in  arms,  as  eminently  befitting  and  proper,  we  yet  would  re- 
member that  the  name  and  fame  of  these  noble  dead  are  com- 
mitted by  the  nation  to  no  one  class,  but  are  henceforth  and 
forever  to  be  the  rightful  heritage  of  a  whole,  grateful  and  united 
people.  Neither  party  names,  nor  sectional  lines,  nor  artificial 
distinctions — no,  nor  even  the  bloody  and  painful  conflict  which 
laid  them  here  shall  ever -alienate  the  right  in  this  great  and 
precious  inheritance,  either  for  ourselves  or  for  the  generations 
yet  to  come.  Therefore  it  is  that  we  are  all  here  present  to-day 
to  unite  in  these  services — to  recognize  first  and  reverently  our 
dependence,  as  a  people,  upon  the  God  of  nations  and  the  God 
of  battles — to  dedicate  in  accordance  with  appropriate  usage, 
from  time  immemorial,  these  grounds  by  religious  services,  to 
the  sacred  purpose  for  which  they  are  designed — to  hear  of  the 
mighty  deeds  performed  in  our  behalf — to  cement  anew  and  in 
stronger  bonds,  the  political,  social  and  friendly  union  of  this 
great  people,  and  to  have  the  altar-fires  of  a  common  and  mutual 
patriotism  for  our  whole  country,  lighted  up  with  purer  rays  and 
with  a  warmer  glow — even  to  a  welding  and  suffusing  heat. 


700  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

We  would  bring  our  votive  offerings  in  a  reverent  and  loving 
spirit,  imploring  the  God  and  Father  of  us  all  for  His  divine 
benediction  upon  this  occasion.  We  would  not  keep  back  our 
tears  when  we  *hink  of  the  hearts  which  still  bleed  in  secret  for 
the  loved  whose  forms  are  sleeping  here. 

O  well  may  we  weep  for  the  good  and  the  brave, 

AY  hose  forms  are  lying  before  us; 
O  well  may  we  bow  with  tears  over  the  grave 

Of  the  soldier  who  died  to  restore  us. 

The  Union  so  dear,  the  life  of  the  Nation, 

Tinged  with  the  blood  of  our  fathers, 
Must  never  be  sunder'd  in  any  relation, 

Though  tears  again  flow  like  the  waters. 

On  the  patriot's  shrine,  in  love's  sacred  name, 

We  will  lay  our  sweetest  token, 
And  we'll  bind  him  a  wreath  of  immortal  fame 

On  the  cross  where  the  Savior  hath  spoken. 

It  is  in  this  spirit,  I  trust,  that  we  have  all  met  on  this  glad 
but  solemn  occasion,  with  humble  and  devout  thanksgivings  to 
Almighty  God,  fo.r  His  great  mercies  towards  us  as  a  people — 
for  the  preservation  of  our  national  unity,  and  for  permitting  us 
here  to  meet  in  fraternal  accord  on  this  joyous  day — we  come 
to  dedicate  this  sacred  enclosure.  We  should  be  especially  glad 
and  grateful  that  He  has  inclined  our  hearts  so  generally  to  lay 
aside  the  asperities  of  the  past,  and  disposed  us  to  extend  so 
many  mutual  kindnesses  and  courtesies,  whereof  these  beautiful 
flowers  and  evergreens  are  a  token.  With  united  hearts  we 
would  reverently  engage  in  these  services,  and  implore  the  spirit 
of  divine  mercy  and  grace  to  rest  upon  all  here  present,  and 
upon  all  who  shall  rest  in  this  hallowed  enclosure.  In  the  name 
of  the  God  and  Father  of  us  all — the  God  of  the  nation,  who 
hath  done  great  things  for  us — the  sovereign  and  only  potentate 
— the  King  of  kings  and  the  Lord  of  lords — we  would  solemnly 
dedicate  these  grounds  to  the  sacred  purposes  for  which  they  are 
designed.  We  pray  that  His  benignant  smile  may  ever  rest 
upon  this  spot — that  His  favor  may  here  ever  abide,  and  that  in 
other  years  we  and  our  children  may  come  as  pilgrims  to  this 
shrine,  and  reverently  bring  our  votive  offerings,  and  along  these 
walks  and  beneath  these  groves,  and  among  these  graves  of  the 
brave  defenders  of  ournation,  may  we  be  inspired  with  a  higher 
and  purer  patriotism — be  strengthened  in  our  devotion  to  the 
Union  of  these  States,  and  may  the  silken  cord  of  love  and  so- 
cial kindness  bind  the  hearts  more  and  more  closely  together  of 
this  whole  people  and  nation,  and  may  the  God  of  our  fathers — 
the  God  of  the  dead  and  of  the  living,  hear  our  vows  thus  taken, 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.         701 

and  bestow  upon  all  our  country  His  favor  and  His  continued 
blessings. 

At  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Bliss's  remarks,  Rev.  F.  A.  Mason 

5 renounced  a  prayer,  after  which  a  dedicatory  poem  by  Judge 
.  O.  Pierce  was  read  by  Channing  Richards,  Esq.     This  was 
followed  by  remarks  by  Capt.  Lee.     He  spoke  as  follows : 

LADIES  AND  GENTLEMEN  :  I  regret  exceedingly  that,  by  an 
unforseen  accident,  Gen.  Hurl  but  is  unable  to  be  present.  The 
committee  received  a  telegraph  dispatch  from  the  General  that, 
owing  to  the  sickness  of  his  wife,  he  would  be  unable  to  be  with 
us  to-day.  I  feel  certain  that  if  Gen.  Hurl  but  had  been  present, 
he  would  have  delivered  an  address  which  all  would  have  listen- 
ed to  with  the  greatest  pleasure.  I  regret  that  I  am  called  to 
take  the  place  of  that  gentleman,  and  I  wish  it  to  be  understood 
that  the  citizens  of  Jilemphis  who  will  speak  on  this  occasion 
will  do  so  extemporaneously  and  without  preparation.  It  is  the 
habit  of  the  Mohammedans  to  make  an  annual  pilgrimage  to  the 
shrine  of  the  prophet,  and  to-day,  those  who  had  come  to  the 
cemetery  had  come  to  discharge  a  patriotic  duty,  and  actuated 
by  the  same  devotion.  Fortunately,  however,  they  were  not 
compelled  to  go  far  from  their  homes  on  such  an  occasion,  as 
their  altars  were  here,  where  repose  the  remains  of  our  former 
comrades,  our  brethren -in-arms  who  died  while  engaged  in  the 
grand  work  of  preserving  the  government  which  Washington 
and  the  other  fathers  had  handed  down  to  us.  These  brave  men 
who  lie  in  the  graves  around  us  fell  by  our  sides  while  saving 
from  destruction  and  preserving  to  us  and  those  who  are  to  come 
after  us  the  most  precious  legacy  on  earth,  the  best,  purest  and 
highest  form  of  government  that  has  ever  been  conceived  by  the 
ingenuity  and  wisdom  of  man.  (Applause.)  A  few  short  years 
ago  the  tocsin  of  alarm  was  sounded  throughout  the  breadth  of 
this  land  that  the  government  was  in  danger,  and  that  it  was 
about  to  be  destroyed  by  armed  violence  and  anarchy  at  the 
South.  But  a  call  was  made  by  the  government,  and  these  pat- 
riots, who  now  lie  here,  answered  the  call  and  sprang  to  arms. 
They  came  from  every  valley,  village,  city  and  town  in  the  coun- 
try. They  left  their  hearthstones  and  came  forth,  at  the  call  ot 
their  country,  for  its  protection  and  preservation.  Sires,  sons 
nr>d  fathers  all  sprang  to  arms,  and  they  poured  out  their  blood 
in  defence  of  liberty  and  of  a  free  government.  They  fell  brave- 
ly, and  to-day,  for  the  gallantry  they  displayed,  are  held  in  rev- 
erence by  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  but  more  especially  by 
those  of  our  own  nation,  for  they  met  their  death  •  in  the  shock 
of  battle  all  too  soon,  but  they  fell  while  bravely  fighting  for  a 
cause  which  they  at  least  deemed  most  just  and  righteous.  (Ap- 


702  MEMORIAL  CEREMONIES 

planse.)  No  one  would,  therefore,  be  so  ruthless  as  to  pluck 
from  their  brows  one  solitary  laurel  to  which  they  are  entitled. 
"We  have  here  those  graves  as  monuments  of  the  devotion  of  the 
American  people  to  the  permanency  of  our  government  and  in- 
stitutions. We  have  in  our  midst  the  many  brave  and  noble 
comrades. stranded  upon  the  bloody  waves  of  the  great  surging 
tide  of  battle — as  gallant  barques  as  ever  floated  upon  the  sea  of 
life — thrown  upon  the  shores  of  horrid  strife,  shapeless,  shattered 
vessels  of  humanity !  with  their  pale  faces  looking  up  through 
the  sea-drift  of  suffering,  beaming  with  a  calm,  patient  hope  and 
resignation  that  no  more  of  agony  could  ripple  or  disturb.  And 
I  say  it  reverentially,  approaching  nearer  to  the  inspiration  and 
self-sacrificing,  holy  devotion  of  that  death  which  was  "  to  save 
sinners."  These  brave  heroes  deserve  our  greatest  care,  while 
those  who  sleep  here  appeal  to  us  and  to  all  around  here,  re- 
gardless of  the  position  they  held  in  the  late  conflict.  Those 
dead  heroes  died  owing  their  devotion  to  the  institutions  of 
the  best  and  purest  government  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  and 
therefore  we  are  here  to-day  to  do  reverence  to  the  glorious  dead, 
and  we  are  here  to  commemorate  the  death  of  these  fallen  braves 
by  decorating  their  graves  with  flowers — sweet  flowers,  the  fresh- 
est jewels  in  the  crown  of  the  earth.  We  are  here  to  strew  these 
flowers  on  the  graves  of  heroes,  while  those  to  whom  they  were 
dear,  and  in  distant  States,  can  realize  our  appreciation  of  the 
devotion  they  showed  for  their  country  and  the  sacred  cause  in 
which  they  were  engaged  when  they  fell.  "While  we  do  this  in 
the  presence  of  the  illustrious  dead,  let  all  dissensions,  all  bitter- 
ness, all  strife  pass  away,  and  let  us  thank  God  that  we  can  all 
meet  together  as  citizens  of  one  common  country  and  under  one 
flag.  (Applause.)  The  cause  for  which  these  men  fell  is  a  most 
precious  legacy,  and  was  secured  to  us  through  their  toil  and 
through  the  sacrifices  of  their  lives,  and  given  to  us  and  to  our 
posterity.  It  is  a  great  and  noble  legacy  (applause) — the  Union 
of  the  United  States  of  America. 

And  in  receiving  at  their  hands  such  a  legacy  from  these 
dead  patriots,  it  is  our  bounden  duty  to  preserve  and  perpetuate 
this  government  which  they  have  bequeathed  to  us. 

It  seems  to  me  that  language  is  too  feeble  and  inadequate  to 
express  fully  all  that  we  owe  to  these  brave  men,  who  left  their 
homes,  their  friends,  and  sacrificed  their  lives  in  order  that  we 
might  enjoy  freedom.  We  all  know  the  spirit  in  which  they 
went  forth,  and  the  noble  object  for  which  they  fought — the 
glorious  institutions  of  the  country.  When  we  think  of  this, 
language  seems  poor,  weak  and  feeble  to  express  all  we  owe  to 
these  patriots.  With  these  thoughts  in  our  minds,  let  us  ever 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  703 

remember  the  sacrifices  these  gallant  and  patriotic  men  made 
for  us,  and  let  us  make  to  this  city  of  the  dead  an  annual  pil- 
grimage, and  strew  flowers  upon  their  graves,  and,  when  we  are 
taken  away  by  death,  let  us  bequeath  the  pleasing  task  to  our 
children,  and  thus  testify  our  gratitude  to  these  patriots,  and 
our  remembrance  of  the  cause  in  which  they  fell. 

The  President  of  the  day  then  introduced  J.  M.  Tomeny, 
who  said : — 1  am  about  to  read  a  poem,  written  by  Mary  T. 
Boltou,  and  first  published  in  February,  1861.  It  was  composed 
at  the  time  the  secession  of  South  Carolina  sent  a  thrill  through 
this  broad  land.  It  is  one  of  those  noble  emanations  of  genius 
in-j tired  by  genuine  love  of  country,  which  are  called  forth  only 
at  great  eras  of  the  world's  history.  It  embodies  in  beautiful 
language  the  imaginary  dream  of  an  old  soldier  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, who  had  lived  more  than  a  century  and  had  seen  generations 
pass  away.  Its  noble  pathos  and  glowing  patriotism  inspired 
thousands  of  the  brave  men  whose  mortal  remains  rest  around 
us,  and  whose  immortal  souls,  we  hope,  have  taken  their  flight 
to  realms  of  eternal  bliss. 

In  the  midst  of  his  children's  children,  by  the  home  fire's  cheerful  blaze, 

An  old  man  sat  in  his  easy  chair,  dreaming  of  bygone  day^; 

Dreaming  of  wearisome  inarches,  by  flood,  inornss  and  wold, 

"Where  m.-my  a  brave  heart  tainted  with  hunirer  and  thirst  and  cold; 

Dreaming  of  midnight  watches  in  the  dreary,  drizzling  rain, 

And  the  hum  of  his  comrades'  voices,  that  he  never  shall  hear  again ; 

Of  the  smouldering  fires  of  the  bivouac,  the  sentinel's  measured  tread, 

The  smoke  and  roar  of  the  battle,  and  the  faces  of  the- dead — 

Of  the  fair  voting  son  of  his  neighbor,  who  fought  and  fell  by  his  side, 

Ami  the  snored  message  he  gave  him  to  his  girl-love  wh?n  he  died. 

lie  saw  the  face  of  the  maiden  grow  as  cold  as  death  and  as  pale, 

As  he  sat  by  her  father's  hearthstone  and  told  her  the  cruel  tale. 

"  Ay,  ay,"  in  his  sleep  he  murmured,  "  she  was  fair  and  he  was  brave, 

But  she  faded  away  like  a  blossom,  and  we  made  him  a  soldier's  grave. 

But  we  routed  the  British  legions,  and  sent  them  over  the  sea, 

For  the  God  of  battles  helped  us,  and  our  native  land  was  free. 

My  son,  I  have  been  dreaming  a  dream  that  gives  me  pain ; 

I  thought  I  was  young,  and  a  soldier,  fighting  for  freedom  again ; 

I  saw  the  tents  and  the  banners,  and  the  shining  ranks  of  the  foe, 

And  the  crimson  tracks  of  onr  poor  recruits  left  on  the  frozen  snow. 

But  is  it  true,  this  rumor,  or  only  an  idle  tale — 

Do  they  talk  of  dissolving  the  Union  ? — Ah  !  well  may  your  cheek  grow  pale, 

And  well  may  an  old  man  tremble,  and  his  heart  beat  faint  and  low, 

When  he  thinks  of  the  price  it  cost  us  some  fourscore  years  ago ! 

I  have  watched  its  growing  greatness  through  a  life  of  many  years, 

But  I  never  forgot  its  blessings  were  purchased  with  blood  and  tears. 

I  never  forgot  the  privations  of  fourscore  years  ago, 

"When  the  naked  feet  of  our  poor  recruits  left  crimson  tracks  in  the  snow. 

I  never  forgot  their  faces,  and  I  seem  to  see  them  still, 

Who  looked  straight  into  the  face  of  death  at  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill. 

And  so  the  home  of  Marion  is  the  first  to  break  the  band 


701  MEMORIAL  CEREMONIES 

That  bound  the  beautiful  sisterhood  of  our  beloved  land; 

The  children  of  the  heroes  around  whose  memory  clings 

The  glory  of  King's  Mountain,  Cowpens  and  Eutaw  Springs  I 

I  saw  our  blessed  banner,  with  its  white  and  crimson  bars, 

When  fair  South  Carolina  was  one  of  the  thirteen  stars ; 

And  if  ever  that  constellation  is  marred  or  rent  in  twain, 

It  would  blast  the  sight  of  these  poor  old  eyes  to  see  its  folds  again. 

If  God  has  forsuken  our  country,  the  only  boon  I  crave 

Is,  that  He  will  delay  its  ruin  till  I  have  gone  down  to  the  grave; 

For  I  could  not  breathe  with  foemen,  nor  turn  my  face  to  the  sun, 

Nor  dwell  in  the  land  of  the  living,  when  the  States  are  no  longer  one. 

Judge  J.  T.  Swajne  then  spoke  as  follows : 

He  said  he  came  before  them  to-day  with  some  embarrass- 
ment, having  been  called  upon  to  make  an  impromptu  speech. 

He  intended  by  his  presence  here  to-day  to  pay  a  tribute  to 
the  restoration  of  peace.  He  did  not  expect  to  make  a  speech, 
as  he  had  no  information  on  the  subject  on  which  he  was 
called  to  speak,  and  he  was  not  aware  that  it  was  contempla- 
ted he  should  make  a  speech  on  the  occasion  until  he  reached 
the  grounds.  He  saw  here  the  spirit  of  conciliation  and  har- 
mony, and  he  called  on  his  countrymen  of  the  sunny  South 
to  witness  tjie  spirit  of  conciliation  and  harmony  which  he 
observed,  and  the  sentiments  expressed  on  that  happy  occasion, 
He  asked,  if  this  was  not  a  fitting  occasion  and  a  fitting  place, 
there  in  that  silent,  solemn  city  of  the  dead,  for  the  cultivation  of 
these  sentiments.  They  were  in  the  presence  of  patriot  sons, 
dead,  but  whose  memories  are  enshrined  in  their  hearts  and  their 
affections.  He  observed  above  him  the  godlike  portrait  of  Daniel 
Webster,  and  his  own  great  political  patron,  Henry  Clay,  and 
there  was  the  portrait  of  one  higher  than  any  man  living,  or 
any  man  who  had  ever  lived,  except  the  Saviour  of  mankind.  It 
was  that  of  the  "  father  of  his  country,"  George  Washington. 
(Applause.)  In  such  a  presence  it  was  meet  that  there  should  be 
harmony  and  conciliation.  He  was  glad  to  see  this  spirit  exist- 
ing at  the  present  time.  He  was  also  glad  to  see  so  many 
of  his  own  Southern  countrymen  present,  and  among  them  many 
officers  who  had  served  in  the  Confederate  army.  They  can 
testify  to  the  bearing  of  these  men  who  slept  in  the  graves  around 
them,  as  they  had  met  them  many  a  time  on  the  battle-field. 
They  could  speak  of  their  gallantry,  and  it  had  been  well  said 
that  both  sections  of  the  country  produced  the  bravest  of  the 
brave,  and  it  was  a  proud  satisfaction  to  him  that  day  to  witness 
the  spirit  of  conciliation  and  harmony  which  prevailed  on  this 
occasion. 

The  band  then  played  the  very  appropriate  air,  "  Auld  Lang 
Syne." 


A.T  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.         705 

• 

REMARKS   OF  COL.    HAN8ACKBR. 

Col.  Hansacker,  late  of  Gen.  Griffin's  staff,  was  then  intro- 
duced. He  said  he  did  not  expect  to  be  called  on  to  address  the 
assembly  on  that  occasion,  but  he  was  glad  to  be  with  them  that 
day,  while  they  were  paying  a  tribute  to  the  patriot  dead.  He 
hoped  they  would  permit  him  to  retire  on  such  a  solemn  occa- 
sion, for  he  assured  them  that  his  heart  was  too  full  to  give  ex- 
pression to  his  thoughts. 

"  AMERICA."      . 

The  entire  assemblage  then  joined  in  singing  the  grand  old 
tune  "  America." 

"  My  country,  'tis  of  thee, 
Sweet  land  of  liberty, 
Of  thee  I  sing." 

The  exercises  then  terminated  with  the  Rev.  A.  L.  Rankin, 
chaplain  of  the  Memphis  Post  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  pronouncing  the 
benediction. 

AT  KENDUSKEAG,  MAINE. 

The  citizens  of  Kenduskeag  gathered  at  the  Town  Hall,  at 
8  o'clock  A.  M.  to  pay  their  tribute  to  the  eleven  graves — all 
the  bodies  recovered  out  of  the  twenty-eight  from  this  little 
town,  who  lost  their  lives  in  the  great  struggle  for  freedom.  A 
lanje  procession  was  formed,  notwithstanding  the  unfavorable 
weather,  led  by  the  Post,  W.  H.  H.  Stackpole,  Commander,  fol- 
lowed by  Tranquil  Lodge  of  G.  T.  in  regalia  and  citizens  gen- 
erally; and,  to  the  solemn  taps  of  the  drum  marched  to  the 
grave-yard.  In  silence  and  with  many  tears  the  graves  were  all 
visited.  Monuments  and  headstones  were  tastefully  twined 
with  evergreens.  Beautiful  wreaths  and  bouquets  of  the  first 
flowers  of  spring,  and  a  cross  of  evergreens  were  placed  upon 
each  grave.  The  procession  then  formed  in  a  square,  and  the 
Choir  sang — 

"  Brothers,  ye  have  gone  to  rest." 

Eloquent  and  very  feeling  remarks  were  made  by  E.  F. 
Crane,  Esq.,  causing  the  deepest  emotion, — he  having  a  son 
buried  here.  Also,  appropriate  and  impressive  remarks  were 
made  by  T.  W.  Hodsdon,  and  Rev.  T.  JB.  Robinson.  Prayer 
was  offered  by  Mr.  Robinson,  and  the  Choir  sang  the  beautiful 
piece — 

"  We  will  not  forget  them," 

by  Geo.  F.  Root. 

45 


706  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 


AT  BKEWER,  MAINE. 

The  arrangements  were  under  the  charge  of  a  detachment 
from  Post  No.  12,  G.  A.  R.,  under  the  command  of  Col.  Jasper 
Hutch  ings  as  chief  marshal,  assisted  by  Sewall  H.  Downs  and 
Manly  Hardy  as  aids.  The  members  of  the  G.  A.  R.  visited  the 
Cemetery  in  the  morning  and  placed  crosses  of  arbor  vitse  at  the 
heads  of  those  graves  which  had  no  stone  placed  at  the  head. 
At  nine  o'clock  the  citizens  and  public  schools  met  at  the  Town 
House,  and  formed  a  procession  in  the  following  order :  Bangor 
Cornet  Band  ;  Detachment  from  Post  No.  12,  G.  A.  R. ;  Thirty- 
seven  young  ladies,  representing  each  State  of  the  Union,  wear- 
ing the  national  tri-co!or;  Citizens  of  Brewer;  Scholars  of  the 
public  schools.  The  procession  was  very  long,  all  the  scholars 
of  the  village  schools,  and  a  large  number  of  the  citizens  taking 
part.  The  procession  marched  to  the  Cemetery,  and,  having 
been  massed,  prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  Mr.  Fuller,  following 
which  the  audience  sang  the  National  Hymn,  the  Band  accom- 
panying. The  comracles  of  the  G.  A.  R.  were  then  formed  in 
two  platoons,  and  one  beginning  at  each  end  of  the  Cemetery, 
strewed  with  flowers  the  graves  of  their  fallen  comrades,  placing 
a  wreath  and  a  bouquet  of  flowers  on  each,  the  Band  meanwhile 
playing  a  dirge.  After  they  had  done  this,  the  scholars  of  the 
schools  and  others  came  forward  and  added  their  tribute  to  those 
already  offered.  The  procession  was  again  formed,  and  after 
marching  back  to  the  place  where  the  line  was  formed,  were 
dismissed,  just  as  it  began  to  rain. 

AT  BANGOK,  MAINE. 

Saturday,  the  day  set  apart  all  over  our  country,  to  do  honor 
to  the  gallant  dead  who  fell  in  defence  of  our  flag,  our  Consti- 
tution and  the  principles  of  universal  freedom,  was  observed  in 
this  city  in  accordance  with  the  arrangements  previously  an- 
nounced in  our  paper.  The  day  opened  with  a  raw  east  wind 
and  a  heavy  fog,  which  during  the  forenoon  turned  to  rain, 
and  at  noon  the  rain  came  down  in  torrents,  which  made 
it  seem  almost  impossible  that  any  services  could  be  held  at 
Mount  Hope.  But  the  Post  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Re- 
public, who  for  four  years  had  marched  and  fought  side  by  side 
with  their  fallen  comrades,  through  rain  and  storm,  were  not  to 
be  kept  from  doing  honor  to  their  late  compatriots  by  any  such 
little  thing  as  rain,  and  consequently  they  decided  to  attend  to 
the  duty  they  had  undertaken,  even  if  no  others  should  unite 
with  them.  But  the  fates  were  propitious,  and  at  one  o'clock 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        707 

the  rain  was  over,  though  the  sky  was  still  overcast,  and  looked 
as  likely  to  rain  again  as  at  any  time  during  the  day.  The 
various  bodies  met  at  their  different  places  of  meeting  at  half- 
past  one  o'clock,  and  at  two  o'clock  the  bodies  .formed  in  line  on 
Main  street,  in  the  following  order: 

Bangor  Cornet  Band — A.  D.  Barlow,  leader.  Co.  B,  State 
Guards — Capt.  J.  S.  Ricker;  Co.  A,  State  Guards — Lieut.  Mar- 
shall Dyer ;  Post  No.  12,  G.  A.  R. — under  the  command  of 
Sen.  Vice  Commander,  Gen.  Chas.  Hamlin,  Junior  Yice  Com. 
A.  C.  Hamlin,  and  Lieut.  B.  H.  Beale,  Officer  of  the  Day.  Of- 
ficers of  the  Regular  Army.  Post  No.  19,  G.  A.  R.,  Kendus- 
keag,  with  the  following  officers :  Post  Commander  "W.  H. 
Stackpole;  Senior  Yice  Com.,  John  H.  Everett;  Jun.  Yice 
Com.  J.  H.  Dolliver ;  Post  Q.  M.,  F.  A.  H.  Stackpole ;  Officer 
of  the  Day,  G.  A.  Hatchings. 

City  Government  of  Bangor  :  Ex-Mayors  of  the  city ;  soldiers 
of  the  war  of  1812 ;  Soldiers'  Monument  Association ;  clergy- 
men of  the  city ;  Heath's  Martial  Band  ;  Eagle  Engine  Company 
No.  3,  George  H.  Chick,  foreman  ;  Union  Hose  Company  No. 
1,  A.  Morse,  foreman.  The  procession  made  a  fine  appearance 
— Co.'s  A,  and  B.  State  Guards,  each  about  forty  strong,  in  uni- 
form. Post  No.  12,  G.  A.  R.,  about  eighty,  and  Post  No.  19, 
about  twenty  strong,  each  wearing  a  rosette  of  the  national 
tri-colors  draped  with  crape,  and  bearing  aloft  the  blood-stained 
and  tattered  flags  with  which  they  marched  to  battle,  and  in 
defense  of  which  their  comrades  fell.  The  regular  army  was 
represented  by  Lieut.  Col.  James  H.  Carleton  (Major-General 
of  Volunteers),  and  Capt.  Win.  H.  Mills,  Jr.,  both  of  our  city, 
and  who  are  at  present  on  leave  of  absence.  The  soldiers  of 
1812  were  represented  by  five  of  our  venerable  citizens,  and 
would  have  been  much  more  largely  represented  had  any  notice 
been  given  in  season,  as  it  was  only  announced  in  the  paper  of 
Saturday  morning  that  they  would  take  part.  Eagle  Engine 
Company  numbered  fifty-one  strong,  and*  they  wore  their  well- 
known  and  tasty  uniform.  Union  Hose  Company,  twenty-five 
strong,  made  their  first  appearance  in  their  handsome  and  showy 
uniform.  It  consists  of  scarlet  pants,  blue  jacket  with  buff  fac- 
ing, and  scarlet  cap  with  blue  band.  They  made  a  fine  appear- 
ance. At  2.20  the  procession  marched  directly  to  the  cars, 
through  Main,  Union  and  Front  streets.  Arriving  at  Mount 
Hope  the  procession  re-formed  and  marched  through  and  around 
the  grounds,  the  band  playing  "  The  Grave  of  Washington"  and 
other  dirges.  After  making  the  circuit  of  the  grounds  the  pro- 
cession formed  on  three  sides  of  a  hollow  square,  facing  the 
soldiers'  monument,  when  the  exercises  of  the  day  commenced. 


708  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

The  decorating  committee  had  attended  to  their  duty  in  the 
forenoon,  and  the  grave  of  every  soldier  was  profusely  covered 
with  wreaths  and  bouquets.  This  was  done  not  only  at  Mount 
Hope,  but  also  at  all  the  other  cemeteries  in  the  city,  viz. :  Mount 
Pleasant  (Catholic),  Pine  Grove,  Maple  Grove  and  Levant  Road 
Cemeteries.  At  Mount  Hope  the  principal  decoration  was  of 
the  soldiers'  monument,  erected  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  all 
our  brave  boys,  whether  interred  here  or  their  bones  lie  bleach- 
ing on  the  Southern  soil.  A  proper  description  of  the  beautiful 
manner  in  which  this  was  decorated  is  beyond  our  power.  Each 
corner  of  the  shaft  was  covered  with  a  garland  of  evergreen,  and 
on  each  face  of  the  shaft,  midway  to  the  top,  was  a  wreath  of 
evergreen  enclosing  a  beautiful  bouquet.  Each  corner  of  the 
base  had  a  bouquet,  while  all  around  were  festoons,  wreaths  and 
flowers  in  great  profusion.  The  base  of  the  monument  bore  on 
each  face  in  letters  of  green  the  following  mottoes : 

South  side — "  Heroes  never  Die." 

East — "  Dulce  est  pro  patria  mori." 

West — "  Non  sifo  sed  Patrice" 

North—"  Honor  the  Dead." 

The  graves  within  the  monument  enclosure  were  adorned 
with  wreaths,  crosses  and  bouquets. 

The  curbstone  surrounding  the  enclosure,  was  covered  with 
wreaths  and  festoons. of  evergreen  and  immortelles,  and  at  the 
entrance  were  flowers  in  the  most  lavish  profusion.  At  each 
corner  was  placed  a  flag,  attended  by  a  guard  of  honor,  while 
all  around  outside  of  the  enclosure,  bouquets  and  wreaths  were 
scattered  upon  the  grass. 

THE  CEREMONIES  AT  MOUNT  HOPE,  MAINE. 

The  square  being  formed,  Gen.  Daniel  White,  Commander 
of  Post  No.  12,  which  had  the  charge  of  the  arrangements, 
entered  the  enclosure  accompanied  by  the  speakers  of  the  day, 
Monument  Association,  City  Government  and  invited  guests. 

Advancing  to  the  front  General  White  said: 

"  COMRADES — We  have  assembled  here  to-day  to  perpetuate 
and  keep  bright  the  memories  of  our  departed  companions-in 
arms,  a  sacred  trust  and  duty,  and  a  peculiar  privilege.  To- 
day our  comrades  of  the  order  throughout  the  Nation,  are  en- 
gaged in  decorating  with  floral  tributes,  the  resting  places  of 
our  fallen.  It  is  befitting  that  men  strong  and  brave  in  the 
hour  of  danger,  should  show  their  regard  for  those  who  fell — • 
whose  worth  we  learned  to  know  and  appreciate." 

He  then  announced  that  the  exercises  of  the  day  would  com- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  709 

raence  with  a  prayer  by  the  Chaplain,  Rev.  B.  A.  Chase.  Mr. 
Chase  then  offered  a  prayer.  Gen.  White  then  requested  the 
audience  to  unite  in  singing  "  America,"  led  by  the  music  of 
the  band,  and  called  upon  the  officers  of  the  Post  to  come  for- 
ward during  the  singing  and  decorate  the  graves  of  their  com- 
rades. The  officers  then  came  forward  and  taking  the  bouquets 
they  had  brought  with  them,  scattered  the  flowers  around  the 
monument  and  upon  the  graves  of  the  soldiers.  It  was  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  and  impressive  sights  we  ever  witnessed. 

Gen.  White  next  announced  that  comrade  Rev.  J.  B.  Gould 
would  deliver  the  address.  Mr.  Gould  spoke  as  follows  : 

COMRADES  OF  THE  GRAND  AKMY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC:  In  con- 
formity witli  your  request  I  perform  the  sad  yet  pleasant  duty 
of  speaking  briefly  on  this  occasion.  But  you  will  first  listen  to 
the  roll  call  of  the  heroic  dead.  The  great  Napoleon  ordered 
when  one  of  his  gallant  marshals  was  slain,  that  his  name  should 
be  called  each  morning  with  the  names  of  the  living,  and  a 
soldier  stepping  to  the  front  responded  "  died,  covered  with 
glory,  on  the  field  of  battle." 


ROLL    OF   THE    HONORED    DEAD. 


Gen.  Chas.  D.  Jameson,  Gen.  Cyrus  Hamlin,  Col.  Daniel 
Chaplin,  Major  Stephen  D.  Carpenter,  Major  Wm.  L.  Pitcher, 
Surgeon  Alden  Palmer,  Surgeon  Wm.  H.  Allen,  Chap.  Henry 
C.  Henries,  Capt.  John  Ayer,  Capt.  Scollay  D.  Baker,  Capt. 
Samuel  W.  Daggett,  Capt.  Frank  W.  Sabine,  Capt.  S.  F. 
Thompson,  Capt.  Henry  Warren,  Capt.  Rindaldo  B.  Wiggin, 
Capt.  Chas.  A.  Thatcher,  Lieut.  Edward  R.  Flowers,  Lieut. 
George  F.  Bourne,  Lieut.  Thomas  Drummond,  Lieut.  Luther 
C  Fairfield,  Lieut.  Walter  S.  Goodale,  Lieut.  John  M.  Sher- 
wood, Lieut.  George  H.  Benson,  Lieut.  Thos.  L.  Gates,  Sergeant 
Wm.  J.  Deane,  Robert  L.  Atkins,  Eben  E.  Andrews,  Amaziah 
Billings,  Wm.  Bartlett,  Charles  E.  Bicknell,  Warren  Boynton, 
Benj.  C.  Benson,  Isaac  Berry,  John  Billings,  Jeremiah  Corcoran, 
Rufus  H.  Cole,  Peter  Cannon,  Edward  R.  Chamberlain,  Hiram 
G.  Claridge,  Sergt.  Charles  B.  Cobb,  Charles  H.  Cleaves, 
Sergeant  Robert  Carlisle,  Benjamin  Chase,  Wm.  A.  Gates,  John 
F.  Drew,  Adrian  R.  Drew,  Henry  O.  Dunbar,  Corp.  Chas.  H. 
Daggett,  Willard  G.  Delano,  Lysander  B.  Dunbar,  Chas.  Y. 
Dudley,  Ozra  W.  Davis,  John  A.  Dealing,  Seth  E.  Drinkwater, 
Samuel  M.  Emerson,  Solomon  G.  Emery,-  Frederick  W.  Five, 
John  A.  Farnham,  Albert  W.  Forbes,  Edward  A.  Goodale, 
Nathan  D.  Hanson,  Edward  W.  Hanson,  Nathan  A.  Hopkins, 
Sergt,  W.  H.  H.  Hasey,  Joseph  E.  Hat  ton,  Sergt.  W.  P.  Hold  en, 
John  W.  Hurd,  Albert  M.  Jackson,  Wm.  Jordon,  Stephen  H. 


710  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

Leighton,  Sewell  B.  Lambard,  Otis  E.  Luf kin,  John  J.  Marston, 
Andrew  McFadden,  Lewis  L.  Marsh,  Geo.  C.  Martin,  Corp.  Gus- 
tavus  Nason,  Edward  F.  Orff,  Bryden  L.  Osborne,  Frank  Powers, 
Charles  Parkhurst,  Win.  T.  Pierce,  George  L.  Palmer,  Corp. 
Chas.  W.  Pierce,  Henry  N.  Pollard,  James  Qnimby,  Sergeant 
James  L.  Rowe,  Frederick  H.  Rogers,  Amos  H.  Richardson, 
James  Robinson,  Harvey  H.  Reed,  Frank  L.  Robinson,  Benja- 
min F.  Scribner,  Isaiah  B.  Scribner,  James  Stone,  Alfred  M. 
Sprague,  Charles  W.  Smith,  Henry  O.  Smiley,  Amos  N  Smiley, 
Sergt.  Shepherd  L.  Thomas,  Corp.  Sumner  Tibbetts,  George 
A.  Tibbetts,  Ranson  Warton,  Henry  O.  Wilson,  Oscar  Wyer, 
Peter  Welch,  Asa  Wilson,  Richard  H.  Webster,  Daniel  West, 
Albert  M.  Wheeler,  Frederick  E.  Webster,  Chas.  H.  Whittier, 
Sergt.  Thos.  D.  Witherly,  Franklin  W.  Whittier,  David  0. 
Pollard,  John  S.  Libby,  Patrick  Carlton,  Herinon  K.  Day, 
Micheal  Mehan,  George  A.  Clark,  Fred  Jenkins,  Chas.  Forbes, 
Albert  A.  Abbott. 

Listen  !  If  your  ear  is  quick  enough  to  catch  the  sound, 
in  response  to  every  one  of  these  names  comes  the  answer 
"Ifcref"  or  some  one  in  their  stead,  advancing  to  the  front  of 
the  immortal  host,  replies,  "  Died,  covered  with  glory,  on  the 
field  cf  battle." 

Immortal  Men  ! 

"  On  fame's  eternal  camping  ground 
Their  silent  tents  are  spread, 

And  glory  guards  with  ^lemn  round 
The  bivouac  of  the  dead.'' . 

I  am  by  no  means  the  orator  of  this  occasion.  This  endur- 
ing shaft,  these  patriot  graves,  these  evergreens  and  flowers,  and 
this  gathered  throng  are  the  orators,  eloquent  and  impressive, 
before  which  our  lips  may  well  be  dumb.  On  the  one  side  this 
monument  and  these  graves  tell  us,  and  will  continue  to  tell,  at 
what  cost  liberty  and  national  glory  are  won  and  preserved  : — 
on  the  other  side  these  wreaths  and  flowers,  and  this  gathering 
of  the  citizens  of  every  class  and  calling,  show  the  appreciation 
of  the  services,  sufferings  and  successes  of  the  heroic  dead. 

This  scene  brings  back  afresh  the  dark  and  sorrowful  days 
when  stalwart  men  and  frail  youth  were  gathering  from  city  and 
country  to  march  to  the  field  of  strife,  when  the  fife  and  drum 
were  heard  from  morning  till  evening,  and  sad  adieus  were 
littered.  We  shall  never  forget  these  short  but  startling  tele- 
grams which  announced  that  terrible  battles  were  raging,  and 
that  our  boys  were  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight.  How  we  trem- 
bled at  the  ringing  of  the  door  bell,  and  at  the  arrival  of  each 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  71-1 

mail,  lest  the  tidings  had  come  that  "  the  lips  we  loved  to  press  " 
were  cold  in  death.  Then  came  to  one,  and  another,  and  an- 
other, that  it  was  even  so.  This  scene  also  reminds  us  of  the 
davs  when  loving  wives,  and  mothers  and  sisters,  were  so  busily 
employed  for  the  comfort  of  th.e  sick  and  wounded  soldiers,  and 
it  is  appropriate  that  the  same  loving  hands  should  cull  ever- 
i;s  and  flowers,  and  bedeck  these  graves.  For  all  the  future, 
he  earliest  and  sweetest  blossoms  of  the  spring  time  be 
showered  here  to  keep  ever  fresh  our  love  and  remembrance  of 
tiio-e  who  sleep  in  glory.  They  gained  victory  and  honored 
graves  ;  \ve  gained  freedom  and  the  perpetuity  of  our  institutions 
>!ig  as  the  stars  shall  shine.  These  men  went  out  at  ymir 
side,  and  were  brought  back  to  sleep  among  their  kindred  ;  but 
how  many  came  back  no  more  !  They  lie  in  an  unknown  and 
unmarked  grave.  In  the  Wilderness,  on  the  Peninsula,  by  the 
road  sides,  in  swamp,  and  field,  and  forest. 

'•  They  sleep  their  last  sleep,  having  fought  their  last  battle, 
No  sound  shall  awake  them  to  glory  again." 

But  heroes  never  die.  I  shall  not  soon  forget  my  emotions, 
as  I  walked  by  starlight  among  the  sixteen  hundred  graves  at 
Yorktown,  upon  the  very  field  where  Lord  Cornwallis  surren- 
dered to  George  Washington  and  concluded  the  Revolutionary 
War.  Nor  shall  I  forget  that  long  line  of  graves  at  Williams- 
burg,  skirting  the  woods  for  two  miles,  where  Hooker  fought 
so  nobly.  A.nd  so  around  every  battlefield  the  dead  were  buried 
in  multitudes.  It  is  a  most  commendable  arrangement  of  our 
Government,  to  gather  the  fallen  heroes  into  National  Cemete- 
ries, where  their  names  shall  be  ever  cherished,  and  their  graves 
be  honored  and  adorned.  It  was  also  most  appropriate  that 
each  community  should  erect  its  monument  and  dedicate  a  spot 
to  such  sacred  memories.  These  will  be  our  Meccas,  whither 
we  and  our  children  will  make  our  pilgrimages  in  the  years  to 
come,  and  when  the  tooth  of  time  shall  obliterate  the  names 
chiseled  on  this  granite  shaft,  doubtless  some  Old  Mortality  will 
rise  to  carve  them  still  deeper  in  the  stone. 

With  intense  in;erest  do  we  sometimes  stand  by  a  single 
grave  of  the  heroes  who  fell  in  our  Revolutionary  struggle.  If 
they  had  been  gathered  in  one  burial  place,  with  what  emotion 
should  we  visit  that  hallowed  ground,  and  read  the  names  that 
never  perish. 

These  graves  not  only  speak  to  us  of  loved  ones  slain,  but 
they  also  speak  of  the  great  principles  which  they  maintained, 
and  it  is  our  solemn  duty,  ever  and  anon,  beside  these  mounds 
to  renew  our  vows,  and  swear  with  vote,  and  voice,  and  sword 


712  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

if  need  be,  we  will  defend  the  principles  for  which  they  died, 
and  "  bate  no  jot  of  heart  or  hope."  A  united  nation,  four 
millions  of  freedmen  and  exalted  honor -among  the  peoples  of  the 
earth,  are  the  memorials  they  built,  and  each  of  them  may 
truthfully  say  to  after  generations,  in  the  language  of  the  Venu- 
tian  bard,  " Exegi  inonumentum  acre  perennius"  Who  helps 
to  free  a  people  "  makes  his  statue's  place  in  time's  Valhalla 
sure."  Our  brave  soldiers  slain  !  I  have  marched  with  them, 
slept  with  them,  suffered  with  them,  prayed  with  them,  and 
buried  them,  and  ever  shall  my  pleasantest  recollections  of  duty 
be  associated  with  those  noble  men. 

"  Whereso  the  choicest  of  the  well  beloved 
Are  bid  to  memory's  feast,  they  shall  be  there." 

These  patriot  graves  form  the  local  attachments  which 
make  us  more  patriotic,  and  the  genii  locorum  are  whispering  to 
us  of  the  land  we  love,  as  we  gather  above  their  ashes.  We  are, 
perhaps  more  than  any  other  nation,  contented  to  pitch  our  tents 
on  the  banks  of  any  river,  and  with  the  rising  sun  move  on  to 
other  scenes.  We  have  not  had  the  old  world  mausoluems  and 
the  time  honored  cathedrals  which  make  a  land  sacred  But 
these  attachments  are  multiplying,  and  the  places  where  our 
loved  ones  fell,  and  the  places  where  they  sleep,  will  bind  us 
more  closely  to  our  native  soil.  The  morning  reveille  is  no 
longer  heard,  the  clash  of  arms  has  ceased,  and  the  terrible  sus- 
pense of  days  of  battle  is  felt  no  more.  God  grant  that  such 
days  never  come  again.  Peace  now  reigns.  "The  battle's 
fought,  the  victory's  won,"  and  let  us  praise  God  who  ruled  the 
storm,  and  keep  in  everlasting  honor  the  names  of  those  for 
whom  we  wreath  our  laurels.  When  the  reveille  of  the  last 
morning  shall  summon  us  to  the  roll-call  of  immortals,  may  it 
be  as  true  of  us  as  of  these — "they  died  at  their  post."  Till 
that  morning  dawns, 

"  Green  be  the  prass  above  you, 

Men  of  our  darker  days, 
We  knew  you  but  to  love  you, 
We  name  you  but  to  praise." 

The  words  of  the  address  are  given  above,  but  to  be  appre- 
ciated, it  should  have  been  heard.  It  was  one  of  the  most 
eloquent  and  touching  discourses  we  have  ever  listened  to,  and 
was  delivered  in  a  most  impressive  and  masterly  manner,  and 
was  listened  to  with  breathless  attention.  The  Band  then 
played  a  choice  selection,  after  which  Hon.  John  A.  Peters  was 
introduced  as  the  closing  speaker.  Mr.  Peters  spoke  as  fol- 
lows : — 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.        713 

REMARKS  OF   IIOX.    JOHN   A.    PETERS. 

FELLOW  CITIZKXS  :  The  occasion  demands  but  the  fewest 
words  to  close  this  solemn  ceremony  of  paying  our  tributes  of 
honor  to  the  memory  of  the  loyal  dead.  Speech  can  add  nothing 
to  the  thick  clustering  memories  which  fill  our  minds  amid 
scenes  like  these.  The  war  with  all  its  incidents,  its  great  bat- 
tles, its  noble  officers  and  heroic  men,  are  vividly  within  the 
recollection  of  all  of  us,  and  neither  we  nor  our  children  nor 
our  children's  children  will  ever  forget  them.  To  perpetuate 
the  memory  of  the  heroic  dead  who  in  the  late  war  pledged  their 
lives,  their  fortunes  and  their  sacred  honor,  for  the  immutable 
principles  of  justice  and  truth,  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic, 
who  survived  the  fate  of  comrades,  have  this  day  caused  us  to 
be  assembled  together.  The  friendships  of  the  march,  the  bat- 
tle grounds  and  the  camp  fires,  as  well  as  a  desire  to  minister  to 
the  wants  of  suffering  brother  soldiers  and  to  relieve  soldiers' 
widows  and  orphans  m  distress,  has  been  the  main-spring  of  that 
great  organization.  God  speed  your  brotherhood,  and  may  the 
blessings  of  Heaven  and  the  applause  of  a  grateful  people  ever 
attend  you. 

Fellow  Citizens  :  It  is  an  inspiring  reflection  that  this 
ceremony  is  a  common  one  all  over  the  land.  This  same  cere- 
ir.onial,  at  this  hour,  is  being  observed  from  Maine  to  the  most 
distaii*  portion  of  our  country,  where  loyalty  can  yet  lift  her 
beneficent  hand.  Wherever  has  been  the  bloody  track  of  war, 
there  has  the  nation  erected  and  supports  its  Kational  Cemetery. 
The  sun  of  each  day  flashes  upon  tens  of  thousands  of  snow- 
white  head-boards  about  our  national  Capital.  As  far  almost  as 
th;j  eye  can  survey  they  may  be  seen  at  Arlington  in  the  so- 
called  sacred  soil  of  Virginia.  Thousands  of  them  bear  the 
simple  inscription  of  "Unknown."  What  a  tale  it  tells.  It  is 
only  known  that  the  occupant  of  the  little  earthly  tenement  fell 
upon  a  field  of  carnage  in  our  country's  uniform.  Many  an 
hour  have  I  wandered  among  these  graves  of  heroes,  looking 
out  the  names  of  the  officers  and  men  who  conferred  so  much 
honor  upon  Maine, — God  bless  cur  State  of  Maine !  Her  sons 
have  given  her  an  enviable  name.  She  contributed  seventy 
thousand  men  to  the  war  ; — thousands  of  them  never  returned. 
Our  heroic  dead  help  fill  the  graves  of  every  battle-field.  There 
are  names  upon  this  monument  as  imperishable  as  the  results 
of  the  war  itself;  they  will  till  a  space  in  history  after  all  of  us 
have  passed  away  and  the  monument  itself  shall  have  wasted 
into  dust,  for  thet  deeds  they  did  are  immortal.  And  when  the 
call  came  no  part  of  our  State  sprang  to  arms  with  more  alac- 
rity than  the  freemen  of  the  valley  of  the  Penobscot.  Who  does 


714  MEMORIAL    CEREMONIES 

not  recollect  the  emotions  which  filled  his  breast  when  first  of 
all  others  the  gallant  Second  Maine  started  from  Bangor  for  the 
conflicts  of  the  field  ?  Who  will  ever  forget  the  partings  we 
had  with  the  fellows  of  the  noble  Sixth  and  Eighteenth,  who 
with  our  other  glorious  regiments,  were  added  to  the  "  three 
hundred  thousand  more,"  who  went  out  to  defend  the  power 
and  majesty  of  this  great  Eepublic  ?  I  have  been  proud  always, 
away  from  home,  to  hear  the  praises  accorded  by  all  who  knew 
them  to  our  Maine  troops  ;  and  no  more  honorable  mention  has 
come  to  us  than  has  been  readily  and  eloquently  bestowed  by 
the  greatest  among  all  living  military  chieftains — Sheridan, 
Sherman  and  Grant.  Howard,  among  the  living,  and  Berry 
and  Jameson  among  the  dead,  are  known  through  all  the  States. 

Inseparably  connected  with  the  associations  of  to-day,  is  the 
name  of  the  second  father  of  his  country,  the  martyred  LINCOLN. 
What  an  immense  sacrifice  the  nation  furnished  upon  the  altar 
of  freedom,  with  the  loss  of  a  beloved  President  and  three  hun- 
dred thousand  men.  But,  fellow  citizens,  we  can  mingle  on 
this  occasion  some  joy  with  our  sorrows.  Though  we  lost  our 
sons,  thank  God  we  won  our  cause ;  and  in  spite  of  foes  at 
home'  and  abroad,  we  saved  our  country  and  Constitution,  and 
four  millions  of  enslaved  human  beings  have  been  set  free ! 
We  have  fought  the  good  fight  once,  and  we  have  fought  it  for- 
ever. Nothing  but  our  own  supineness  and  folly  can  ever  take 
from  us  the  glorious  results  of  the  war.  Let  this  occasion,  and 
these  scenes,  and  these  emblems  over  the  ashes  of  these  defend- 
ers of  the  Republic,  ever  remind  us  to  be  vigilant  and  active 
and  brave.  Let  our  mottoes  be  Truth,  Justice,  and  Equality, 
and  the  heroes  who  died  for  us  will  never  have  been  dis- 
graced. 

Gentlemen  of  the  Grand  Army,  for  your  great  interest  and 
service,  in  keeping  bright  the  escutcheon  of  our  country,  in  be- 
half of  this  great  assemblage,  I  again  bid  you  God  speed. 

At  the  conclusion  of  Mr.  Peters'  remarks,  a-  benediction  was 
pronounced  by  the  Chaplain,  after  which  the  services  were 
closed  by  the  "  National  Hymn  "  by  the  Band. 

The  procession  then  marched  again  through  the  grounds, 
and  after  a  brief  rest  took  up  the  line  of  march  for  the  city,  in- 
stead of  returning  by  rail  as  they  went. 

This  gave  a  better  opportunity  for  those  who  had  gone  up  to 
witness  the  ceremonies  to  return  in  the  cars,  which  made  three 
trips  before  all  were  brought  who  wished  to  come  by  that 
method  of  conveyance.  It  is  estimated  that  about  three  thou- 
sand persons  were  present,  but  had  it  been  a  pleasant  day,  more 
than  two  or  three  times  that  number  would  have  availed  them- 


AT  THE  SOLDIERS'  GRAVES.  715 

selves  of  the  opportunit}'  of  doing  honor  to  the  brave  boys  who 
gave  their  lives  for  their  country. 

After  the  procession  reached  the  city  it  inarched  through 
State,  Essex,  Somerset,  Broadway,  Hammond,  High,  Union, 
and  Main  Streets,  when  it  was  dismissed. 

The  procession  was  under  the  direction  of  Gen.  Daniel 
"White,  as  Chief  Marshal,  assisted  by  Gen.  Geo.  Varney,  Col.  A. 
B.  Farnham,  Captain  Herman  Bartlett,  Lieut.  D.  C.  Morrill 
and  Surgeon  E.  F.  Sanger. 

Thus  closed  the  first  celebration  of  the  custom  which  will 
become  an  annual  one,  of  keeping  in  remembrance  our  heroic 
dead,  by  visiting  their  resting-places  in  the  season  of  flowers, 
and  decorating  them  with  our  floral  tributes. — Bancjor  Courier. 


INDEX. 


ADRIAN,  MICH 683-687 

ALTON,  ILL 415 

AMHERST,  MASS 227-229 

ANDOVER,  MASS 230 

ARLINGTON,  VA. 9-31 

AURORA,  ILL. 362-378 

BALDWINSVILLE,  N.  Y 597 

BALTIMORE,  MD 66-75 

BANGOR,   ME 706-708 

BEAVER  DAM,  Wis 661-662 

BEREA,  OHIO 517 

BERLIN,  Wis 660-661 

BORDENTOWN,  N.  J. 603-605 

BOSTON,  MASS 110 

BREWER,  ME. * 706 

BRIDGETON,  K  J 606-612 

BRIGHTON,  MASS 140-146 

BRIMFIELD,  OHIO, 456-460 

BROOKLINE,  MASS 127-130 

BUNKER  HILL,  ILL 378-385 

CADIZ,  OHIO, 508-509 

CAMBRIDGE,  MASS 123-127 

CAMDEN,  N.  J 612-614 

CANTON,  ILL 422-423 

CARLISLE,  PA. 283 

CARROLL  COUNTY,  ILL 360-361 

CATLETTSBURG.  KY 560-561 

CATTARAUGUS,  PA : . .    335-336 

CENTRALIA,  ILL 419-422 

CHARDON,  OHIO, 501-507 

CHARLESTON,  S.  C 101-1 10 

ClIARLESTOWN,    MASS 135-136 

CHELSEA,  MASS 130-135 

CHESHIRE  COUNTY,  N.  H 41 

CHILLICOTHE,  OHIO, 464-470 

CINCINNATI,  OHIO, 423-43 1 

CLAREMONT,  N.  H 49-56 

CLEVELAND,  OHIO, 461-464 

COLDWATER,    MlCH 678-682 


718  INDEX. 

COLUMBUS,  IND. 522-524 

CONNEAUTVILLE,    PA 354 

COREY,  PA 327-330 

CRESSONA,  PA 345 

CULPEPPEK,  VA 31-34 

DAYTOX,  OHIO, 472-488 

DECATUR,  ILL „ 361-362 

DEDHAM,  MASS 248-253 

DELHI,  X.  Y 595 

DETROIT,  MICH 667-670 

DORCHESTER,  MASS. • 116-117 

DUBUQUE,  IOAVA, 566-569 

EARLVILLE,  X.  Y ; 595 

EATON,  OHIO, '. 489-494 

ELGIN,  ILL 385-389 

ERIE,  PA 340-345 

FALL  RITER,  MASS 198-212 

FITCHBUKG,  MASS 230 

FRANKFORT,  KY 540-546 

FREDERICK,  MD 75-79 

FREMONT,  OHIO, 438-446 

GETTYSBURG,  PA 324-327 

GLOUCESTER  MASS 222-227 

GOSHEN,  X.  Y ,. 596 

GROTON  JUNCTION,  MASS , 230-231 

HAMPDEN,  OHIO, 1 507 

HARTFORD,  CONN 96-98 

HINGHAM,  MASS 212-219 

HUNTINGDON,  PA 293-297 

INDIANAPOLIS,  IND 518-522 

JERSEY  CITJ,  X.  J 605-606 

JERSEY  SHORE,  PA 283-293 

JOLIET,  ILL 395-402 

KEENE,  X.  II 42-49 

KENDUSKEAG,  ME 705 

KENOSHA,  Wis 664-667 

KENT,  OHIO, 456-460 

KINSMAN,  OHIO, 489 

LANCASTER,  PA 281-282 

LEXINGTON,  KY 546-555 

LOUISVILLE,  KY 555-560 

LOWELL,  MASS .' 171-184 

LYNN,  MASS 151-162 

MANSFIELD,  OHIO, 470-472 

MARE  ISLAND,  CAL 62-66 

MARLBORO',  MASS 246-247 

MARLBORO',  X.  H 42 

MARSHALL, 'Mice 670-678 

MEDINA,  OHIO, 495-496 


INDEX.  719 

MEMPHIS,  TENN 697-705 

METAMORA,  ILL.  f 416-419 

MIDDLEBUBG,  PA 347-348 

MIDDLE-TOWN,  N.  Y 588-591 

MINERSVILLE,    PA 322-324 

MONROE,   MICH 687-697 

MOKRISVILLE,   VT 79-88 

MOUNT  HOPE,  ME 708-715 

MOUNT  HOPE  CEMETERY,  MASS 117-123 

MOUNT  PLEASANT,  IOWA, 570-571 

NAHANT,  MASS 162 

NANTUCKET,  MASS 236-246 

NATICK,  MASS 149-151 

NEW  BEDFORD,  MASS 188-198 

NEW  BERLIN,  PA 348-349 

— .NEWBERN,  N.  C 271-277 

NEW  BUFFALO,  PA 333-335 

NEWBURG,  N.  Y 596-597 

NEWBURYPORT,  MASS 168 

NEWCASTLE,  PA 336-340 

N  i:w  HAVEN,  CONN 83-96 

NEW  ORLEANS,  LA 630-642 

NEWPORT,  KY 561-566 

NEWPORT,  R.  I 622-626 

NEWTON,  MASS 146-149 

NEW  YORK  CITY, 577-586 

NORWALK,  CONN 98-100 

NYACK,  N.  Y 594 

OWATONNA,  MINN 538-540 

OXFORD,  OHIO, 507-508 

PALATINE,  ILL. „ 422 

PAOLA,  KANSAS, 571-577 

PARIS,  ILL 402-415 

PAWTUCKET,  R.  1 628-630 

PEEKSKILL,  N.  Y 594-595 

PEORIA,  ILL , 390-39 i 

PHILADELPHIA,  PA 277-281 

PORT  JERVIS,  N.  Y 595-596 

PORTLAND,  IND 524-531 

POTTSTOWN,  PA 331-333 

POTTSVILLE,  PA Sll-322 

PROVIDENCE,  R.  I 615-622 

QUINCY,  ILL 394-395 

RACINE,  Wis 662-664 

^RALEIGH,  N.  C '.260-271 

READING,'  PA 303-311 

ROXBURY,  MASS 111-116 

ROXBURY,  N.  H 42 

ST.  CLAIR,  PA 331 


720  INDEX. 

ST.  JOSEPH,  Mo 642-648 

ST.  Louis,  Mo 648-655 

SALEM,  MASS t 162-168 

SALEM,   OHIO, 494-495 

SANDUSKY,  OHIO, 460-461 

SAN  FRANCISCO,  CAL 58-62 

SCHUYLKILL    HAVEN,    PA , 330 

SHIPPENSBURG,  PA 302-303 

SOMERVILLE,   MASS 136-140 

SPRINGFIELD,  ILL 354-359 

SPRINGFIELD,  OHIO, 431-»438 

STEUBENVILLE,  OHIO, 509-517 

STOUGHTON,  MASS 253-255 

SlTRRY,    N.  H 42 

SWANSEA  CENTRE,  N.  H. 42 

SYRACUSE,  N.  Y 591-593 

TAUNTOK,  MASS 184-188 

TOLEDO,  IOWA, 569-570 

TOLEDO,  OHIO, 499-501 

TOWANDA,  PA 349-354 

TREMONT,  PA 345-346 

TRENTON,  N.  J 597-602 

UXBRIDGE,  MASS. 229 

VALLEJO,  CAL 62-66 

WALTHAM,  MASS 231-236 

WARREN,  OHIO, 446-456 

WARSAW,  MINN 531-538 

WASHINGTON,  PA. 297-302 

WATERLOO,  ILL 389-390 

WATERLOO,  N.  Y. 593-594 

WAUKESHA,  Wis 655-660 

WAYNESBURG,  PA 333 

WEATHERSFIELD,  VT 56-58 

WELLINGTON,  OHIO 496-499 

WEST  CHESTER,  PA 346-347 

WEST  FARMINGTON,  OHIO, 488 

WESTFIELD,  ILL 416 

WEST  SWANSEA,  N.  H 42 

WEYMOUTH,  MASS 219-222 

WHEELING,  WEST  VA 34-41 

MINGTON,  N".  C 255-260 

WOBURN,  MASS 247-248 

WOONSOCKET.  R.  1 627-628 

WORCESTER,  MASS 236 

YONKERS,  N.  Y 586-588 

YORKTOWN,  VA. *. . .       34 


NATIONAL    ENCAMPMENT 
GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC, 


THE    YEAR,    18O8. 


JOHN  A.  LOGAN Commander-in-Chief Carbondale,  Illinois. 

JOSHUA  T.  OWEN S.  V.  Commander-in-Chief.. Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 

Jos.  R.  HAWLEY J.  V.  Commander-in-Chief.. Hartford,  Connecticut. 

N.  P.  CHIFMAN Adjutant  General Washington,  Dist.  Columbia. 

ED.  JARDINE Inspector  General Jersey  City,  New  Jersey. 

T.  C.  CAMPBELL Quartermaster  General Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

JOHN  BELL Surgeon  General Davenport,  Iowa. 

A.  H.  QUIXT. Chaplain New  Bedford,  Massachusetts. 

WM.  T.  COLLINS Ass't  Adjutant  General Washington,  Dist.  Columbia. 

J.  W.  SHAFFER Aid-de-Camp Freeport,  Illinois. 

CHARLES  G.  GOULD do Washington,  Dist.  Columbia. 

ALLEN  A.  GRANT do Washington,  Dist.  Columbia. 

JOHN  F.  WENTWORTH do Chicago,  Illinois. 

HARRY  H.  DAVIS do St.  Glair,  Pennsylvania. 

W.  F.  WENTWORTH Council  of  Administration. ..Kittery,  Maine, 

D.  J.  VAUGIIAN clo Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire. 

A.  S.  CUSHMAN do New  Bedford,  Massachusetts. 

JAMES  SHAW,  Jr do Providence,  Rhode  Island. 

E.  W.  WHITAKER do Hartford,  Connecticut. 

G.  W.  GUMMING do Newark,  New  Jersey. 

T.  B.  GATES do Kingston,  New  York. 

J.  T.  HAKTRANFT do Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania. 

A.  W.  DEXIPON do Baltimore,  Maryland. 

N.  P.  CHIPMAN do Washington,  Dist.  Columbia. 

H.  B.  BANNING do Mount  Vernon,  Ohio. 

CHARLES  CRAFT do Terre  Haute,  Indiana. 

JULIUS  WHITE do Chicago,  Illinois. 

WILLIAM  PHELPS do Detroit,  Michigan. 

T.  J.  SAUNDERS do Davenport,  Iowa. 

J.  ARTHUR  EGE do Minneapolis,  Minnesota. 

721 


722  OFFICERS   AND   DELEGATES 

JOHN  A.  MARTIN Council  of  Administration. .Atchison,  Kansas. 

T.  C.  FLETCHEE do Jefferson  City,  Missouri. 

H.  D.  GRANT do Nashville,  Tennessee. 

H.  C.  WARMOCTH do New  Orleans,  Louisiana. 

J.  K.  PROUDFIT do Madison,  Wisconsin. 

Locis  WAGNER Ass't  Inspector  General Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 

WM.  W.  DOUGLASS do Providence,  Rhode  Island. 

THOMAS  W.  BENNETT do Liberty,  Indiana. 

A.  S.  CUSHMAN do New  Bedford,  Massachusetts. 

A.  RUTHERFORD do Wilmington,  North  Carolina. 

B.  F.  POTTS do Carrollton,  Ohio. 

H.  A.  SHOREY do Bath,  Maine. 

RICHARD  MIDDLETOK do , Washington,  Dist.  Columbia. 

H.  L.  TAYLOR do Olantha,  Kansas. 

F.  G.  WENTWORTH do Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire. 

T.  McKiNLEY do Gallatin,  Tennessee. 

DANIEL  GRASS do St.  Francisville,  Illinois. 

JAMES  B.  McKEAN do Saratoga  Springs,  New  York. 

HARRISON  ADREON do Baltimore,  Maryland. 

DANIEL  S.  KENT do Wilmington,  Delaware. 

E.  A.  MONTOOTH do Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania. 

B.  F.  MORGAK do New  York,  N.  Y. 

FENTON  ROCKWELL do Minneapolis,  Minnesota. 

B.  P.  LARNED do Norwich,  Connecticut. 

THOMAS  J.  BLAKENY do Sacramento,  California. 

J.  W.  STANTON do Central  City,  Colorado. 

E.  W.  EVERSON do Charleston,  South  Carolina. 

JOHN  H.  STOUT do Santa  F6,  New  Mexico. 

H.  K.  MILLWARD do Lexington,  Kentucky. 

WILLARD  WARNER do Montgomery,  Alabama. 

EVAN  R.  JONES do Milwaukee,  Wisconsin. 

TIMOTHY  LCBEY do Washington,  Dist.  Columbia. 

W.  J.  HANDY do Detroit,  Michigan. 

CHAS.  MERRITT do New  Orleans,  Louisiana. 

GEORGE  P.  FOSTER do Wolcott,  Vermont. 

O.  L.  SPAULDING do St.  Johns,  Michigan. 

GEORGE  L.  BEAL Delegate Department  of  Maine. 

A.  B.  FARNHAM , do Department  of  Maine. 

T.  W.  HYDE do Department  of  Maine. 

A.  P.  HARRIS do Department  of  Maine. 

EDWARD  MOORE do Department  of  Maine. 

W.  F.  WENTWORTH do Department  of  Maine. 

EDWARD  HARLAND do Department  of  Connecticut. 

W.  H.  MALLORY do Department  of  Connecticut. 

It.  N.  MIDDLEBROOK do Department  of  Connecticut. 

W.  H.  NOBLE do Department  of  Connecticut. 

W.  E.  SIMONS do Department  of  Connecticut. 


GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  723 

C.  L.  UPHAM Delegate Department  of  Connecticut. 

A.  W.  ANGELL do Department  of  New  Jersey. 

GEORGE  B.  HALSTED do Department  of  New  Jersey. 

ED.  JARDINE do Department  of  New  Jersey. 

A.  SEARS do Department  of  New  Jersey. 

W.  S.  STRYKER do Department  of  New  Jersey. 

M.  T.  BELTON do Department  of  N.  Hampshire. 

J.  H.  KENT do Department  of  N.  Hampshire. 

F.  G.  WENTWORTH do Department  of  N.  Hampshire. 

A.  S.  CUSHMAN do Department  of  Massachusetts. 

A.  A.  GOODELL do Department  of  Massachusetts. 

W.  B.  MELDON do Department  of  Massachusetts. 

L.  E.  STUABT do Department  of  Massachusetts. 

N.  W.  DOUGLASS do Department  of  Ehode  Island. 

T.  W.  HIGGINSON do Department  of  Rhode  Island. 

JAMES  SHAW,  Jr do Department  of  Rhode  Island. 

WILLIAM:  SPRAGUE ,do Department  of  Rhode  Island. 

C.  H.  TOMPKINS do Department  of  Rhode  Island. 

N.  G.  AXTELL do Department  of  New  York. 

H.  A.  BARNUM do Department  of  New  York. 

M.  B.  ELDRIDGE do Department  of  New  York. 

M.  L.  FILKINS do Department  of  New  York. 

J.  M.  GEER do Department  of  New  York. 

FERRIS  JACOBS do Department  of  New  York, 

JAMES  B.  McKEAN do Department  of  New  York. 

B.  T.  MORGAN do Department  of  New  York. 

GEORGE  W.  PALMER.... do Department  of  New  York. 

D.  F.  RICHIE do Department  of  New  York 

L.  H.  ROBERTS do Department  of  New  York. 

DANIEL  E.  SICKLES do Department  of  New  York. 

C.  B.  WINSLOW do Department  of  New  York. 

T.  B.  GATES do Department  of  New  York. 

J.  T.  HARTRANFT do ..Department  of  Pennsylvania. 

J.  T.  OWENS do Department  of  Pennsylvania. 

A.  L.  PIERSON do Department  of  Pennsylvania. 

C.  McMicHAEL ..do Department  of  Pennsylvania. 

E.  A.  MONTOOTH do Department  of  Pennsylvania. 

J.  F.  MEREDITH do Department  of  Pennsylvania. 

Louis  WAGNER do Department  of  Pennsylvania. 

W.  M.  WORRELL do Department  of  Pennsylvania. 

A.W.  DESISON  do Department  of  Maryland. 

W.  0.  BIGELOW do Department  of  Maryland. 

W.  P.  PARASINE do Department  of  Maryland. 

F.  W.  SIMDEN dp Department  of  Maryland. 

A.  H.  GRIMSHAW do Department  of  Delaware. 

THOMAS  G.  BLACK do Department  of  Delaware. 

JAMES  LEWIS do Department  of  Delaware. 


724  OFFICERS    AND    DELEGATES 

J.  S.  VALENTINE Delegate Department  of  Delaware. 

N.  P.  CHIPMAN do Department  of  Potomac. 

RICHARD  MIBDLETON do Department  of  Potomac. 

TIMOTHY  LUBEY do Department  of  Potomac. 

H.  S.  MERRILL do Department  of  Virginia. 

M.  H.  FITCH do Department  of  Wisconsin. 

T.  REYNOLDS do Department  of  Wisconsin. 

H.  A.  STARR do..... Department  of  Wisconsin. 

F.  C.  WINCKLER do Department  of  Wisconsin. 

THEO.  AUTENREITH do Department  of  Ohio. 

JAMES  BARNETT do Department  of  Ohio. 

T.  C.  CAMPBELL do Department  of  Ohio. 

B.  W.  FEREE do Department  of  Ohio. 

M.  P.  GADDIS do Department  of  Ohio. 

J.  R.  HURD do Department  of  Ohio. 

H.  B.  JONES do Department  of  Ohio. 

D.  W.  C.  LOUDON do Department  of  Ohio. 

B.  F.  MILLER do Department  of  Ohio. 

G.  W.  RAMAGE do Department  of  Ohio. 

J.  W.  SANDERSON do Department  of  Ohio. 

W.  M.  AMPT do Department  of  Ohio. 

G.  M.  BARNES do Department  of  Ohio. 

E.  T.  DUNN do Department  of  Ohio. 

A.  S.  FRAZIER do Department  of  Ohio. 

B.  F.  HAWKES do Department  of  Ohio. 

J.  HUNT do Department  of  Ohio. 

J.  F.  LONGSWORTH do Department  of  Ohio. 

T.  J.  LAWTON do Department  of  Ohio. 

J.  C.  MOON do Department  of  Ohio. 

J.  A.  SHANNON do Department  of  Ohio. 

W.  R.  WARNOCE do Department  of  Ohio. 

H.  B.  BANNING do Department  of  Ohio. 

GEORGE  L.  CHILDS do Department  of  Ohio. 

C.  W.  EARNSHAW do Department  of  Ohio. 

F.  H.  GOODMAN do Department  of  Ohio. 

JOSIAH  GIVEN do Department  of  Ohio. 

H.  E.  JONES do Department  of  Ohio. 

J.  W.  LINDSLEY do Department  of  Ohio. 

F.  MILLER do Department  of  Ohio. 

A.  S.  MC.CLURE do Department  of  Ohio. 

CHARLES  STEADMAN do Department  of  Ohio. 

L.  T.  SCOFIELD do Department  of  Ohio. 

COATES  KINNEY do Department  of  Ohio. 

C.  M.  ALLEN,  Jr do Department  of  Indiana. 

JOHN  COBURN do Department  of  Indiana. 

M.  C.  HUNTER do Department  of  Indiana. 

G.  W.  LAMBERT do Department  of  Indiana. 


GRAND   ARMY   OF   THE   REPUBLIC.  725 

J.  P.  C.  SHANKES Delegate Department  of  Indiana. 

QEOEtiE  C.  liAKER do Department  of  Indiana. 

T.  W.  McCoy do Department  of  Indiana. 

J.  *'.  BENNETT do Department  of  Indiana. 

•  AMI:  F.I:  LAIN do Department  of  Indiana. 

>~ATU.  KIMBALL do Department  of  Indiana. 

R.  N.  LA  MI: do Department  of  Indiana. 

H.  D.  WASHBURN do Department  of  Indiana. 

THOMAS  W.  BENNETT do Department  of  Indiana. 

J.  BOLLINGER do .Department  of  Indiana. 

Mir.o  HASCALL do Department  of  Indiana. 

R.  H.  LITSEN do Department  of  Indiana. 

JAMES  B.  MULKEV do Department  of  Indiana. 

H.  L.  ROYCE do Department  of  Indiana. 

T.  M.  BROWN do Department  of  Indiana. 

0.  M.  WILSON do Department  of  Indiana. 

W.  C.  WILSON do Department  of  Indiana. 

BENJAMIN  SPOONER do Department  of  Indiana. 

J.  M.  BEARDSLEY do Department  of  Illinois. 

JOHN  COOK do Department  of  Illinois. 

A.  ENO.LEMAN do Department  of  Illinois. 

J.  F.  FARNSXVORTH do Department  of  Illinois. 

G.  L.  FOOT do Department  of  Illinois. 

A.  C.  HARDING do Department  of  Illinois. 

R.  M.  HOUGH do Department  of  Illinois. 

J.  M.  HAYNIE do Department  of  Illinois. 

C.  E.  LIPPENCOTT do Department  of  Illinois. 

JOHN  A.  LOGAN do Department  of  Illinois. 

T.  S.  MATHER do Department  of  Illinois. 

J.  rf.  MARTIN do Department  of  Illinois. 

T.  0.  OSBORN do Department  of  Illinois. 

J.  M.  PALMER do Department  of  Illinois. 

E.  KITCHELL do Department  of  Illinois. 

R.  ROWETT do Department  of  Illinois. 

Louis  SCHAFFNER do Department  of  Illinois. 

ROBERT  W.  SMITH do Department  of  Illinois. 

JOHN  (J.  SMITH do Department  of  Illinois. 

GEORGE  P.  SMITH do Department  of  Illinois. 

J.  W.  SHAFFER do Department  of  Illinois. 

M.  J.  SHERIDAN do Department  of  Illinois. 

T.  M.  THOMPSON do Department  of  Illinois. 

W.  M.  TAYLOR do ..Department  of  Illinois. 

JULIUS  WHITE do Department  of  Illinois. 

J.  SMITH do Department  of  Illinois. 

J.  SCULL do ...Department  of  Illinois. 

L.  G.  INGERSOLL do Department  of  Illinois. 

J.  M.  TRUE do Department  of  Illinois. 


726  OFFICERS   AND    DELEGATES. 

M.  SHEPHERD ...Delegate Department  of  Illinois. 

("i.  B.  RAMM do Department  of  Illinois. 

'  JIARLES  ODELL do Department  of  Illinois. 

L.  W.  SHEPHERD do Department  of  Illinois. 

JONATHAN  MORRIS do Department  of  Illinois. 

HAY : do Department  of  Illinois. 

JOHN  M.  SNYDER.. do Department  of  Illinois. 

W.  J.  HANDY do Department  of  Michigan. 

WILLIAM  PHELPS do Department  of  Michigan. 

X.  B.  BAKER do Department  of  Michigan. 

•luiix  BELL do Department  of  Iowa. 

C.  L.  MATTHIAS do Department  of  Iowa. 

THOMAS  J.  SAUNDERS do Department  of  Iowa. 

'WILLIAM  VANDEVEER do Department  of  Iowa. 

J.  A.  WILLIAMSON do .Department  of  Iowa. 

WILLIAM  T.  COLLINS do Department  of  Minnesota. 

J.  E.  DOUGHTY do Department  of  Minnesota. 

J.  A.  EGE do Department  of  Minnesota. 

YL.  F.  KELLY do Department  of  Minnesota. 

JAMES  G.  BLOUNT do Department  of  Kansas. 

W.  F.  MOOREHOUSE do ..Department  of  Kansas. 

C.  B.  FISKE do Department  of  Missouri. 

J.  J.  GRAVELLY do Department  of  Missouri. 

J.  H.  HAMMOND do Department  of  Missouri. 

JOHN  McNEiL do Department  of  Missouri. 

P.  H.  MURPHY do Department  of  Missouri. 

WILLIAM  A.  PILE do Department  of  Missouri. 

F.  ROBERSON •. do Department  of  Missouri. 

D.  W.  GLASSES do Department  of  Tennessee. 

H.  D.  GRANT do Department  of  Tennessee. 

F.  W.  SPARLING do Department  of  Tennessee. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  MAINE,  1868. 

GEORGE  L.  BEAL Grand  Commander Norway,  Maine. 

THOMAS  W.  HYDE S.  V.  Grand  Commander.... Bath,  Maine. 

A.  B.  FARNHAM J.  V.  Grand  Commander.... Bangor,  Maine. 

CHARLES  P.  MATTOCKS. Assistant  Adjutant  General.Portland,  Maine. 

J.  C.  CALDWELL Ass't  Inspector  General Ellsworth,  Maine. 

II.  A.  SHOREY. Ass't  Q.  M.  General Bath,  Maine. 

E.  F.  SANGER Ass't  Surgeon  General Bangor,  Maine. 

S.  H.  MERRILL Chaplain Portland,  Maine, 

M.  F.  WENTWORTH Council  of  Admimstration..Kittery,  Maine. 

GUSTAVUS  MOORE do Gardiner,  Maine. 

J.  S.  FAUNCE do Lewiston,  Maine. 

E.  F.  SANGER do Bangor,  Maine. 

J.  C.  CALDWELL do Ellsworth,  Maine. 


GRAND   ARMY   OF  THE   REPUBLIC.  727 


OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  NEW  HAMPSHIRE,  1868. 

WILLIAM  R.  PATTEN.. .Grand  Commander Manchester,  New  Hampshire. 

D.  J.  VAUGHAN S.  V.  Grand  Commander.. ..Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire. 

W.  P.  MOSES J.  V.  Grand  Commander.... Great  Falls,  New  Hampshire. 

SAMUEL  F.  MURRAY. ..Ass't  Adjutant  General Manchester,  New  Hampshire. 

LUTHER  E.  WALLACE... Ass't  Q,.  M.  General Manchester,  New  Hampshire. 

A.  H.  BIXBY Ass't  Inspector  General Francistown,  N.  Hampshire. 

THOMAS  SANBORN Ass't  Surgeon  General Newport,  New  Hampshire. 

JAMES  F.  LOVERIXG.... Chaplain Concord,  New  Hampshire. 

JAMES  E.  LARKIN Council  of  Administration... Concord,  New  Hampshire. 

HENRY  B.  WHEELER do Pennington,  New  Hampshire. 

SOLON  A.  CARTER do Keene,  New  Hampshire. 

H.  B.  ATHERTON do Nashua,  New  Hampshire. 

CHARLES  SCOTT do Peterboro,  New  Hampshire. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  VERMONT,  1868. 

GEORGE  P.  FOSTER Grand  Commander Wolcott,  Vermont. 

WILLIAM  W.  HENRY.. .8.  V.  Grand  Commander.... Waterbury,  Vermont. 

L.  H.  BIRBEE J.  V.  Grand  Commander.... Newport,  Vermont. 

C.  J.  LEWIS Ass't  Adjutant  General Morrisville,  Vermont. 

F.  E.  SMITH Ass't  Q.  M.  General Montpelier,  Vermont. 

HENRY  JAMES Ass't  Surgeon  General Waterbury,  Vermont. 

II.  W.  FLOYD Ass't  Inspector  General Springfield,  Vermont. 

H.  WEBSTER Chaplain Cambridge,  Vermont. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  MASSACHUSETTS,  1868. 

A.  B.  R.  SPRAGUE Grand  Commander Worcester,  Massachusetts. 

GEORGE  H.  PIERSON....S.  V.  Grand  Commander.. ..Salem,  Massachusetts. 

MASON  W.  BURT J.  V.  Grand  Commander.... Taunton,  Massachusetts. 

THOMAS  SHERWIN,  Jr.. .Ass't  Adjutant  General Boston,  Massachusetts. 

H.  J.  HALLGP.EEN Ass't  Q.  M.  General Boston,  Massachusetts. 

E.  P.  HALSTEAD Asa't  Inspector  General Worcester,  Massachusetts. 

J.  MARCUS  RICE Ass't  Surgeon  General Worcester,  Massachusetts. 

N.  M.  GAYLORD Chaplain Boston,  Massachusetts. 

W.  G.  SCANDLIN Councilof  Administration.. .Grafton,  Massachusetts. 

H.  C.  LEE do Springfield,  Massachusetts. 

F.  A.  OSBORN do Boston,  Massachusetts. 

WILLIAM  S.  COBB do New  Bedford,  Massachusetts. 

H.  R.  SIBLEY do Charlestown,  Massachusetts. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  RHODE  ISLAND,  1868. 

A.  E.  BURNSIDE Grand  Commander Providence,  Rhode  Island. 

WILLIAM  AMES S.  V.  Grand  Commander.... Providence,  Rhode  Island. 


728  DEPARTMENT   OFFICERS 

THOMAS  Fox J.  V.  Grand  Commander.... East  Greenwich,  R.  Island. 

HENRY  ALLEN Ass't  Adjutant  General Providence,  Rhode  Island. 

WM.  H.  REYNOLDS Ass't  Q.  M.  General Providence,  Rhode  Island. 

HOWARD  W.  KING Ass't  Surgeon  General Providence,  Rhode  Island. 

L.  D.  JENCKES Ass't  Inspector  General Woonsooket,  Rhode  Island. 

CHARLES  MORGAN Council  of  Admmistration...Providence,  Rhode  Island. 

T.  W.  HIGGINSON do Newport,  Rhode  Island. 

JOHN  M.  BARKER do Providence,  Rhode  Island. 

J.  L.  SHERMAN do Providence,  Rhode  Island. 

JOHN  AIGAN do Central  Falls,  Rhode  Island. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  CONNECTICUT,  1868. 

THEO.  G.  ELLIS Grand  Commander Hartford,  Connecticut. 

CHARLES  L.  UPAAM S.  V.  Grand  Commander.. ..Meriden,  Connecticut. 

WM.  H.  MALLORY J.  V.  Grand  Commander.... Bridgeport,  Connecticut. 

ROBERT  H.  KELLOGG. ..Ass't  Adjutant  General Hartford,  Connecticut. 

L.  A.  DICKERSON Ass't  Q.  M.  General Hartford,  Connecticut. 

O.  W.  PECK Ass't  Surgeon  General New  Haven,  Connecticut. 

B.  P.  LARNED Asa't  Inspector  General New  London,  Connecticut. 

H.  CLAY  TRUMBULL.... Chaplain Hartford,  Connecticut. 

NATH.  MAYER Council  of  Administration...Hartford,  Connecticut. 

J.  J.  WOOLLEY do Meriden,  Connecticut. 

JOHN  E.  WARD do Norwich,  Connecticut. 

L.  X.  MIDDLEBROOK do Bridgeport,  Connecticut. 

J.  G.  PERKINS do Hartford,  Connecticut. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  NEW  YORK,  1868. 

DANIEL  E.  SICKLES Grand  Commander.-. New  York,  New  York. 

JAMES  M.  GEER S.  V.  Grand  Commander.... Belle  Isle,  New  York. 

BRADLEY  WINSLOW J.  V.  Grand  Commander.... Watertown,  New  York. 

JAMES  L.  FARLEY Ass't  Adjutant  General Brooklyn,  New  York. 

E.  E.  KENDRICK,  Jr.. ..Ass't  Inspector  General New  York,  New  York. 

GEORGE  F.  HOPPER Ass't  Q.  M.  General New  York,  New  York. 

E.  HUTCHINSON Ass't  Surgeon  General Utica,  New  York. 

H.  E.  TREMAINE... Ass't  Judge  Adv.  General... New  York,  New  York. 

WM.  OLAND  BOURNE... Chaplain New  York,  New  York. 

WILLIAM  DELAOY Council  of  Administration.. .Brooklyn,  New  York. 

GEORGE  W.  WARREN do Albany,  New  York. 

JOHN  W.  MAXWELL do New  York,  New  York. 

JOHN  B.WEBER do 

JOHN  P.  SHORT do 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  NEW  JERSEY,  1868. 

ED.  JARDINE Grand  Commander Jersey  City,,  New  Jersey. 

S.  V.  Grand  Commander....  ,  New  Jersey. 


GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC.  729 

WM.  S.  STRYKER J.  V.  Grand  Commander.... Trenton,  New  Jersey. 

HENRY  G.  SHAW Ass't  Adjutant  General 

F.  T.  FARRIER Ass't  Q.  M.  General Jersey  City,  New  Jersey. 

R.  H.  LEE Council  of  Administration New  Jersey. 

F.  SHALLENBERGER do New  Jersey. 

L.  T.  BEAST do New  Jersey. 

H.  M.  FAGIN do New  Jersey. 

M.  T.  DWYER do New  Jersey. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  PENNSYLVANIA,  1868. 

A.  L.  PIERSON Grand  Commander Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania. 

JAMES  SELFRIDGE S.  V.  Grand  Commander.... Bethlehem,  Pennsylvania. 

W.  M.  WORRELL J.  V.  Grand  Commander.... Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 

W.  B.  COOK Ass't  Adjutant  General Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania. 

0.  M.  K.  STORRIE Ass't  Inspector  General Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania, 

WM.  J.  MACKEY Ass't  Q.  M.  General Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 

JAMES  MOOREHEAD Chaplain Pennsylvania. 

S.B.WYLIE  MITCHELL.. Ass't  Surgeon  General Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 

J.  R.  OXLEY Council  of  Administration Pennsylvania. 

E.  A.  MONTOOTH do Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania. 

A:.  PATTERSON do Pennsylvania. 

F.  DUKE do Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania. 

GEORGEF.  SMITH do West  Chester,  Pennsylvania. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  DELAWARE,  1868. 

A.  H.  GRIMSHAW Provisional  Commander Wilmington,  Delaware. 

W.  H.  CLEWARD Ass't  Adjutant  General Wilmington,  Delaware. 

C.  B   BONEY Ass't  Q.  M.  General Wilmington,  Delaware. 

WILLIAM  GREENE Aid-de-Camp Wilmington,  Delaware. 

JOHN  DUNN do Wilmington,  Delaware. 

WILLIAM  BOWEN do Wilmington,  Delaware. 

J.  P.  WALES do Wilmington,  Delaware. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  MARYLAND,  1868. 

A.  W.  DENISON Grand  Commander Baltimore,  Maryland. 

E.  Y.  GOLDSBOROUGH...S.  V.  Grand  Commander Frederick,  Maryland. 

W.  0.  BIGP:LOW J.  V.  Grand  Commander Annapolis,  Maryland. 

CHAS.  H.  RICHARDSON.. .Ass't  Adjutant  General Baltimore,  Maryland. 

S.  E.  B.  WOLFE Ass't  Q.  M.  General Baltimore,  Maryland. 

M.  W.  OFFLEY Aid-de-Camp Baltimore,  Maryland. 

C.  F.  HOWES Council  of  Administration.. .Annapolis,  Maryland. 

H.  RIZER do Cumberland,  Maryland. 

ISADORE  OLIVER do Baltimore,  Maryland. 

E.  F.  M.  FAEHTZ do Baltimore,  Maryland. 

H.  F.  MEYER do Baltimore,  Maryland. 


730  DEPARTMENT    OFFICERS 


OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  VIRGINIA,  1868. 

GEORGE  T.  EGBERT Provisional  Commander Richmond,  Virginia. 

C.  DEYBER Ass't  Adjutant  General Richmond,  Virginia. 

H.  P.  CLINTON Ass't  Q.  M.  General Richmond,  Virginia. 

H.  S.  MERRILL Ass't  Inspector  General Richmond,  Virginia. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  NORTH  CAROLINA,  1868. 

J.  "W.  SCHENCK,  Jr Provisional  Commander Wilmington,  North  Carolina. 

J.  C.  MANN Ass't  Adjutant  General Wilmington,  North  Carolina. 

S.  H.  MANNING Ass't  Q.  M.  General Wilmington,  North  Carolina. 

BENJAMIN  DURFEE Aid-de-Camp Wilmington,  North  Carolina. 

W.  L.  VANDERWATER do Wilmington,  North  Carolina. 

H.  H.WALTON do Wilmington,  North  Carolina. 

OFFICER  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  SOUTH  CAROLINA,  1868. 

E.  W.  EVERSON ,. Provisional  Commander Columbia,  South  Carolina. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  GEORGIA,  1868. 

J.  E.  BRYANT Provisional  Commander Augusta,  Georgia. 

J.W.BARNEY Ass't  Adjutant  General Atlanta,  Georgia. 

OFFICER  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  FLORIDA,  1868. 

CHARLES  MUNDEE Provisional  Commander Tallahassee,  Florida. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  ALABAMA,  1868. 

C.  CABLE,  Jr Provisional  Commander Selma,  Alabama. 

GEO.  H.  PATRICK..; Asa't  Adjutant  General Montgomery,  Alabama. 

H.C.ARTHUR Ass't  Q.  M.  General Montgomery,  Alabama. 

GEO.  A.  HARMONT Aid-de-Camp Montgomery,  Alabama. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  LOUISIANA,  1868. 

H.  C.  WARMOUTH Grand  Commander New  Orleans,  Louisiana. 

F.  E.DUMAS S.  V.  C-and  Commander.... New  Orleans,  Louisiana. 

L.  A.  SUAER J.  V.  Grand  Commander.... New  Orleans,  Louisiana. 

GEO.  E.  YARRINGTON...  Ass't  Adjutant  General New  Orleans,  Louisiana. 

OTTO  JOHNSON Ass't  Q.  M.  General New  Orleans,  Louisiana. 

P.  B.  S.  PINCHBAEK Council  of  Administration.. .New  Orleans,  Louisiana. 

CYRUS  HAMLIN do New  Orleans,  Louisiana. 

N.  BACHUS do New  Orleans,  Louisiana. 

ED.  TINCHAKT do New  Orleans,  Louisiana. 

OSWALD  REID do New  Orleans,  Louisiana. 


GRAND   ARMY  OF   THE   REPUBLIC.  731 


OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  TEXAS,  1868. 

E.  J.  DAVIS Provisional  Commander Austin,  Texas. 

A.  J.  BENNETT ......Ass't  Adjutant  General Austin,  Texas. 

H.C.  HUNT Ass't  Inspector  General Austin,  Texas. 

W.  D.  PRICE Ass't  Q.  M.  General Austin,  Texas. 

HAE Chaplain Austin,  Texas. 

L.  G.  BROWN Council  of  Administration.. .Austin,  Texas. 

A.  II.  LOXGLEY do Austin,  Texas. 

F.  A.  YAUGHAX do Austin,  Texas. 

OFFICER  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  ARKANSAS,  1868. 
M.  L.  STEPHEXSOX Provisional  Commander Fort  Smith,  Arkansas. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  MISSOURI,  1868. 

ROBERT  J.  ROMBAUER.. Grand  Commander St.  Louis,  Missouri. 

J.W.  McC.uiY S.  V.  Grand  Commander Linn  Creek,  Missouri. 

WILLIAM  A.  PILE J.  V.  Grand  Commander St.  Louis,  Missouri. 

CHARLES  V.  SODEN Ass't  Adjutant  General St.  Louis,  Missouri. 

A.  ALBERT Ass't  Inspector  General St.  Louis,  Missouri. 

PHILIP  Mi'Ei-ur Ass't  Q.  M.  General St.  Louis,  Missouri. 

Jos.  SPIEGELUALTER...  Ass't  Surgeon  General St.  Louis,  Missouri. 

FRANCIS  ROMER Chaplain St.  Louis,  Missouri. 

JOHN  S.  CAVEXI>EK Council  of  Administration...St.  Louis,  Missouri. 

JOHN  McFALL do St.  Louis,  Missouri. 

G.  FIXKLEXBURG do St.  Louis,  Missouri. 

E.  L.  Kixo do Jefferson  City,  Missouri. 

D.  P.  DYER do Louisiana,  Missouri. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  IOWA,  1868. 

W.  T.  SHAW Grand  Commander Anamosa,  Iowa. 

JOHX  Biii'CE S.  V.  Grand  Commander Keokuk,  Iowa. 

JOSEPH  LYMAX J.  V.  Grand  Commander Council  Blufls,  Iowa. 

A.  H.  BROOKS Ass't  Adjutant  General Davenport,  Iowa. 

A.  F.  ANDREWS Ass't  Q.  M.  General Davenport,  Iowa. 

E.  P.  TEN  BRECK Council  of  Administration.. .Clinton,  Iowa. 

C.  V.  GARDNER do Marengo,  Iowa. 

WILLIAM  HOMER do Burlington,  Iowa. 

A.  M.  HEDKICK do Ottumwa,  Iowa. 

S.  II.  M.  BYEIIS do Oskaloosa,  Iowa. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  ILLINOIS,  1868. 

Jonx  M.  PALMER Grand  Commander Springfield,  Illinois. 

THOMAS  0.  OSBORXE...S.  V.  Grand  Commander Chicago,  Illinois. 


732  DEPARTMENT   OFFICERS 

A.  INGLEMAIT J.  V.  Grand  Commander Belleview,  Illinois. 

S.  D.  SCHOLES Ass't  Adjutant  General Springfield,  Illinois. 

DANIEL  GEASS Ass't  Inspector  General St.  Francisville,  Illinois. 

P.  W.  HARTS Ass't  Q,.  M.  General Springfield,  Illinois. 

JOHN  M.  TRUE Council  of  Administration.. .Chicago,  Illinois. 

LEWIS  SCHAFFNER do Freeport,  Illinois. 

J.W.  SHAFFER, do Quincy,  Illinois. 

JOHN  TILLSON do Shawneetown,  Illinois. 

FRANK  RHOADES do Illinois. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  INDIANA,  1868. 

R.  S.  FOSTER Grand  Commander Indianapolis,  Indiana. 

CHARLES  CRAFT S.  V.  Grand  Commander Terra  Haute,  Indiana. 

GEORGE  HUMPHREY.... J.  V.  Grand  Commander Fort  Wayne,  Indiana. 

THOMAS  W.  BENNETT.. .Ass't  Inspector  General Liberty,  Indiana. 

S.MERRILL Ass't  Q.  M.  General Indianapolis,  Indiana. 

0.  M.  WILSON Ass't  Adjutant  General Indianapolis,  Indiana. 

L.  D.  WATERMAN Ass't  Surgeon  General Indianapolis,  Indiana. 

L.  H.  JAMERSON Chaplain Indianapolis,  Indiana. 

NATHAN  KIMBALL Council  of  Administration.. .Indianapolis,  Indiana. 

WALTER  Q.  G-RAHAM do New  Albany,  Indiana. 

GEORGE  W.  LAMBERT do Terra  Haute,  Indiana. 

JOHN  R.  CRAVENS do Madison,  Indiana. 

THOMAS  M.  BROWNE do Winchester,  Indiana. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  OHIO,  1868. 

J.  WARREN  KEIFER.... Grand  Commander Springfield,  Ohio. 

GUSTAVE  TAFEL S.  V.  Grand  Commander Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

JOHN  S.  JONES J.  V.  Grand  Commander Delaware,  Ohio. 

WILLIAM  J.  WINTER.. ..Ass't  Adjutant  General Springfield,  Ohio. 

G.  W.  COLLIER Ass't  Inspector  General Toledo,  Ohio. 

A.  C.  DUEL Ass't  Q.  M.  General Urbana,  Ohio. 

T.  D.  WEBB Ass't  Surgeon  General Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

H.  K.  McCoNNELL Chaplain Yellow  Springs,  Ohio. 

FREDERICK  MILLER. ...Council  of  Administration. ..Marietta,  Ohio. 

JAJIES  S.  MCCORNMON do Chillicothe,  Ohio 

ASHLEY  BROWN do Dayton,  Ohio. 

T.  C.  CAMPBELL do Cincinnati,  Ohio. 

JOSIAH  GIVENS do Wooster,  Ohio. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  TENNESSEE,  1868. 

F.  W.  SPARLING Provisional  Commander Nashville,  Tennessee. 

WILLIAM  GRAY Ass't  Adjutant  General Nashville,  Tennessee. 

A.  E.  ALDEN Ass't  Inspector  General Nashville,  Tennessee. 


GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE   REPUBLIC.  733 

A.  S.  CIIABBURNE Ass't  Q.  M.  General Nashville,  Tennessee. 

J.  A.  FUSON A«s't  Surgeon  General Nashville,  Tennessee. 

D.  W.  GASSIE AiJ-de-Camp Nashville,  Tennessee. 

DANIEL  BOYNTON do Nashville,  Tennessee. 

JOHN  ,S.  MI-LUNS do Tennessee. 

J.  UAMPBRIGDON Chaplain Tennessee. 

WILLIAM  P.  INNIS Council  of  Administration Tennessee. 

MICHAEL  WALSH do Tennessee. 

B.  J.  SHERIDAN do Tennessee. 

MARCUS  GRANT do Tennessee. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  KENTUCKY,  1868. 

H.  K.  MILLWAED Provisional  Commander Lexington,  Kentucky. 

G.  CLAY  GOODLOE Ass't  Adjutant  General Lexington,  Kentucky. 

WILLIAM  BRIGHT Ass't  Q.  M.  General Lexington,  Kentucky. 

J.  E.  SAYRES Council  of  Administration. ..Covington,  Kentucky. 

J.  D.  EATON Council  of  Administration. .Covington,  Kentucky. 

W.  W.  CULBERTSON do Buena  Vista  Furnace,  Ky. 

J.  F.  LAWRENCE do Catlettsburg,  Kentucky. 

WILLIAM  BODEN do Newport,  Kentucky. 

CHARLES  A  GILL Akl-de-Carnp Louisville,  Kentucky. 

W.  J.  ALEXANDER do Covington,  Kentucky. 

GEORGE  A.  KNIGHT do Catlettsburg,  Kentucky. 

J.  W.  H.  SEARLES do Covington,  Kentucky. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  MINNESOTA,  1868. 

H.  G.  HICKS Grand  Commander Minneapolis,  Minnesota. 

WILLIAM  T.  COLLINS. ..S.  V.  Grand  Commander St.  Cloud,  Minnesota. 

A.  B.  WEBBER J.  V.  Grand  Commander Owatonna,  Minnesota. 

0.  L.  DUDLEY Assistant  Adjutant  General. Minneapolis,  Minnesota. 

J.  C.  HAMILTON Assistant  Q.  M.  General Owatonna,  Minnesota. 

J.  B.  McGAUGiiEY Assistant  Surgeon  General. .Winona,  Minnesota. 

F.  A.  CONWELL Chaplain Minneapolis,  Minnesota. 

FRANK  E.  DAGGETT... .Council  of  Administration. .Wabasha,  Minnesota. 

G.  W.  SHERMAN do Minneapolis,  Minnesota. 

FRANK  J.  MEAD do Shakopee,  Minnesota. 

J.  A.  McDouGALL do Wabasha,  Minnesota. 

WILLIAM  LOCHRAN do St.  Anthony,  Minnesota. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  WISCONSIN,  1868. 

THOMAS  S.  ALLEN Grand  Commander Madison,  Wisconsin. 

EDWARD  FERGUSON S.  V.  Grand  Commander.... Milwaukee,  Wisconsin. 

N.  0.  ADAMS J.  V.  Grand  Commander.... Sheboygan,  Wisconsin. 

JAMES  M.  BULL Assistant  Adjutant  General.Madison,  Wisconsin. 


734  DEPARTMENT  OFFICERS. 

CHARLES  G.  MAYERS... Assistant  Q.  M.  General Madison,  Wisconsin. 

A.  J.  McCoy Ass't  Inspector  General Beaver  Dam,  Wisconsin. 

J.  B.  G.  BAXTER Assistant  Surgeon  GeneraLSheboygan  Falls,  Wisconsin. 

D.  A.  PECK Chaplain Waupaca,  Wisconsin. 

M.  H.  SESSIONS Council  of  Administration.. Waupaca,  Wisconsin. 

J.  0.  BARTLETT do Eacine,  Wisconsin. 

W.  J.  HERSHAW do Friendship,  Wisconsin. 

H.  B.  HENSHAW do Oshkosh,  Wisconsin. 

J.  A.  WATROUS do Black  River  Falls,  Wisconsin. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  MICHIGAN,  1868. 

W.  A.  THROOP Grand  Commander Detroit,  Michigan. 

0.  B.  CURTIS S.  V.  Grand  Commander Sturgis,  Michigan. 

0.  P.  LARKIN J.  V.  Grand  Commander Battle  Creek,  Michigan. 

A.  B.  MORRIS Ass't  Inspector  General lonid,  Michigan. 

W.  J.  HANDY Assistant  Adjutant  General. Detroit,  Michigan. 

G.  L.  WALTZ Assistant  Q.  M.  General Detroit,  Michigan. 

A.  NASH Assistant  Surgeon  General.. Lapeer,  Michigan. 

W.  H.  BROCKWAY Chaplain Albion,  Michigan. 

DWIGHT  MAY Council  of  Administration.. Kalamazoo,  Michigan. 

B.  McCuTCHEN do Manistee,  Michigan. 

W.  SICKLES do St.  Johns,  Michigan. 

J.  D.  HOUSCOM do Romeo,  Michigan. 

G.  P.  SANDPORD do Lansing,  Michigan. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  NEBRASKA,  1868. 

S.  A.  STRICKLAND Provisional  Commander Omaha,  Nebraska. 

JOHN  C.  COWAN Assistant  Adjutant  General.Omaha,  Nebraska. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  NEW  MEXICO,  1868. 

H.  H.  HEATH Provisional  Commander Santa  Fe",  New  Mexico. 

WILLIAM  BREEDEN Assistant  Adjutant  General.Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico. 

S.  B/WHEELOCK Assistant  Q.  M.  General Santa  Fe\  New  Mexico. 

H.  M.  DAVIS Aid-de-Camp Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico. 

H.  R.  WHITING Aid-de-Camp Santa  F6,  New  Mexico. 

E.  A.  WHEELER Council  of  Administration. ..Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico. 

J.  L.  BARBEY do Santa  Fe\  New  Mexico. 

DAVID  CATNAEH do Santa  F6,  New  Mexico. 

THOMAS  S.  TUCKER do Santa  F6,  New  Mexico. 

M.  A.  BREEDEN do Santa  Fe",  New  Mexico. 

OFFICERS  OT  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  COLORADO,  1868. 

F.  J.  BANCROFT Provisional  Commander Denver,  Colorado. 

Louis  DUGALL Ass't  Adjutant  General Denver,  Colorado. 

A.  K.  TILTON Ass't  Q.  M.  General Denver,  Colorado. 


GRAND   ARMY  OP  THE   REPUBLIC.  735 

J.  H.  McMuRDET Aes't  Inspector  General Georgetown,  Colorado. 

W.  S.  PEABODY Council  of  Administration. ..Denver,  Colorado. 

R.  W.  WOODBUHT do Denver,  Colorado. 

JOHN  L.  DAILEY do Denver,  Colorado. 

J.  C.  ANDERSON do Denver,  Colorado. 

STEPHEN  DECATURE do Georgetown,  Colorado. 

HIRAM  LATHAM Aid-de-Camp Cheyenne  City,  Washington  T. 

THOMAS  HELEN* do Central  City,  Colorado. 

JAMES  GUNN do v Georgetown,  Colorado. 

J.  E.  WHARTON do Boulder.  Colorado. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  CALIFORNIA,  1868. 

JAMES  COEY Grand  Commander San  Francisco,  California. 

GEORGE  S.  EVANS S.  V.  Grand  Commander.... Sacramento,  California. 

JAMES  S.  CURTIS J.  V.  Grand  Commander.... Los  Angeles,  California. 

FRANK  MILLER Ass't  Adjutant  General Sacramento,  California. 

JOHN  HANNA,  Jr Ass't  Q.  M.  General San  Francisco,  California. 

S.  F.  ELLIOTT Assistant  Surgeon  General. .San  Francisco,  California. 

A.  L.  STONE Chaplain San  Francisco,  California. 

0.  C.  MILLER Council  of  Administration. ..San  Francisco,  California. 

ED.  INGHAM do San  Francisco,  California. 

JAMES  N.  OLNEY do Oakland,  California. 

WILLIAM  G.  MORRIS do Napa,  California. 

JOHN  F.  SHEEHAN do Sacramento,  California. 

Z.  B.  ADAMS Aid-de-Camp San  Francisco,  California. 

G.  W.  BOWIE do Sacramento,  California. 

THOMAS  E.  KETCHAM do Stockton,  California. 

THEO.  A.  COULT do Marysville,  California. 

HENRY  HANCOCK do Los  Angeles,  California. 

OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  WEST  VIRGINIA,  1868. 

B.  F.KELLY Grand  Commander Wheeling,  West  Virginia. 

GEORGE  W.  TAGGART...S.  V.  Grand  Commander West  Virginia. 

R.  W.  BLUE J.  V.  Grand  Commander.... West  Virginia. 

B.  B.  DOVENER ....Ass't  Adjutant  General Wheeling,  West  Virginia. 

F.  A.  WAP.THEN Ass't  Inspector  General Raccoon,  West  Virginia. 

J.  L.  MORRISON Ass't  Q.  M.  General Parkersburg,  West  Virginia. 

R.  G.  DOVENER Assistant  Surgeon  General.. Wheeling,  West  Virginia. 

THOMAS  A.  MONROE.. ..Chaplain West  Virginia. 

J.  M.  RAY Aid-de-Camp West  Virginia. 

GEO.  K.  BALENTINE do West  Virginia. 

OFFJCERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  MONTANA,  1868. 

JAMES  H.  MILLS Provisional  Commander Helena  City,  Montana. 

W.  F.  SAOSDERS Ass't  Adjutant  General Helena  City,  Montana. 


736  DEPARTMENT    OFFICERS. 


OFFICERS  OF  THE  DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  POTOMAC,  1868. 

JAME?  T.  SMITH Provisional  Commander Washington,  Dist.  Columbia. 

C.  W.  TAYLOR Ass't  Adjutant  General Washington,  Dist.  Columbia. 

WILLIAM  B.  BROWNE.. . Ass't  Q  M.  General Washington,  Dist.  Columbia. 

WILLIAM  H.  BROWNE.. Ass't  Inspector  General Washington,  Dist.  Columbia. 

CHARLES  J.  FISHER Aid-de-Camp Washington,  Dist.  Columbia. 

0.  C.  ROTCE do Washington,  Dist.  Columbia. 

E.  D.  TOWH do Washington,  Dist.  Columbia. 


THE  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  C          -L 
LOS  ANGELES 


§ 


University  of  California  Library 
Los  Angeles 

This  book  is  .DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


MAY  n  19 


DUE  3  MONTHS  FROM 
DATE  RECEIVED 


UCLA  URL/ILL 

REC'D  LD-URL 


DEI  1 9  1996 
JJU 


J— J  »^ 

a    «ii 


